A painting by French artist William Adolphe Bouguereau that had been missing for decades and was uncovered in Elkhart has sold at auction for $1.1 million.
Cincinnati, Ohio-based Cowan’s Auctions announced the painting entitled “Sunbeam” was bought Saturday by a bidder who requested anonymity.
Auction house owner Wes Cowan said the whereabouts of the painting had been unknown until, acting on a tip, he found it hanging in the parlor of a modest clapboard home. The portrait of a young girl standing in a garden, completed in 1899, had been sold in 1909 to Charles Gerald Conn of Elkhart, founder of the C.G. Conn musical instrument company.
Cowan estimated last month the painting could sell for between $300,000 and $500,000. Bidding opened Saturday at $250,000.
The seller of the painting also requested anonymity, according to Cowan.
