A $37 painting found in a British cupboard was identified as John Constable’s work in 2024; the forgotten artwork was valued at $315,000 after authentication

Art history has no shortage of surprising discoveries. Paintings and drawings can sometimes remain unnoticed for decades, hidden in ordinary places before their significance is recognized.

A small landscape painting purchased at auction in Canterbury, England, for just £30 ($37) around 13 years ago has now been authenticated as a work by English landscape artist John Constable. The painting had spent years in a drawer beside the fireplace at the residence of its owner in Ash, Kent.


The discovery follows other instances in which Constable works have surfaced in unlikely places. In 2012, 15 drawings by the artist were discovered inside a forgotten cupboard in England. Seven years later, school pupils found a small Constable painting hidden in a stationery cupboard.

A valuable painting bought for £30

The recently authenticated painting features a rural scene in Suffolk, Constable's home county. It was bought by a retired ophthalmic surgeon at an auction in Canterbury for £30.

The buyer's son, Rob Darvell, a 45-year-old graphic designer from East London, later learned that the painting was believed to be a Constable and could have an estimated amount of £250,000 ($315,000).

The painting's identity was disclosed after nine months of comprehended examination by TV art and antiques expert Curtis Dowling. Dowling revealed the discovery to Darvell in a live appearance on BBC Breakfast TV.

A signature raised suspicions

The painting had remained largely unnoticed in the family home. Darvell described that his father had never displayed it and had told very few people about it.

The painting nevertheless continued to be in storage rather than being displayed.

Why Constable works can remain undiscovered

The discovery raises the question of how works by an artist whose paintings can be estimated from £300,000 to £1,000,000 could remain stored in homes for years without recognition.

One explanation is the sheer amount of work Constable produced during his career. The English artist became popular for his landscapes of the countryside and produced many sketches in his lifetime.

That extensive body of work has left behind material that can remain to attract attention and, in some cases, be rediscovered long after it was created.

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Another unusual Constable discovery

The £30 painting is not the only Constable work to arrive from unexpected places.

In 2012, 15 Constable drawings were discovered in a forgotten cupboard in England. Then, in 2019, pupils at a school discovered a small painting by the artist hidden in a stationery cupboard.

The latest discovery includes another example of that unusual pattern: a small landscape bought for a modest sum, stored for years in a drawer and eventually found as a work by one of England's popular landscape artists.

Source; Artnet News