Teaneck Brothers Find Lost $4M Rembrandt Painting Under Ping-Pong Table

TEANECK, N.J˘. — What three Teaneck brothers thought was just another inheritance painting under the ping-pong table in their basement turned out to be a lost Rembrandt recently auctioned off at nearly $4 million, Fox Business reports.

Three Teaneck natives were trying to clear their house out of their late mother's things when they came across this painting. Initially valued at a few hundred bucks, it was later auctioned for nearly $4 million as one of Rembrandt's lost pieces.
Photo Credit: *Fox Business Screengrab*

Cecilia Levine

01/15/2018 2:53 p.m.

The Landau brothers -- Ned, Roger (formerly of Cliffside Park) and Steven -- will tell their story on Fox Business Network's Strange Inheritance on Monday, Jan. 15, at 9 p.m.

The three held an estate sale following their mother's death but held onto a few items they didn't want to give up, the article says.

Among them was a painting that "creeped Ned out," Fox Business reports -- of a woman passed out in a chair, and two men trying to revive her.

It was initially valued at a few hundred dollars by John Nye -- related to Bill Nye "The Science Guy" -- and decided to auction it off, Fox Business reports.

The bids soon began climbing into the hundred-thousands, the article says.

A French buyer took the painting for $1.1 million, and the Landaus were given an explanation: One of Rembrandt's "best" and earliest works, according to the story.

The painting has since been re-auctioned to a Rembrandt collector for nearly $4 million, Fox Business said.

"The painting turned out to be one of Rembrandt’s earliest works – part of a lost series on the five senses from the early 1600s," Fox Business says.

"It appears the Landaus' grandfather had unknowingly purchased the 'Sense of Smell' from an equally clueless seller at an estate auction before the Depression."

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