Contemporary art is an unpredictable world, sometimes shocking with price tags on the sales of famous auctions. When you see some paintings sold for millions of dollars, it seems that the world has gone crazy. Nevertheless, collectors acquire them, setting the direction of demand in contemporary art. An amazing grandmother from Costa Mesa, California, USA, struck the whole country with her character. After working on a truck until retirement, she went on vacation in 1987.
After that, I rented a trailer and settled in it. In the community, she was known not by name, but by her appearance. A petite, neat figure in pressed jeans was often seen standing at the intersection of two major highways with a sign where a request for donations was handwritten. Here she also pointed out that, in general, she does not like to ask for money. Her son paid for the rent of the trailer and all her expenses, but the desire to drive took her on the road to accept money from strangers. 
Grandma received additional finances, went to visit her friend in a nearby trailer and was fond of hunting for cheap treasures. To do this, Teri often went to sales, hoping to find old things there that were of great value. In 1992, she came to a charity sale of a small shop, where she hoped to buy an inexpensive gift for her friend. She liked the $5 painting for its brightness. When she brought it to her friend, there was simply no place in the trailer where to hang the canvas.
Then Horton took the painting for herself and decided to sell it. An art teacher looked at her advertisement for a street sale. He examined the canvas and suggested that it could be an original painting by the abstract expressionist Pollock, who painted in the style of “drops and splashes”. Listen, it’s a Jackson Pollock painting!” he exclaimed. – “Who is this Pollock? Teri asked in surprise. In this case, the painting, purchased for $ 5, will cost 50 million, the man told her. 
But despite the similarity, most experts called the painting a fake and did not undertake to seriously investigate it. Until a forensic expert from Canada, Paul Biro, was found, he took up the case and used a comparison with the recognized work of the author “No. 5, 1948”. He compared fingerprints, analyzed paint stains from Pollock’s workshop and came to the conclusion that Teri Horton owned the author’s original.
Unfortunately, the research of one expert was not enough to recognize the work as authentic. Having not received official recognition, Horton decided to sell the canvas without authentication by official science. Art dealer Todd Volpe was invited to sell. Tod himself offered $ 2 million for the painting, almost 5 times more than an art collector from Saudi Arabia was ready to give. Her son wanted to sell the painting, but Teri resisted. She said she would only sell it for “the real price.” 
This became the meaning of her entire later life. For 25 years, my grandmother has been on various programs, starred in an episode of a documentary film dedicated to the artist, but she never said that she would sell a painting for less than 50 million. By the age of 85, her health was greatly shaken. Heart problems and cancer took more and more days of life. Relatives offered to sell the canvas, but Teri categorically refused. Less than a year later, metastases began in the body.
Grandmother died at home, next to her son, daughter-in-law and brother. Now her relatives are engaged in the sale of the painting. If successful, they plan to give part of the amount to charity. They do not condemn a loved one, they only regret that her dream never came true. That’s how this story ended, whose grandmother was incredibly lucky and did not take her chance and did not sell the painting for an incredible amount for her because she thought it was worth more. But her children probably won’t have to think about money.