An artwork by French master Pierre-Auguste Renoir bought at a flea market in the US may turn out to be a rare bargain.
The painting was bought by a woman as part of a box lot that included a doll and a plastic cow, and cost about $50.
The woman took it to a Virginia auction house where experts said they believed it was Renoir’s Paysage Bords de Seine – a river scene – from about 1879.
The auctioneers expect it to sell for up to $100,000 later this month.
It is believed the painting was bought from a Paris gallery in 1926.
A Renoir plaque on the frame prompted the woman to have it analyzed by a local auction house.