Scarlet Quince Ramblings

I was going through recent art suggestions this morning — I learned a long time ago to check that the titles and artists are correct — and this was one of them: The Flower Market by Edouard-Leon Cortes (or Marche aux Fleurs). You may have seen this in the news recently. Someone left it at a Goodwill in Maryland, where the staff would normally price something like this at about $100. However, they noticed that it had an old frame and a brass plaque and checked with Sotheby’s and discovered it was valuable. It later sold at auction for $40,000. Amazing. Things like that are always turning up on Antiques Roadshow — someone brings in a painting that their mother bought at a thrift store for $1 and it turns out to be by an obscure (to me) but highly collectible artist. The question is, why doesn’t it happen to me? When I go to the Blue Hanger all I see is awful trash. There’s apparently a knack (and it probably requires a lot more time at thrift stores than I want to spend).