A bunch of glass plate negatives bought for $45 dollars at a garage sale by Rick Norsigian, a painter based in Fresno, has hit the news recently.
Mr Norsigian claims they are lost works of Amsel Adams. If so they would be worth around $200 million, it is estimated.
That claim however has been disputed, not least by Amsel’s living relatives . . .
The experts too seem divided. Those at the Smithsonian and Getty Center have not authenticated the negatives as being the work of Adams, while those brought in by Mr Norsigian have done so.
Now in another twist to this tale, a woman has come forward to say the negatives are actually the work of her Uncle Earl. Moreover, a comparison of one of the plates bought by Mr Norsigian with the same image captured by Uncle Earl has led one expert to conclude that they are the same and that the ‘Amsel Adams’ plates bought by Mr Norsigian were actually the work of Earl Brooks
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