In a story with multiple connections to Montgomery County, a rediscovered painting by North Wales artist William B. T. Trego (1858–1909), has sold for $14,000. That’s 190 percent of its highest estimate. Sarah Cascone reported the transaction for Artnet.

Trego, who was so paralyzed he needed two hands to hold one brush, burst onto the art scene in 1879 with The Charge of Custer at Winchester. He first exhibited the prize-winning work at the Michigan State Fair.

The canvas was believed lost for generations, before resurfacing at the Hindman Auction House in Chicago.

“I was and still am stunned by the reappearance of the painting, as it had achieved a kind of legendary status among those of us who care about Trego’s work,” said Joseph P. Eckhardt, author of the artist’s catalogue raisonné.

Eckhardt learned about Trego after retiring from Montgomery County Community College. A North Wales librarian showed him clippings about the artist’s life, leading Eckhardt to research him.

Trego is also known for his locally significant vision of Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army. That painting, The March to Valley Forge now hangs at the Museum of the American Revolution in Phila.

Read more about William B. T. Trego in Artnet.

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A video on Joseph P. Eckhardt’s book on artist William B. T. Trego, So Bravely & So Well.