20 Million Dollar Painting Found in Bathgate North Dakota Attic
"Junk in Attic" was an Original Renoir Painting
The new owners of residence in town were interested in all the "junk" they found in their attic. One item was a rolled- up piece of canvas that appeared to be an old oil painting. When unrolled, they discovered a portrait of a charming nude which they…
Sorry! The above is not true. But it could be.
In another one of those improbable connections between a personality and a locale, mainstreetmoments.com is intrigued by the relationship of tiny Bathgate, North Dakota (population 66) to one the true giants of the art world, the great French Impressionist painter, Pierre- August Renoir.
What is Renoir's status in the art world? Well, a single canvas of his sold for over $70.000, 000!
And what's his connection to Bathgate?
His father-in-law, Victor Charigot, lived there!
Charigot's daughter, Aline, was one of Renoir's models and can be found in a number of his paintings. She married Renoir in 1890 (five years after having given birth to his child). Another son, the renowned film maker, Jean Renoir, was born later.
Around 1874 Victor Chairgot move to Montreal, Canada, leaving his French family and roots behind. In the 1880s he moved west to Bathgate.
The fantasy that we created above is based on the speculation that Renoir could have sent his father-in-law a painting depicting Aline or some other lovely Parisian lass. But he probably didn't.
Nonetheless, Mainstreetmoments will be visiting Bathgate this summer; perhaps we can gather some fascinating bits and pieces of information that will add to the charm of this story.
Author: EVM STAFF on 04/21 2011
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