LOWELL TOWNSHIP, Mich. — When buying a new house, the previous owner often leaves items behind. A woman in Lowell discovered that art left behind in her new home is very valuable.
“This is the studio where he worked. So, there's just lights up everywhere,” said homeowner Jennifer Hecker.
She knew the previous owners of her home were artists, but she thought they did art as a hobby.
“He just seemed like a nice, regular guy who was in his art studio making art,” said Jennifer.
She was wrong. It turns out that the previous owners, John Baughman and his wife, Janet Richardson-Baughman, are famous artists, and the art left behind is valuable.
Jennifer said, “He's been making art. He and his wife had been making art for a really long time and were quite well-known.”
Overwhelmed, Jennifer called a friend for help.
"There were all these originals, and they were all stacked in here and stacked on the shelves," said local artist Chelsea Holley.
She knew what was left behind could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
“He's national artist. His stuff is still in galleries all over the country, and so is his wife, so they both still have stuff in galleries around the U.S.,” said Chelsea.
In addition to the hundreds of pieces of art created by the Baughmans, there was also art from other famous artists left behind.
Chelsea said, “This is number 70 of 200, so there's only 200 of these in the world, and this is an original signed by the artist. So that's really exciting.”
The goal now is to find good homes for all the art.
“This one is 1976. We don't know how long it was in a drawer, so to get them out, to see the light of day, to be able to be appreciated by people again,” said Chelsea.
Jennifer is glad that the paintings are now being preserved but wonders what else might turn up inside.
Jennifer said, “We had no idea the extent of what's there. There's probably still stuff in nooks and crannies that we haven't found yet.”
If you would like to see the art in person, they will have a booth at the Autumn Expo on Oct. 18 from 4–8 p.m. and Oct. 19 from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Holland Civic Center.
To learn more and see pictures of the art, you can go to The Art of LifeFacebook page.
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