A painting bought for just $30 at a Michigan estate sale is now expected to fetch up to $250,000 after beingidentified as a lost work by Chicago surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie.

The buyer noticed `Abercrombie, `51` written on it and later spotted a photo of the painting in its original frame at an Abercrombie exhibition. Art historian Susan Weininger authenticated it as a 1951 work depicting seashells from the collection of Chicago alderman Robert Merriam.

Abercrombie had given the painting to doctor John Reynolds in 1952 in exchange for a medical procedure. It remained with his family for about 75 years before being sold at the estate sale.

Titled Alderman Merriam`s Shells, the painting will be auctioned by Freeman`s and is expected to sell for $150,000 to $250,000.•