A collector bought a small seashell painting for $30 at a Michigan estate sale, then discovered it was an authentic work by American surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie. The rediscovery matters because the painting had been out of public view for decades and is now expected to sell for far more than its bargain price.

Titled *Alderman Merriam’s Shells*, the 1951 painting depicts shells belonging to Chicago alderman Robert Merriam, who represented the Hyde Park area where Abercrombie lived. The collector recognised the signature, found an archival photograph in an exhibition catalogue and sought confirmation from art historian Susan Weininger; the work is now estimated at $150,000–$250,000 at a New York auction. It had reportedly remained with the family of doctor John Reynolds for about 75 years after Abercrombie gave it to him in exchange for a medical procedure.