More than an hour passed quickly, and the auction was halfway through.

It's a long charity auction, and there are dozens of lots waiting to be displayed and auctioned!

Richard, the auctioneer, was already crying out with a dry mouth, exhausted, and his throat was about to smoke! By this time, he had already left the auction table, ready to change to an auctioneer to preside over the second half of the auction.

This is not a formal auction held at an auction house, it is just a community charity auction! Naturally, there is not so much attention, and it is not surprising that the auctioneer changed in the middle of the auctione!

And these auctioneers are also residents of the community, and they are all volunteers!

With the time of changing the auctioneer, the auction entered the intermission, so that everyone could relax their emotions, relax their nerves, recharge their energy, and prepare for the second half.

At the same time, it also provides an opportunity for everyone to communicate with each other.

Soon, the whole auditorium became noisy, people greeted each other, and then gathered together to chat with each other, and the sound of words and laughter filled everyone's ears.

Matthew and Fermi were taking stock of their gains, both of them with big smiles on their faces, and their mouths were about to crack to the back of their heads!

In the first half of the auction, Matthew won three pretty good antique artworks, and Fermi also bought two, which were also worth a lot of money.

This is still the result of Ye Tian deliberately collecting it, and letting go of more than a dozen relatively low-value antique artworks, otherwise these two old men have a great possibility of sweeping thousands of armies!

If you do that, it will be too ugly to eat! The two old men will definitely be fingered or thrown at their shoes!

Ye Tian has not raised his card to bid, after all, he is not from this community, he can only be regarded as an outsider here, and he is a top professional, and it is somewhat unreasonable to ransack this charity auction crazily!

Matthew's family still has to live here, and they can't be too difficult to do.

Of course, if there is a top artwork at the level of tens of millions of dollars, he will not be polite, and he will definitely take it, who will make you have no eyes!

"Steven, will the oil painting just now definitely appreciate in value? I'm still a little skeptical! After all, it's just a college student's work, and it's not even famous!"

Fermi asked in a low voice, a little apprehensive in his voice.

"Don't worry, Fermi, though this young painter is still unknown at this time, he will surely become a well-known painter for no more than five years!

This is a very talented young painter, and it can be seen from his paintings that talent is the most important thing! His painting techniques have matured day by day, and he has all the conditions to get ahead.

You just need to collect this painting carefully, and you will definitely be able to wait for the day when the price will skyrocket, and if you are not sure, you can resell it in five years, and I will buy it for $50,000!"

Ye Tian said with a smile, very confident.

Hearing this, Fermi suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled even brighter!

At this moment, Matthew interjected in a low voice.

"Otherwise, Fermi, when the auction is over, you can transfer the oil painting to me, and I will double the price, how about it?

"Get out of the way, you greedy fellow, don't even think about it! I'm going to collect this painting, maybe this young painter will be the next Pollock!"

Fermi chuckled and cursed, and immediately rejected Matthew without thinking about it.

"Hahaha"

All three laughed!

The fifteen-minute intermission passed quickly and the auction began again.

The new auctioneer stepped onto the auction table, a middle-aged white man in his forties!

Behind him, followed by two Belmont High School boys, the two of them carefully carried an oil painting to the auction table and placed it on the display table for everyone to admire and identify!

This is a portrait of a person, a profile portrait of a classical lady, including the shadow formed by the side profile, measuring about 1.5 meters by 1.2 meters, which is relatively large in portraiture.

The moment he saw this portrait, Ye Tian's eyes immediately became extremely bright, and he was staring closely at the oil painting on the display table.

At the same time, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes!

Leo must have come for this painting, no doubt!

He was the black market buyer of the painting, but the seller put it at this charity auction and was quite clever!

And the target of Cook's trip is this oil painting, or the art thief hiding behind this oil painting?

The show is on!

Just as Ye Tian was about to see through this oil painting, Matthew next to him suddenly asked:

"Steven, how do I look at this portrait, it's a little familiar? I think I've seen it somewhere, I think it's in some museum, I can't remember exactly!"

