Mechanic reaps windfall from art in Connecticut dumpster

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A trove of paintings and other artwork found in an abandoned barn in Connecticut has turned out to be worth millions. Jared Whipple, an auto mechanic from Waterbury, retrieved the pieces from a barn in Watertown in 2017 after a contractor notified him about them. Whipple later found out they were by Francis Hines, an abstract expressionist who died in 2016 at 96. Hines was renowned for his “wrapping” pieces, in which fabric is wrapped around an object. Whipple is collaborating with a gallery to exhibit some of the works in Connecticut and New York beginning next month (May 2022).