Man buys damaged house sitting empty for years — didn't expect to find art worth hundreds of thousands of dollars

Sometimes, even seemingly damaged and old things have something in store. All you need is keen observation and curiosity to figure it out. Tamara and Andrey Noskov might have had a similar mindset when purchasing an old home in Detroit, per CBC News. The house was, in fact, severely damaged and when the previous owner passed away, it was sold. When the Noskovs purchased it, they found something unbelievable. Sitting in the house were several pieces of art that amounted to a fortune and turned the seemingly confusing financial decision into a top-notch one. 

"My husband and his business partner flip homes and several months ago, they came into possession of a home that was very badly water-damaged," Tamara recalled. When they decided to take a look, they were stunned to find 40 artistic prints just lying there. "As we slowly went through it, we realized that they were actually some very valuable and interesting pieces," she explained. The couple knew there was something profound within these prints and had to research further. Of the 40 pieces they found, two dozen were originals that had been signed by the artists. 

The prints consisted of works of artists from Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset), Nunavut, including the renowned Kenojuak Ashevak. "Some of the most beautiful and precious pieces were found in the garage, under garbage, under rotten paper and all different types of things," she said. "Maybe they just didn't know what they had in their hands," Tamara explained. According to the Inuit Art Foundation, Kenojuak Ashevak is among the prominent artists of the Inuit tribe. Having learned traditional arts and crafts from her family, she took to creating in her twenties. Her work mainly consisted of depicting humans, animals, birds and spirits of her culture and surroundings. 

She passed away in 2013, leaving her work as a legendary artist for her tribe and the world. After a detailed investigation, it was discovered that the prints were from the  West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative in Kinngait, on the southern tip of Baffin Island. The prints, along with sculptures and other works of traditional art, were distributed to private collectors. William Huffman, marketing manager of the co-op's Toronto office, said, “The monetary value of this work is exploding." He recalled that in 2019, “one of her most recognizable pieces, 'Enchanted Owl,' was sold at auction for $216,000." "It is the highest price for a print in the history of the secondary market in this country," he said.

The couple was convinced to maintain the heritage of the pieces of art. They teamed up with their family friend Adnan Charara, the owner of Galerie Camille in downtown Detroit, to understand how to restore and decide the future of these prints. “These prints have a great aesthetic, great composition and great feelings,” the gallery owner remarked, per Local 4 WDIV. He added that these artists functioned with a different mindset while creating spectacular prints and hence deserved recognition. “It's the true art of all because it speaks from the soul. These artists are not trained, so they are not motivated by money or anything else. They paint or draw from the soul,” Charara explained.