Former NYC Dog Walker's $10M Art Dream Sells for $40,000

Mark Herman's hopes for a windfall from a gifted Chuck Close painting were dashed when it sold for a fraction of the expected price at auction.

Mark Herman, a 68-year-old former dog walker living on Social Security, was given a painting by abstract artist Chuck Close by his former client, Isidore Silver.
Herman believed the painting, which he envisioned while on mushrooms would be worth $10 million, but it sold for $40,000 at auction.
Sotheby’s initially agreed to auction the painting, but pulled it after discovering the artist’s estate had no record of it.
An archivist at the University of Massachusetts later found a photo of the painting in a 1967 student paper, confirming it was a work by Close.
The painting was bought by Long Island lawyer James Pincow, who believed it was undervalued and was intrigued by its backstory.