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A CT mechanic found hundreds of pieces of art in a dumpster. They’re worth
'millions.'
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Living


A CT MECHANIC FOUND HUNDREDS OF PIECES OF ART IN A DUMPSTER. THEY’RE WORTH
'MILLIONS.'

Adriana Morga
April 8, 2022Updated: April 8, 2022 12:50 p.m.


Jared Whipple, a car mechanic from Waterbury, Conn., found a large art
collection from Francis Hines in a trash container in Watertown, Conn. in 2017.

Contributed by Jared Whipple

In September of 2017, as a barn in Watertown was being cleared to be sold, the
contractor found large canvases with car parts painted on them. The space and
its contents had been deemed "abandoned," so he called his friend Jared Whipple,
a car mechanic from Waterbury, because he thought he might like them. 



The next day, Whipple went to the dumpster where he said retrieved the hundreds
of art pieces wrapped in plastic and covered in dirt. He later discovered the
art was created by Francis Hines, a Washington, D.C.-born artist that resided in
Connecticut and New York. According to an art curator, the pieces are
collectively worth "millions" of dollars. 

"I immediately started researching," said Whipple, who spent the next four years
doing research on Hines and contacting the artist's friends and family. 

Now, Whipple has collaborated with Hollis Taggart, which has galleries in
Southport and New York City, to build a large exhibit of Hines' work. The
exhibit will showcase and offer for sale 35 to 40 pieces of the found art from
May 5 to June 11 at both Hollis Taggart Southport and New York galleries.

Jared Whipple, a car mechanic from Waterbury, found a large art collection from
Francis Hines in a dumpster in Watertown in 2017.

Contributed by Jared Whipple


Jared Whipple, a car mechanic from Waterbury, found a large art collection from
Francis Hines in a dumpster in Watertown in 2017.

Contributed by Jared Whipple

Art curator and historian Peter Hastings Falk estimates that Hines' "wrapped"
paintings can be sold at around $22,000 and his drawings at around $4,500 —
which would make the collection found by Whipple to be worth millions of dollars
if sold in its entirety. Whipple did not disclose exactly how many pieces he
retrieved from the trash but said there are some he will not sell.


When Whipple originally found the pieces, his first thought was to hang them in
his indoor skateboard park in Waterbury called "The Warehouse" for Halloween.
But after finding out about the artist behind the collection, which included
paintings, sculptures and small drawings, he decided against it and started
contacting people in the art world. 

"I've always been a mechanic and I'm known in the skateboarding world but not in
the art world. So trying to get people to even open your emails and take you
seriously was a huge challenge," said Whipple.  


5
1of5

Jared Whipple and George Martin, a car mechanic and contractor who found a large
art collection from Francis Hines in a dumpster in Watertown back in 2017.

Contributed by Jared WhippleShow MoreShow Less 2of5

Jared Whipple and George Martin, a car mechanic and contractor who found a large
art collection from Francis Hines in a dumpster in Watertown back in 2017.

Contributed by Jared WhippleShow MoreShow Less 3of5

Jared Whipple, a car mechanic from Waterbury who found a large art collection
from Francis Hines in a dumpster in Watertown, standing in front of Hines'
painting. 

Contributed by Jared WhippleShow MoreShow Less 4of5

Jared Whipple, a car mechanic from Waterbury who found a large art collection
from Francis Hines in a dumpster in Watertown, standing in front of Hines'
painting. 

Contributed by Jared WhippleShow MoreShow Less

5of5
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The first person in the art field that became interested in Whipple's findings
was Muldoon Elger, a retired art dealer who owned the Vorpal Gallery in San
Francisco. Elger, who had exhibited Hines' work in the 1980s, connected Whipple
to Hastings Falk. 

"I was so intrigued. I went there to his garage to look at the paintings. I was
just really surprised at what I saw," said Hastings Falk.

> View this post on Instagram
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A post shared by Hollis Taggart (@hollistaggart)

Comparing Hines' work to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's art, Hastings Falk was most
intrigued by the artist's wrapping art. Wrapping is an art technique in which
fabric is tightly wrapped around an object. Christo and Jeanne-Claude are known
for their wrapping installations across Europe — their most famous being the Arc
de Triomphe in Paris. In his career, Hines wrapped more than 10 buildings in New
York, including the Washington Square Arch, JFK Airport and the Port Authority
Bus Terminal.



The Washington Square Arch is wrapped by artist Francis Hines circa 1980 in New
York City. (Photo by PL Gould/IMAGES/Getty Images)

Images Press/Getty Images

"Hines is really New York's wrapper," said Hastings Falk, who mentioned that
while Christo and Jeanne-Claude are the most known wrappers, they never did work
in the city. Hines is considered an abstract expressionist master and his style
was uniquely innovative, according to Hastings Falk.

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> View this post on Instagram
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A post shared by Jared Whipple @Thewarehousect (@francis_hines_)

Hines developed his career in New York's Greenwich Village and kept his life's
work store in the Watertown barn where Whipple found the art. The artist died in
2016 at age 96 and has two living sons living in New York and Florida. 



During his research, Whipple also found friends and family of Hines and started
to build an archive of his career; he even became friends of the artist's
family, he said, who have allowed him to keep and sell the art. In late 2021,
Whipple showed some pieces at a retrospective exhibit for the Mattatuck Museum
in Waterbury titled "Discovering New York's Wrapper: The Art of Francis Hines."
He didn't offer any pieces for sale at that exhibit.


A few months ago, Whipple decided to sell some of the art that he found with the
intention of getting Hines' name recognized in the art world. He learned that
artwork is taken seriously after it is sold for great large sums of money, he
said. After the exhibit at Hollis Taggart, Whipple hopes to get Hines' work to
major New York galleries, he said. 

> View this post on Instagram
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A post shared by The Warehouse CT (@thewarehousect)

"I pulled it out of this dumpster and I fell in love with it. I made a
connection with it," said Whipple, adding that he hopes to make Hines an
established name in the art world. "My purpose is to get Hines into the history
books," he said.



 







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Written By
Adriana Morga
Reach Adriana on
Adriana Morga is a Trending Reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Born in
Tijuana, Mexico, Morga has spent her developing career covering the Latino
community for English and Spanish-language publications, including KQED, The
Dallas Morning News' Al Dia newspaper, KALW and El Tecolote. Morga holds a
journalism degree from San Francisco State University.
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