$30 painting sells for $1.35 million at auction in US. A painting by Chicago artist Gertrude Abercrombie, bought for just $30 at a Michigan estate sale, has sold for $1.35 million at auction. "Alderman Merriam's Shells," painted in 1951, had disappeared for over 70 years. Its sale set a world auction record for Abercrombie, whose surrealist work has gained renewed attention among collectors.