17th-Century Dutch Painting Rescued from a Dusty Attic in Connecticut Sells for $7 Million

17th-Century Dutch Painting Rescued from a Dusty Attic in Connecticut Sells for $7 Million

17th-Century Dutch Painting Rescued from a Dusty Attic in Connecticut Sells for $7 Million View of Olinda, Brazil, with Ruins of the Jesuit Church, Frans Post, 1666 – credit, Sotheby’s A painting by a lesser-known Dutch master has sold for $7 million at Sotheby’s more than 25 years after being found in the dusty attic of an old barn in Connecticut. Proving themselves to be worthy of their status as the world’s top auctioneers, Sotheby’s managed to convince collectors to buy it for $2.2 million even though it was so covered in black grime it was hardly visible. View of Olinda, Brazil, with Ruins of the Jesuit Church  was painted by Frans Post in 1666, and was one of the first depictions of Dutch colonial Brazil ever seen by European art galleries. Owned by a series of Parisians, including Napoleon’s paternal uncle, it eventually ended up in the hands of a private collection in the US. Caked with grime, the collectors brought it to a leading New York art conservator, who managed to peel back …