Washington, Sept. 20 (SANA)An American antiques collector who paid just $30 for a painting at a Michigan estate sale discovered that the work was a long-lost piece by American surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie, now estimated to be worth as much as $250,000.

The collector suspected the painting, titledAlderman Merriam’s Shells, might be an Abercrombie work after noticing the inscription “Abercrombie, ’51” in its lower-left corner, UPI reported.

The buyer’s suspicions were strengthened after spotting a photograph of the painting in its original frame at theGertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mysteryexhibition in Milwaukee.

Susan Weininger, an art historian at Roosevelt University and a leading expert on Abercrombie, later authenticated the work as a 1951 painting depicting seashells from the collection of Robert Merriam, who served as a Chicago alderman from 1947 to 1955.

Experts determined that Abercrombie gave the painting in 1952 to John Reynolds, a physician in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for a medical procedure. The work remained with his family for about 75 years before being sold at the estate sale.

The painting is now set to be offered by Freeman’s Auctions, with a pre-sale estimate of between $150,000 and $250,000.