CT man found abandoned art pieces by Francis Hines in a barn 5 years ago and is set to make MILLIONS – Daily Mail
A Connecticut mechanic who found dozens of abandoned art pieces by Francis Hines – an artist famously known as ‘New York’s wrapper’ – in a barn five years ago and is now set to make millions off the pieces.
In September 2017, Jared Whipple, 40, of Waterbury, received a phone call from his contractor friend George Martin, 47, of Naugatuck, about large canvases with painted car parts found inside Hines’ abandoned barn, as he thought the mechanic might like the pieces.
The following day, Whipple went to the dumpster where the hundreds of artworks were being stored, covered in dirt and wrapped in plastic, to inspect the pieces.
‘I immediately started researching,’ Whipple told the CT Insider. ‘I pulled it out of this dumpster and I fell in love with it. I made a connection with it.’
‘Being a collector of vintage items, especially anything Harley Davidson or automobile related, I was very intrigued as to what I might find,’ he wrote on his website.
The Waterbury man would go on to spend four years researching the artist, Hines, who died in 2016 and was famous for wrapping a few of New York City’s iconic structures – including the Washington Square Arch in Greenwich Village in 1980 – in 8,000 yards of white polyester fabric. He was also known for his wrapped paintings, sculptures and public art projects.
An art curator determined the pieces were collectively worth ‘millions.’
Curator Peter Hastings Falk estimated the ‘wrapped’ pieces – canvas covered in the same stretched fabric as the Arch – could be sold for around $22,000, while Hines’ drawings could go for around $4,500, making the entire collection worth millions. It is unclear how many pieces Whipple currently owns.
Hines’ artwork is going to be displayed at Hollis Taggart’s Southport art gallery from May 5 to June 11. Some of the pieces will also be shown at the Chelsea location in New York City. Whipple said he doesn’t plan on selling every piece he owns, and the two exhibits will show 35 to 40 pieces that will be for sale.
Fifteen wrapped pieces and five large-scale pieces will displayed at the Southport location, including others pieces of art. A smaller display will be available in Chelsea.
Jared Whipple, 40, of Waterbury, Connecticut, (pictured) owns hundreds of Francis Hines’ pieces. He received a phone call from his contractor friend George Martin, 47, of Naugatuck, about large canvases with painted car parts found inside an abandoned barn, as he thought the mechanic might like the pieces, in 2017
Whipple (left, with a friend) stands next to a Hines’ piece. The mechanic is now selling 35 to 40 pieces between May 5 and June 11
Many of the paintings featured painted car parks, which Martin thought Whipple would like as a mechanic
Hines (pictured in 2008) at the SLAG Gallery opening for Dumitru Gorzo in New York City
Hines was born in Washington, D.C., in 1920 and spent time in NYC and Connecticut throughout his life. He kept his artwork in the barn Whipple and Martin found it in and became vastly known across New York City. However, in his later years in life and in his career, his slipped into obscurity – which Whipple now wants to reverse.
Hines …….