VOA常速英语2007年-Latin Masterpiece a Real Find for New York Writ

By Paige Kollock
New York
04 December 2007
 

One person's trash is sometimes another person's treasure, especially when art is involved. Paige Kollock reports on one stolen painting's odyssey¹, as it went from the sidewalk to the auction² block.

One million forty three dollars. That is the amount this Latin American oil painting -- "Three People" ("Tres Personajes") -- sold for at a recent auction in New York City. But for a while, writer Elizabeth Gibson had it for nothing.

She describes how she came about possessing the piece. "I was on my way to get my coffee, as usual, and there was the garbage, but this time there was a large colorful painting."

Gibson found the painting on a Manhattan sidewalk in 2003 and she felt compelled to pick it up. She described her thoughts. "I wouldn't say it was beautiful. It was just so powerful. It had like an other-worldly power. It was just like a mystery, what was it doing in the trash?"

While Gibson hung the mysterious find on a wall at home, the art world mourned the loss of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo's masterpiece. It went missing in 1987. Art appraiser³ August Uribe provides historical perspective, "This is one of Rufino Tamayo's most important late, mature works, painted in 1970, when the artist had reached the culmination⁴ of his search for his interpretation⁵ of the abstraction of the human figure, as well as building up the color and surface texture⁶ of his paintings."

Shortly after finding the painting, Gibson embarked⁷ on a four-year quest to investigate it, calling friends in the art world, studying the artist at the library and even traveling four hours to watch a TV show that featured lost and stolen art. "Never did I take it and say, 'Oh, maybe it's valuable.' That wasn't it. But it was just like this radiating energy in my apartment saying, 'You're just going to leave me here? I don't belong here. Find out about me'," she said.

Gibson says she made an appointment to visit Uribe, using a fake name. He then visited her home and confirmed the painting's authenticity⁸.

Uribe adds, "There's just this wonderful saturation⁹ of texture and colors pretty unique to Tamayo's paining. It would be extraordinarily¹⁰ difficult to fake that."

Sotheby's tracked down the painting's rightful owner, who decided¹¹ to sell it. Though Gibson is sad to part with the painting, she says finding it turned into a spiritual journey. "It was just like a mystery, what was it doing in the trash?"

Gibson received a $15,000 finder's fee and worldwide media attention. While her cash reward pales in comparison to the price of the painting, she says she is happy just to have rescued the piece from its demise¹².

1 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

2 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

3 appraiser   

n.评价者，鉴定者，估价官

参考例句：

• The certification is invalid without the signature of appraiser, checker and approver. 鉴定书无主检、审核、批准签字无效。 来自互联网
• The "quasi-balance" appraiser is the people and the historical development. “准平衡”的评判者是人民大众和历史发展。 来自互联网

4 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

5 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

6 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

7 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

8 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

9 saturation   

n.饱和(状态)；浸透

参考例句：

• The company's sales are now close to saturation in many western countries.这家公司的产品销售量在许多西方国家已接近饱和。
• Road traffic has reached saturation point.公路交通已达到饱和点。

10 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。