Signed Picasso print found by Ohio man at thrift store

Zachary Bodish recently sold the print he bought for $14. It went for $7,000

Thrift stores may normally be known for carrying rags, but one man has found a lot of riches from an item he purchased there.

Zachary Bodish of Ohio paid $14.14 for a poster that ended up being an original signed Pablo Picasso print and recently sold it for $7,000, according to the Associated Press. The person who acquired the art is a private buyer who wishes to remain anonymous.

"A pretty good return," said the 46-year-old Bodish to the Associated Press. "Can't get that at a bank."

Bodish said to The Columbus Dispatch the only thing he is allowed to say about the buyer is, "He raises thoroughbreds and he's sort of a big deal."

Bodish, who used to work at an arts centre before being laid off a few years ago, bought the print because of its high quality. It wasn't until he got home that he noticed that the co-founder of the Cubist movement signed the paper.

"I started shaking a little bit," he said to the Dispatch after he found the print a few weeks ago. "I realized it wasn't going to make me rich, but still, how often do you find a Picasso?"

After the story made news in Ohio, 72-year-old retired teacher Ed Zettler came forward saying he gave the print to the thrift store. According to the Daily News, Zettler donated the print after it sat in his house for years.

While many people would be kicking themselves for giving away something like that and hiring lawyers to prove they own the picture, Zettler appears to be taking it in stride.

"I gave it away. Someone else found it. He fortunately saw more. It's his," Zettler told the Associated Press. "That's the risk you take when you bring something to the thrift store."

According to the Associated Press, art experts say Picasso designed the print for a 1958 ceramics exhibition in France. The one Bodish just sold is marked as sixth in a set of 100 signed by the artist.