An article in the Chicago Tribune last Sunday (July 29, 2007) was talking about a valuable find in the art world. It seems that an elderly woman (Margaret Tikalsky) was forced to move out of her home after city/town officials declared it uninhabitable, due to the mess of papers and other things.

While cleaning and organizing things there to get it ready for sale, a neighbor and people from the public guardian's office discovered 85 works by American impressionist Alfred Juergens, a collection of watercolors, sketches and oils on canvas and wood that is valued conservatively in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Juergens was born in Chicago, trained in Europe, and spent most of his career in Oak Park, Illinois.

Seems that Tikalsky's father was a friend of the artist, and also among the collection are numerous photos, notes and letters written to him. Tikalsky began buying works from Juergens in the 1920's for anywhere from a few dollars to $1000.00.

The old woman is apparently not interested in selling the paintings at this time. She is donating some and giving others to friends. She may eventually sell a few but plans to keep the one painting that was given to her father as a wedding gift, a work different from his other landscapes.

(credit Chicago Tribune for this information)

I didn't have much to add to this story, except to say that it fascinates me that such a trove of artwork could be discovered like this, and it also warms me to think that this woman's attitude is that these works belong to humanity, not necessarily to her. And I wanted to take some notes on the information in the article, and what better place than here?