HELENA – When retired Gibsonburg art teacher Marta “Marty” Atkinson was growing up in Hudson, her mother kept a Thomas Moran painting on her wall. Her mother was repeatedly told by so-called antiquities experts that the painting was worthless, but her mother insisted that the painting had great value.
Atkinson, who now lives in Helena, doesn’t know much about the painting’s history, except that her maternal grandfather somehow acquired it in Philadelphia. When her mother died, Atkinson inherited the painting and she always wondered if her mother’s intuition about it was correct.
Atkinson inherited a painting artist whose work led to the establishment of Yellowstone National Park
In 2005, Atkinson realized her mother was right.
“My friend had tickets to the Antiques Roadshow and she called me and said, ‘Take a picture,'” Atkinson said.
They traveled to Cleveland to film the Antiques Roadshow, and when the staff saw what she brought, Atkinson was invited to participate.
“It was amazing to see behind the scenes. We were there all day, they served us lunch,” she said.
The Atkinsons weren’t told the value of the picture until it was in front of the camera, and what they told her devastated her. The painting was worth $50,000 at the time. Today it is worth even more.
“My mom would be so happy. She knew she had value,” Atkinson said. “It was such an experience. People have these things that they will throw away because they think they have no value. They have them in the attic or in the basement, and on the show they find out that they are worth a lot.”
The retired art teacher planned to paint in a museum in Toledo after her death
Atkinson initially arranged in her will to donate the painting to the Toledo Museum of Art after her death, but a group of friends had other ideas. Every week, Atkinson meets in a coffee shop with Scott Michael, Ernst Hillenbrand, Bruce Hirt and Bob Taylor. When Atkinson sipped her iced coffee one day and told them her plans, they advised her: Why wait?
“They suggested I donate it now while I’m still alive,” Atkinson said.
Moran traveled to Yellowstone with the Cooke expedition
Thomas Moran (1837-1926) was an American painter whose career took off when Civil War financier Jay Cooke invited Moran to join an expedition team to the little-known Yellowstone region. Cooke was born in Sandusky and eventually built a summer home, Cooke Castle, on Gibraltar Island in Put-in-Bay Harbor. The sketches of Yellowstone that Moran created during the expedition helped convince Congress to establish the nation’s first national park in Yellowstone in 1872.
When Atkinson contacted the Toledo Museum of Art about a possible donation, they sent an art expert to her home to examine the painting. The museum enthusiastically accepted the donation created by such a distinguished artist. The painting was restored at the museum’s expense, increasing its value from $50,000 to $70,000.
Today it is the object of the Toledo Museum of Art no. 2021.16 listed as “Landscape,” an oil on canvas by Thomas Moran, “Given to Martha Atkinson in memory of her mother,” according to the database.
“This is the best thing. I can go look. It was a really good decision,” said Atkinson. “It’s so amazing that it’s hanging in a museum. Who would have thought this would happen?”
Atkinson visited the museum several times to see a painting that once hung in her family’s home.
“I always think about my mom,” she said. “She was right about how valuable it was, but people didn’t believe her. I’d take pictures of it at vintage shows and people would say it’s worthless.”
Contact Correspondent Sheri Trusty at [email protected]
