Chapter 3: Frosty's Nemesis
Detail: the rescue boat
“It’s eight feet long,” Frosty told Bob. “A lifeboat full of people, beside a long pier, is just about to be swamped. There are people in the water and a ship sinking in the distance.” He was asking $100,000.
The Tate Gallery had already rejected it. David Brown suggested it might be French—painted by Gudin or Vernet. The distressed university art director no longer wanted the dubious picture in his care.
Bob drove four hours to the auction. The warehouse environment and general hodgepodge of collectables was certainly no venue for a quality painting, never mind a great one. Yet that night, the sky was clear and the brilliant stars reflected the sparkle in his eyes.
This is an excerpt. Read the full chapter in Art World’s Dirty Little Secret.