Pembrokeshire Couple Sells Skip-Find Louis Wain Paintings for £16,000 at Auction

6 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 28

£16,000 was the auction result for two Louis Wain paintings a Pembrokeshire couple spotted in a skip while walking their dog.
The pair kept the works for years before researching the artist and discovering Wain was a prominent British painter famed for cat images.
The paintings were first taken as a possible gift for their cat-loving daughter-in-law, spent about a year in her home, then were returned and hung in the couple's house.
Rogers Jones Auctioneers said discarded paintings turning up at sale is unusual but not unheard of, and sellers must sign to confirm ownership.
Louis Wain, whose life was dramatized in a 2021 film, often sold works cheaply during his lifetime but is now regarded as one of Britain's most influential artists.

How many other masterpieces are currently sitting undiscovered in skips and attics across the world?

Beyond money, what is the cultural cost when a celebrated artist's work is treated as trash?

Is finding a treasure in a skip a lucky break, or could it legally be considered theft?