Treasures maintain turning up at a Goodwill retailer in Birmingham, Ala. In September, one shopper stumbled throughout a designer wedding dress that was an ideal match at solely $25. Just lately, one other shopper discovered a true work of art value excess of what she paid.
Shannon Manthey was simply strolling out the door of the store as closing time approached, the sight of a 24-inch bronze sculpture stopped her. It was within the form of a magnolia department, full with a blossoming flower on the finish, it had a good looking blue-green patina and, most fun of all, it seemed just like the work of Frank Fleming. Even higher, it had a signature confirming that it was.
Courtesy Birmingham Zoo Public sale
That identify won’t be so widely known exterior Alabama. Fleming (1940-2018) grew up, studied artwork and labored in Alabama, and his 1974 exhibition on the Birmingham Museum of Artwork introduced his work to the eye of the director of the Tempo Gallery in New York. This led to nationwide fame. His most well-known work might be the Storyteller fountain in the Five Points South district of Birmingham, which options sculptures of a person with the pinnacle of an animal studying to a gaggle of frogs, a wolf and different animals you may discover in fairy tales.
Courtesy Library of Congress
Manthey couldn’t go up the magnolia sculpture, particularly because it was priced at solely $39.99. Having additionally purchased a calla lily sculpture to maintain for herself, she determined to make use of the magnolia sculpture for a becoming goal: to lift cash for an area attraction. She donated it to the Birmingham Zoo to auction for its Flamingo Flamboyance fundraising gala on Oct. 5. Valued at $2,000, the piece of artwork bought for $11,500.
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