One paper headlined the news: HER SUICIDE: HIS FORTUNE. The suicide was in oils, a painting of a fat and mostly naked Dido, stabbing herself with a sword.* The Oxfordshire lady who owned it figured it was not "a picture anyone would want about the house," sold it to an antique dealer for 50 shillings ($10). The dealer traded it to a salesman for a $56 typewriter, and it was the salesman, a bustling Briton named Henry Eric Wells, who made a small fortune last week from Dido's suicide. He showed the painting to...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
