Curbside masterpiece

The Providence Journal: Dumpster divers, take heart. You never know what may end up in the trash.

In New York, Elizabeth Gibson spotted a bright abstract painting set out on the curb with the rubbish -- perhaps the former owner had lost affection for modernism -- and took it home with her. It turned out to be a 1970 painting, reported stolen 20 years ago, by the Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo. Experts think the lost masterpiece could fetch $1 million at auction.

Happy ending

Gibson, who was not inclined to possess stolen property, turned the painting in and got a $15,000 reward and the promise of part of the auction price. One of the original owners, now a widow, wanted to put it on the block. All around, a happy ending: honesty rewarded, a stolen object returned and a significant piece of art rescued from oblivion.

So keep those eyes peeled at yard sales and on trash-collection day. One person’s piece of modernistic junk could be another’s cultural and financial jackpot.