A Hastings retiree may have turned up the op shop find of his life after learning paintings he bought for a few dollars could be worth thousands.
Morgan Rainsford visits a Hawke’s Bay secondhand store almost every day but he did not want to name the place because it’s his favourite spot for picking up undiscovered treasures.
In recent visits he’s found paintings he thought were by notable New Zealand artists, Russell Clark and Philip Clairmont.
With the help of The Post’s inquiries, it appears that at least one set of paintings are genuine.
Russell Clark was a well-known mid-20th century Canterbury-based artist who counted some of New Zealand’s most influential art figures as students such as Colin McCahon and Doris Lusk.
On one of his daily op shop excursions Rainsford found two paintings with Clark’s signature in the corner and he learned that he was a well-known New Zealand art figure.
One of the Clark paintings had a dealer sticker on the back, which helped confirm the paintings were real and could be worth thousands of dollars.
The Post
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