If you own equine art, you may want to go out and get some of it appraised. An equine painting that was purchased at a 2015 auction for roughly $18,000 was sold this past January for roughly $6.7 million.

News of the skyrocketing value of the painting comes courtesy of an article by horsetalk.co.nz, which explains that the painting was originally considered to be a work by a follower of the style of Sir Anthony van Dyck.

The painting then underwent some work in the months that followed the 2015 auction. When it reemerged at the Sotheby’s Auction in New York in January of this year, it was 26 centimetres slimmer and no longer had its landscape background.

It was revealed at the Sotherby’s auction that the piece was not by a follower of van Dyck, but was a newly discovered work that goes by the name of ‘Study of a Horse with Rider,’ an early 17th century piece by the celebrated artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens. The horsetalk.co.nz article explains that it is believed that the landscape had been added to the piece in France at some point during the 19th century.

Rubenshuis Museum Director Ben van Beneden and Rubenianum Director Professor Arnout Balis have both confirmed the piece as being Study of a Horse with Rider by Sir Peter Paul Rubens.

“The emphasis of the painting is clearly on the balance and pose of the horse itself; the careful weighting of the legs; the raised rear left leg; and the poise with which the rider is seated in the saddle,” the Sotherby’s catalogue notes explain.

“Rubens was an enthusiastic rider, and the study demonstrates not only his facility for painting animals, but also his deep understanding of horses and horsemanship.”

(Please note that the sales prices for the painting have been converted to Canadian funds for the sake of this story. For the exact sales prices in their original currencies, please refer to the horsetalk.co.nz article by clicking here.)

(With files from horsetalk.co.nz)