AI Identifies Lost F.C.B. Cadell Painting Bought for Under $100

A painting bought for under $100 at a White Plains, New York thrift store in the 1960s has been identified as a work by Scottish Colorist F.C.B. Cadell, thanks to Google's AI assistant Gemini. The portrait, titled Interior: The Lady in Black, sold at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh for £189,200 ($254,000) in June 2025. Helene Plotkin, an art history major, purchased the painting decades ago. In late 2025, her son Barry uploaded a photo to Gemini, which identified Cadell's signature and directed him to a label on the back, revealing the work had been sold at Christie's London in 1966 for £21. The auction house specialists, however, corrected Gemini's misidentification of the sitter as May Easter, not Miss Don Wauchope. The painting dates to the mid-1920s, Cadell's prime period, and features his signature motifs: a red chair, embroidered cloak, and blue-and-white coffee set. Lyon & Turnbull sold its first Cadell exactly 100 years ago, and the work sold within its presale estimate of £150,000–£200,000. Cadell's auction record stands at £874,000 for Reflection at Sotheby's London in 2018. Experts caution that AI tools have limits; Carina Popovici of Art Recognition noted that specialized scholarship often relies on inaccessible archival material.