Aussie man's crazy find at antique store sparked by 'random set of coincidences'
The beloved Aussie performer, originally from Sydney, recently visited the New Farm Antique Centre in search of house decor when "there on the ground is a beautiful, bright coloured artwork that reminds me so much of my aunt". It stopped him in his tracks.
"It was her style of drawing and [it] just screamed at me. I thought to myself how strange that this drawing instantly reminded me of her. I wanted it," he said. After searching for the artist's signature on the drawing, he spotted it in the corner and he "screamed". "It was her classic HMK in a circle. I was stunned, here was a work she had done before I was born," he said.
Hull's aunt, Helen McCosker, is a professional children's book illustrator and in a "crazy" twist of fate, one of her early works happened to land in a thrift store close to the home he chose after moving interstate.
"I know it doesn't sound like a big thing but finding my aunt's work she made in the 80s, up here in Queensland in a shop near where I live is genuinely such a random set of coincidences," he told Yahoo News.
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Hull was told by one of the workers that they had "bought it at an art auction in Albion" and was delighted to sell it back to a relative of the original artist.
"It was $200 but I would have paid more," he said. "[I keep it] right opposite my work desk at home. I look at it everyday. It such a beautiful work with a really cool story."
Hull contacted his aunt about the discovery and all she could remember was that she drew it during a life drawing class in Sydney and the model's name was Andrew.
"It's still in its original frame... we both were shocked at the randomness of the discover. I'm so excited to have this on my wall.
"I did tell her I was hoping it was a secret lover and that I had uncovered a scandalous family secret but sadly it's not the case."
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