Junked Cars Found in a Sculptor’s Barn

Million of Classic Cars Found in Dutch Artist’s Barn

It’s every classic car enthusiast’s dream: a shed full of almost untouched precious rare classics. It happened to a French auction house late last year.

In a shed near the studio of a Dutch sculptor in Belgium were three Bugattis from the 1930s and a Citroen from the 1920s. They had been there almost untouched since the 1950s because the sculptor only used them as inspiration and model for his works, rather than as a means of transport for Sunday rides.

And a Citroen

You have to move two hundred soaked sandbags for it, but then you also have some. Matthieu Lamoure, general manager of the auction house Artcurial Motorcars, did not know what he was going to find when he recently came together with Mattie Pierre Novikov to investigate a Belgian barn. In any case, it was clear that someone had once deemed the content valuable enough to barricade the matter considerably. In addition to the sandbags, there was also a modern car between outsiders and the loot.

Barricades

The employees of the French auction house where the cars will be auctioned did not just come to the valuables. To do  this, they first had to remove nearly a hundred heavy sandbags that completely barricaded the barn doors. Behind it was an old Rover that was no longer driving and had to be towed away. Towing services were contacted (https://towingnearme.services/ ) for help and assistance.

When all those blockades were removed, the appraisers did not believe their eyes. The four precious cars were auctioned in France. They are expected to generate more than 1 million euros in total.

Sculptor Millionaire Who Came From Nothing

The sellers initially wanted to remain anonymous, but the website Classic and Sportscar already reports that it is the family of the Limburg sculptor August Thomassen. De Telegraaf published their story, which shows that they have always lived in poverty because Thomassen did not want to sell the cars. After a burglary in November, they realized that they could not insure the cars or store them safely enough. That is why the 95-year-old sculptor, who always lived in poverty and who bought the cars at the time for a habit of French farmers, now becomes a millionaire in one fell swoop.