Dear Lee,

Who says there are no undiscovered “treasures”? This month there were two big ones. Volunteers from a Maryland church were cleaning a farmhouse to use for a camp in 1973 and found a dusty oil painting. One volunteer thought it was interesting, took it home and put it under the couch. That’s a sure sign she was a collector-under a couch or a bed is one of the safest spots to store a painting. Her husband was curious, so he took it to the Smithsonian Institution. He learned it was a Maine wilderness landscape by Virgil Macey Williams (1830-1886). Williams was a known New England artist who worked in Rome, Paris, Maine and California. The church had the painting restored and donated it to a museum that exhibits New England landscapes. In 1996 the museum ran out of space and returned it to the church. Once again it went to a museum, where it was exhibited for 10 years. Last month Weschler’s in Washington, D.C., auctioned the painting in a bidding war that sent the price to $90,000. The church gets the money; the painting is once again being donated to a museum.

The second “treasure” is even more intriguing. The story involves theft, hidden compartments and rewards. Over 20 years ago, a painting by Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991) was stolen from a storage warehouse in Texas. Four years ago, a woman going for coffee in New York City saw it with a pile of garbage bags waiting to be picked up. The abstract painting was appealing, so the woman took it to hang in her living room. Eventually, after doing research at a gallery, she learned the painting was not only famous, but stolen. So she actually built a false wall in her closet and hid the painting. Then she called Sotheby’s, described the painting and its labels, and soon showed it to the auction’s expert. The painting, valued at $1 million, was to go up for auction November 20. The “dumpster diver” will get a $15,000 reward from the original owner (who is selling the painting) and a finder’s fee from Sotheby’s.

Moral of the stories for collectors: Search through trash, save what appeals to you, and someday you may learn you have a treasure. (We have found little ones, like an early labeled Ivory soap crate, old Christmas ornaments, and a Russel Wright-designed chair.)