In 1991, a California bargain hunter paid $5 for an ugly thrift-store painting; decades later, experts debated whether the forgotten canvas was a $50 million Pollock

In 1991, California bargain hunter Teri Horton paid just $5 for a large painting at a thrift store in San Bernardino. While she thought the canvas, covered in colorful paint drips and splatters, was ugly, but years later, the painting became the center of a mystery over whether it could actually be the work of Abstract Expressionist artist Jackson Pollock.

A HISTORY report lists the painting’s estimated value as $50 million and says Horton was asking $50 million for it. At the same time, the publication says Horton has been working with authenticators to prove that the painting is actually by Pollock.

Teri Horton found the painting for $5

According to the HISTORY report, Horton was looking through a San Bernardino thrift store in 1991 while searching for a gift for a friend.


She came across a large canvas covered in colorful paint drips and splatters. Although Horton thought it was ugly, she paid $5 for the painting.

Her friend also did not like it. Because the 5.5-foot-by-4-foot canvas would not fit into the friend’s trailer, Horton eventually tried to sell it at a garage sale.

An art teacher suggested it could be a Pollock

The painting took on a completely different significance when an art teacher saw it at the garage sale.

HISTORY says the teacher suggested that the canvas could be an original Jackson Pollock. Horton, who was unfamiliar with the artist at the time, responded, “Who the f*** is Jackson Pollock?” as quoted by HISTORY.

That reaction later became the title of a 2006 documentary about Horton and the painting.

Horton worked to prove the Pollock attribution

After the art teacher raised the possibility that the painting could be a Pollock, Horton began working with authenticators in an effort to establish its origins.

HISTORY says Horton has continued working with authenticators to prove that the painting is by Pollock. This means the Pollock attribution should not be presented as a confirmed fact.

$50 million estimated value

HISTORY lists the painting’s estimated value as $50 million and says Horton was asking $50 million for it.

The $50 million figure should not be described as a confirmed sale price or proof that the painting was authenticated as a Jackson Pollock. HISTORY’s account makes clear that Horton was still trying to prove the attribution.

From a $5 thrift-store find to an art mystery

What started as a $5 thrift-store purchase became a much bigger story after an art teacher suggested that the colorful canvas might be a Jackson Pollock.

Horton initially thought the painting was ugly, but she later spent years working to prove its connection to the famous Abstract Expressionist artist. HISTORY lists an estimated value of $50 million, while also noting that Horton was seeking to establish that the painting was genuinely by Pollock.