An artist has been left stunned after uncovering what he believes could be a long-lost Picasso in his attic, but the back story of how the painting came to be in his possession is almost as special as the work of art which could change his life.
Dominic Currie, 58, was rifling through the belongings of his late mother Annette when he came across an old painting in a battered suitcase, mirror.co.uk reported.
The art fan recognized the Cubist shapes and, on closer inspection, was amazed to see Pablo Picasso’s recognizable signature in the bottom right-hand corner.
The auction house Christie’s is now analyzing the artwork, but if it transpires to be a genuine work from the Spanish legend, it could be worth a millions of pounds.
Dominic believes the painting was a gift from his father, a Russian soldier, to his mother Annette in the 1950s.
When she died in 2000, he couldn’t face going through her belongings, and stored them in his attic. Sifting through the stash recently he was amazed to find a rolled-up canvas covered in Russian newspapers dated 1953.
“It’s a wonderful gift. It’s like a message from both of them to me. That’s how it feels,” he said.
Dominic’s mother Annette met his father Nicolai Vladimirovich, a Russian soldier, in 1955 during a holiday to Poland. Nicolai gave her the painting as a present.
Unbeknown to Annette, this wasn’t just any ordinary painting. She found herself unable to part with the painting and hid it in a suitcase for nearly half a century.
Currie is nervously awaiting the verdict of experts.
