Goodwill painting bought for $9.99 auctioned for $27K

A North Carolina woman pulled in a nice profit this past weekend after a painting she had purchased at Goodwill last spring for just $9.99 was auctioned off. It fetched over $27,000.

The amazing part is, the buyer didn't like the style of the painting and didn't even want it. An artist herself, Beth Feeback only bought the art piece because she wanted the canvas so she could use it for her own work; painting cats are her specialty. As Digital Journal reported in July 2012, Feeback had been planning to paint over the painting until a friend advised her to get the labels checked out before she reused the canvas. Feeback took her friend's suggestion and was stunned to learn the painting was a valuable piece by Ilya Bolotowsky entitled "Vertical Diamond". She learned Bolotowsky was a well-known abstract painter; his works are displayed in museums and galleries throughout the U.S. She then had the painting appraised; it was speculated to fetch about $15,000 to $20,000 and she made arrangements to sell. According to Sotheby's website, the painting's final price was a total of $34,375, which includes the auction price, plus the buyer's premium. ABC News reported Feeback said after the sale, “It’s a great return on $9.99." It seems "Vertical Diamond" has also inspired her to do a new series of cat paintings. Feeback told the media she plans to do a "knockoff" of "Vertical Diamond" paintings with large cat heads painted in the diamonds' centers.