Ye Tian smiled softly, and then explained in a low voice:

"It's normal that you've seen this oil painting, not only you've seen it, but many people at the scene should have seen it, and on the stage is a copy of the work, and the original is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York at this time.

This is a famous portrait from the master painter Ingres, the artistic value and market value are very high, as long as you have been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, most of them have seen this masterpiece!"

"I see, no wonder it's so familiar, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art a few years ago, and I must have seen this oil painting!

Matthew said suddenly, and immediately lost interest in this oil painting.

"It's just a copy, it's definitely worthless!"

Fermi continued, equally uninterested, with a hint of disdain in his tone.

Unconsciously, the artistic taste of the two old men seems to have improved by several levels, and they don't care about fakes!

"It can't be said that although this oil painting is a copy of the work, it is not of much value, but it is undeniable that this copyist still has a certain level, and the level of copying is quite good!

If it's under $1,000, it's still worth buying, and it's a good decoration to hang at home, and you can feel a bit of the artist's artistic atmosphere!"

Ye Tian did not completely deny this oil painting, but still gave a certain amount of praise.

But the two old men no longer look down on this kind of goods, and naturally they have no desire to make a move.

This is just a copy, why did it surprise Ye Tian and his eyes lit up?

Because this oil painting shows a completely confusing illusion, its true value and secret are hidden in the depths, under the copying work!

The first time he saw this oil painting, Ye Tian immediately discovered the extraordinary value of this oil painting.

Judging by the intensity of the light, it is certain that this oil painting was created in the 50s of the last century, more than 60 years ago!

In addition, there are 18 layers of charming halos on the exterior of this painting, indicating that it has extraordinary artistic value, it is a top work of art, and it is definitely from the hands of a master!

It is obviously impossible for a copy to have such extraordinary value, and under this copy, there must be a secret hidden, and it is likely to be a top-notch painting!

Whose work would it be? What would it be the famous stolen artwork?

With these questions, Ye Tian immediately turned on the perspective and looked at the paintings on the display table excitedly.

Looking through the distance, he instantly saw through the oil painting on the display table, and all the secrets were clearly presented in his eyes!

Simple tones, grotesque styles, exaggerated shapes, deformed faces, distorted and broken faces, and painful, disillusioned, bestial horrors!

At the first glance of this hidden painting, Ye Tian had already got the answer.

This is a painting by Francis Bacon, no doubt about it!

Francis Bacon.

An Irish-born British painter hailed as the greatest British painter of the twentieth century, he often painted disgusting images with deformed figures or sick figures.

But these grotesque images profoundly reveal the catastrophe of the world and humanity, and he deliberately emphasizes the ugliness of human beings and the expression of pain and struggle.

In addition, he often reworked famous paintings such as photographs, pictorials, and prints to create portraits that reflected his inner visions and pain.

Bacon was already quite famous during his lifetime, but his paintings were not accepted by the public, and even very repulsed!

It was not until after his death that his reputation and popularity began to gradually increase, and his works gradually gained the admiration and respect of the public.

Of course, the voices of rejection and criticism are also endless!

In recent years, his paintings have become market darlings, chased and sought after by countless people, and the price of his works is like a rocket, constantly soaring wildly!

His most recent painting sold for $142 million for "Freud's Portrait Study" (triptych), which sold for the hammer at Christie's in New York!

The painting in front of me is not a Freud Portrait Study, it is the first batch of works after the sudden change of Bacon's painting style in the fifties, and it is also of extraordinary artistic value and great research value!

Soon, Ye Tian recognized the identity and origin of this painting.

This is "George Dyer", a famous painting stolen in London a few years ago, there is information about this painting in the catalog of stolen art, and there is also a reward issued by the British police, the amount is not low!

After confirming that it was the stolen artwork, Ye Tian began to observe other details.

Soon, he discovered another situation that was so amazing that it even left him jaw-dropping.