A Lawrence family is hoping that perhaps by way of a Christmas miracle, they can reunite with a painting they treasured for decades until it was accidentally sold in an estate sale.
Kira Alexander grew up in Lawrence and now lives in New Hampshire, but she is home for the holidays with her family. This year, she’s trying to give her family a little magic by bringing the painting back home.
Her grandfather, Jay Alexander, was a stone carver with the Lawrence Arts Guild and a big art collector, she said.
He died in September 2023, and the painting was sold at the estate sale in May 2024 on Republic Road.
“There were just a lot of moving pieces, a lot of people, and someone had accidentally sold it without understanding the importance and how meaningful and sentimental it was,” Alexander said.
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The small painting, which depicts a male Northern cardinal looking at his own reflection in a window, was given to him by artist and friend Charlotte Hastings in the 1980s, Alexander said. Hastings, who died in April, lived in Lawrence for decades and “proudly sold her pieces all over the United States,” according to her obituary.
“My mom said he always loved how it was the cardinal looking at itself in the reflection, because, as I have recently found, it’s hard to find any paintings that portray them that way,” Alexander said. “So he loved how unique it was.”
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For Alexander’s mother, having the painting back would mean everything, she said.
“Just being able to have art that not only he had, but he had for so long while she was growing up — this feels like having that piece of her childhood back,” Alexander said.
Alexander said she’s very appreciative and touched by how much the community has tried to help spread the word about the painting. She made a social media post that has been shared almost 200 times over the last few days.
“Being able to see just how much Lawrence would come together as a community was shocking to me, so that’s been a really touching moment, especially around the holidays,” she said.
Alexander said she’s keeping her fingers crossed. If a Christmas miracle doesn’t work out, New Year’s would be just fine, too.
“My mom’s birthday is in January, so a birthday miracle I can take, too,” Alexander said.
Anyone who can help the family reconnect with the painting can email her at k.alexander.phd@gmail.com.
“It was priced at $20 and we would be willing to pay more to have it back home for her,” Alexander wrote in her post.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Have you seen this painting? Lawrence family hopes to reunite with cherished work of art
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Have you seen this painting? Lawrence family hopes to reunite with cherished work of art
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