Woman finds JFK portrait hidden behind $5 garage sale picture

Glendale - A woman who had purchased a $5 framed picture of a horse found another portrait behind the one she'd bought. After she took the horse picture out, a likeness of John F. Kennedy was discovered hidden behind.

Pam Dwyer, of Glendale, Ariz., purchased a picture of a horse for $5. She said her husband had a hunch they were getting more for their money, and it seems he was right. When the Dwyers took the picture out of the frame, a remarkable discovery was found stashed in the frame. According to Yahoo! News, what the couple uncovered was an "amazingly detailed and deftly drawn" original portrait of John F. Kennedy. "I was just in awe of the detail, and the likeness, and that it was an original," Dwyer said, reported KPHO News. The portrait of JKF was signed by the artist and dated 1961. Dwyer did some research on the artist's name and learned he had many talents, both illegal and in more conventional forms of art. The artist, a Carmelo Soraci, was purportedly a notorious forger who spent two decades in a New York jail after being convicted of forging checks. While in prison, Soraci seemingly began to display his creative side.

CBS News 5

Screen grab of the signature on a JFK portrait found hidden behind a $5 garage sale picture

image:132389:2::0

"He was best known for the stained glass artwork he created when he was in prison, actually," Dwyer told the media. Soraci does not have a history of any sales of his artwork, however the JFK portrait was reportedly appraised at a value in the $2,500 to $5,000 range. Dwyer said she'll probably sell the portrait.