![\"Helene](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/helene-plotkin-sitting-on-a-sofa-with-the-fcb-cadell-painting-on-the-wall-behind-her.jpg\")
Helene Plotkin with the rediscovered work by FCB Cadell (Plotkin family\/PA)<\/p>\nA painting bought for under 100 US dollars in a suburban New York charity shop in the 1960s could fetch up to \u00a3200,000 at auction after it was found to be by Scottish Colourist FCB Cadell.<\/p>\n
Art teacher and artist Helene Plotkin was \u201ccaptivated\u201d by the picture when she came across it in a shop in White Plains in 1966 while looking for pieces to decorate her new home.<\/p>\n
The painting was titled Portrait Of Miss Don Wauchope, however the signature of the artist was illegible.<\/p>\n
Mrs Plotkin, then in her late 20s, bought the picture for less than 100 dollars (\u00a375 in today\u2019s money) and hung it on the wall in her living room, unaware of its true value.<\/p>\n
The background to the painting did not become clear until her son Barry began his own research into it last year.<\/p>\n
The signature in the upper right of the picture was deciphered with the help of AI technology and specialists at auction house Lyon & Turnbull were able to confirm the artist as renowned Scottish Colourist Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell.<\/p>\n
Mr Plotkin said the family were amazed to find out who the artist was.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe grew up with this on the wall. It was always there in the background.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember playing American football in front of it with my brother, David, when we were young. It\u2019s amazing it survived our childhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were, as you can imagine, delighted and astounded when we found out the identity of the artist and of the model.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor mum, it was confirmation of her artistic eye and ability to recognise great talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cadell was one of the artists known as the Scottish Colourists, along with SJ Peploe, JD Fergusson and GL Hunter, who were active early in the 20th century.<\/p>\n
He was born in Edinburgh in 1883 and trained in Paris and Munich.<\/p>\n
Mrs Plotkin, who is now 88 and lives in Florida, recalled how the painting stood out to her when she first spotted it in the charity shop.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cMy background in art history and studio practice drew me to this piece instantly. The painting had an undeniable, regal presence, but it was the colour theory at play that held my attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way the pastels were integrated into the composition was both interesting and bold \u2013 it was clearly the work of a significant hand with a deep understanding of light and form.<\/p>\n
\nHow the painting ended up in a charity shop in New York… is a mystery but we are thrilled that this terrific Scottish Colourist work has returned to the city in which it was painted some 100 years later<\/p>\n
Alice Strang, Lyon & Turnbull<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cI was captivated by the sheer quality of this piece. Beyond the poise of the subject, the technical brilliance of the colour palette \u2013 specifically the interesting use of pastels to define the interior \u2013 spoke to me as an art student.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a work that demanded to be appreciated for its vibrant, modern sensibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyon & Turnbull specialist Alice Strang has now identified the sitter in the painting as May Easter, rather than Bethia Hamilton Don Wauchope, and its title has accordingly been updated to Interior: The Lady In Black.<\/p>\n
It will go under the hammer in Lyon & Turnbull\u2019s Scottish paintings and sculpture auction in Edinburgh on Thursday June 4 and is expected to fetch between \u00a3150,000 and \u00a3200,000.<\/p>\n
Experts said the work dates from the most important and successful period in Cadell\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
He made a name for himself with solo exhibitions in Edinburgh and London before the First World War and was demobilised from the army in 1919.<\/p>\n
The following year he bought 6 Ainslie Place, in the Georgian New Town area of Edinburgh, across the road from his childhood home at number 22.<\/p>\n
There he painted Interior: The Lady In Black, which portrays his north-facing studio on the first floor.<\/p>\n
Ms Strang said: \u201cCadell\u2019s stylishly decorated home became the subject matter of a remarkable series of works created in the 1920s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis painting is a magnificent bringing together of many of his most celebrated motifs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interior: The Lady In Black was sold by auction house Christie\u2019s in London for \u00a321 just months before it was discovered in the US by Mrs Plotkin.<\/p>\n
Ms Strang added: \u201cHow the painting ended up in a charity shop in New York so soon afterwards is a mystery but we are, as you can imagine, thrilled that this terrific Scottish Colourist work has returned to the city in which it was painted some 100 years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shows why Cadell is one of Scotland\u2019s most celebrated artists and why his work is so highly sought after for private collections and so admired in public collections.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A painting bought for under 100 US dollars in a suburban New York charity shop in the 1960s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[595,365,362,363,364,366,5882,18,117,19,17,130,968],"class_list":["post-508145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-art","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-edinburgh","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-london","tag-new-york"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116656185356227956","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}