This was the front page story in the Hamilton Spectator on Wednesday morning.

Mystery painting: Is it a Lawren Harris?

Dundas Valley School of Art auction
April 15, 2009

The Hamilton Spectator(Apr 15, 2009)

Is it or isn't it?

The buzz around this Saturday's 39th annual Dundas Valley School of Art auction, or at least one of the buzzes, is whether a certain unsigned painting, dated "1921 Canada," might actually be by Lawren Harris, of Group of Seven fame. The painting has the look, and DVSA executive director Arthur Greenblatt says, "Some people believe it's a Harris."
He's not saying whether he's one of them.
And, of course, there are skeptics, too.
But, adds Greenblatt, "There's no way to know for sure."

Yes or no, however, the very possibility enhances the overall entertainment value.
Greenblatt says there are always finds to be had at the Dundas auction.
"In 2006, there was an old, four-foot-square landscape attributed to Gustav de Briansky, a Polish artist working in Scotland, that I knew had a minimum bid of $600. But it caught people's interest and went for $4,000."

On Thursday, the first day of the previews, after TV coverage all day Wednesday on the mystery painting, I decided, due to a bit of hype and a bit of security, to remove the painting from the frame and replace it with a digital copy. I put up a sign letting customers know that the painting will be replaced on Saturday evening, in time for the live auction.

On Saturday, I dutifully took the painting to my office and removed the digital copy. I went to get the original and realized I had put it in a “safe place” and I had no idea where it was!

I searched for a few minutes, and then I calmly spoke to myself and carefully retraced, in my head, all the steps I took to lead me to hiding the piece.

It was wrapped in paper towels and put into an 11” x 14” envelope in a filing cabinet drawer. I did find it and was able to get it back into the frame.

We did get $2,900 for the painting.