Sometimes you just get lucky and find that one-of-a-kind priceless painting at a local thrift store:
And sometimes you find it in someone's apartment in New York:
A rare drawing dating to the Revolutionary War could be the earliest known depiction of colonial women's role in the war for independence — and it was found hanging in a Big Apple apartment.
The 1777 drawing by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere, the Swiss artist known for painting the first known portrait of George Washington, was discovered in the apartment of an amateur collector [Judith Hernstadt] by the curator of the Museum of the American Revolution, the Washington Post reported.
So this "amateur collector" had no idea she was sitting on a piece of American history?
I suppose we should go easy on the lady. It's not as if this is the world's most distinctive or recognizable painting:
Still, it's a great piece of American history — and a unique one at that:
It [is] the oldest known drawing of "camp followers," or the wives and daughters who tagged along with the troops to help with cooking and other chores.
Hernstadt said she "picked up the 15-by-5-inch drawing 40 years ago." It will be on display at the Museum of the American Revolution after she agreed to donate it to the institution.
Huzzah!
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