Woman Snaps Up Renoir Painting for $7 at Flea Market

There are bargains out there, and then there are bargains out there. A woman in Virginia discovered just how far her negotiating skills could get her when she unwittingly snapped up an authentic Renoir painting at a flea market. How much did she pay for this masterpiece, valued at potentially $100,000? Seven dollars ... seriously.

In an even more ironic twist, the bargain hunter, who wishes to remain anonymous, wasn’t that interested in the painting -- she was more interested in the frame, and planned on taking the painting out and setting it aside. Her mother scrutinized the artwork a bit closer and noticed that a man named Renoir had signed it. She convinced her daughter, who had been holding onto the painting for a couple of years, to get the artwork appraised.

The buyer did just that and discovered, after the painting was authenticated by experts, that she had inadvertently bought an honest-to-goodness Renoir. Good thing she decided against tossing the valuable painting out.

The painting, "Paysage Bords de Seine," will be auctioned off shortly. The lucky woman plans on using some of the proceeds from the sale to take a trip to France, where she just might lay some flowers down on Pierre-Auguste Renoir's grave, as a kind of thank you.

Do you think the master artist could've ever imagined someone would one day pick up one of his paintings for next to nothing at a flea market all the way across the Atlantic? Our guess is probably not.