A worker found a $12k painting at the Goodwill donation center in Manasses, Va., according to a Jan. 11 ABC News report via Yahoo News. The eye catching painting was a Giovanni Battista Torriglia piece, which savvy worker Maria Rivera noticed.
Giovanni Battista Torriglia was an Italian painter in the late 19th Century. Ultimately, Goodwill put the painting on its eBay-like auction site ShopGoodwill.com. It started out at $9.99. Amazingly, the painting bids went incredibly high, so Goodwill actually pulled the auction down to verify that the painting was the real deal. Brendan Hurley, chief marketing officer for Goodwill of Greater Washington said,
"We saw the bids just begin to rise and then begin to rise substantially. At that point we became concerned because we wanted to make sure it was an authentic painting."
The good news for Goodwill and art lovers who wanted the painting is that it was an original that was worth at least $12,000. Now the auction has gone back online, and all the proceeds from the incredibly generous donation to Goodwill will go to the job-training program for people with disabilities in Washington.
Hurley said,
"That's a tremendous amount of money by any standard. We're extremely grateful to whoever donated it to us, and I hope whoever donated it understands the positive impact that's going to have on our community."
It is absolutely amazing that somebody donated the $12K painting to Goodwill. Even more amazing is the fact that the Goodwill worker noticed it for what it was and put it aside. It sounds like the proceeds from this awesome donation could truly end up changing lives, which is wonderful.
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