A painting that had been missing since the 1920s was rediscovered as a piece of art in the 1999 Stuart Little movie by a Hungarianart historian!
Gergely Barki was watching the movie with his daughter in 2009 when he noticed the painting, “Sleeping Lady with Black Vase†by Robert Bereny, hanging above the fireplace in the family’s living room.
“I went to the television and tried to clean the windscreen. Is it real?†he said.
Barki couldn’t believe his eyes and had to watch for the painting to appear in another scene to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him. Sure enough, it makes several appearances in the movie.
He began contacting people who worked on the movie to try and track down the classic 10 years after the movie was released. He eventually learned that the painting was bought for $500 by an assistant set designer who later sold it to a private art collector.
That collector has now brought the painting to Budapest for an upcoming auction at Hungary’s Virag Judit auction house on December 13. Its starting price is $138,000, but it is expected to sell for up to $325,000!