Man thinks painting is by Picasso

AIKEN --- A lifetime of picking through trash and treasure at yard sales and antique stores might have finally paid off for Dave McRay.

Mr. McRay, of Aiken, said he believes a portrait he bought at a flea market for $14 in 1998 is an original work of Pablo Picasso and could be worth millions.

"I didn't know what it was, so I kept it in a utility room until my son told me 'Dad, you know this is a Picasso? This is worth a lot of money,' " Mr. McRay, 59, recalls. "When he told me that, that's when I started thinking it may be worth something."

The portrait of an abstractly drawn man, with long ringlets around his face is signed "Picasso," and is numbered and dated Jan. 3, 1969, an era of the artist's career when he etched and created oil paintings that were inspired by Alexander Dumas's Three Musketeers , said Kinga Bender, fine and decorative arts department director for Charlton Hall Auctioneers in West Columbia, S.C. "It was his late period, and he was obsessed with floppy-hatted, swash-bucklers and Casanovas," Ms. Bender said. "The original works are selling in the range of $11 million to $13 million."

Ms. Bender, who has viewed photos of the artwork, said she does not believe Mr. McRay's painting is an original Picasso. She said the piece is most likely a reproduction of one of Picasso's works. The original pieces from the era, which lasted between 1966 and 1969, were life-sized, about 5-feet tall, oil paintings and pen etchings. Mr. McRay's portrait is a little less than 4 feet tall.

"From the photo, it looks to be an advertisement from a show at a museum during that time," she said. "It could sell for a few hundred dollars at best."

An appraiser priced the portrait at about $2,500, Mr. McRay said, but other art experts have advised him that it's worth more.

"I do believe it was misappraised, and it could be worth millions," he said. Mr. McRay said shopping at flea markets, antique malls and yard sales was a weekly ritual for him for more than 20 years. The Army veteran said he would often find furniture and other antique pieces and resell them. He ran across the portrait while browsing at a flea market in west Augusta. The vendor, who said she bought it at an estate sale, sold it to Mr. McRay one Saturday morning.

After having it appraised in Atlanta, Mr. McRay left the painting with a friend. He suffered a stroke in 2003, and has just recently recovered.

Three months ago, Mr. McRay and his son traveled to Atlanta to pick up the painting, and now he said he is determined to learn the value of the portrait.

Barney Lamar, an art conservator for Conservation Services in Aiken, said there is a good chance the piece is an original.

"It certainly is in the same style as the ones that have gone for sale," said Mr. Lamar, who also viewed a photo of the portrait. "Picasso's signature is something like that, so it's pretty likely it could be real."

Mr. McRay said he will remain optimistic that the portrait is an original. He plans to have it re-appraised, so he can auction it off for the charity of his choice.

"I just hope I can do something with this to help," he said. "There are so many single moms and abused kids in Aiken that could benefit."

Reach Stephanie Toone at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.