Yours for 10 bob – a picture worth £50,000

GLASGOW'S famous Barras Market is a treasure trove of bargains from clothes to furniture and bric-a-brac.

But the last thing you would expect to find there is a painting worth tens of thousands of pounds for the knockdown price of ten shillings, or 50p.

On a shopping expedition 40 years ago, an art collector spotted a pretty but unexceptional landscape. Yesterday, it emerged that the real value of the 19th-century work Chopping Logs Outside a Snow-Covered Cabin, by Cornelius Krieghoff, is up to £50,000.

The retired owner, who now lives abroad and wants to remain anonymous, was completely unaware of the picture's significance at the time he added it to his growing collection.

After some research he realised the work was an original, but had no idea of its worth until he had it valued with a view to selling it.

Philip Gregory, spokesman for Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers, who will be selling the painting on 29 May, said: "He was in his twenties when he bought this, but it wasn't until much later, when he was a bit more expert about these things, that he realised he had a piece by a decent artist. So he hung on to it, even though he had no idea of its value.

"It was only when he decided to sell because he was moving abroad that he discovered its true worth. These things just don't happen very often; it's a real Antiques Roadshow find."

The painting, which is currently on show at Pollok House in Glasgow, depicts a log cabin in Dutch-born Krieghoff's adopted Canada, preserving a way of life and customs that would have ordinarily been lost.

Experts have described his technique as "slightly naïve" but the value lies in the uniqueness of his subject matter.

Krieghoff, who died in 1872 at the age of 56, is regarded as one of Canada's most accomplished artists, meaning the picture could exceed all expectations and fetch more at auction.

He became the most popular of the 19th century after rising to fame with paintings of Canadian landscapes and life outdoors, particularly in the winter.

Nick Curnow, managing director of Lyon & Turnbull, believes the painting was probably brought to Scotland by a soldier. He said the sale could spark a fierce bidding war.

"It is the sort of find everybody dreams of. It will almost certainly go back to Canada," he said.

"The picture was painted as a way of preserving life and customs that would have been lost.

"Krieghoff is one of Canada's most accomplished and important artists.

"He was born in Amsterdam in the early 19th century and married a French Canadian in Manhattan, which is what persuaded him to move to Canada.

"He depicts ordinary people with sympathy, humour and attention to detail."