with maria on foxbusiness. i hope you'll start your day with me every weekday. that will do it for us for today, thank you so much for joining us from all of us here at wall street, we all wish you and your family a beautiful christm >> three brothers, one strange picture. >> i always thought, why did we have a painting like that in our dining room? >> it stirs up the sale of the century. >> $750. do have $750 right her. >> oh, my god. i'm thinking, what is this? >> are you thinking that thele g a mistake, or they know something that you don't? >> they know something that i don't.'ll take you $300,000. >> it was a complete shock. >> $830,000. >> he said, "amy, it was a rembrandt." >> not so fast. >> so, it is possible that this thing turns out not to be? >> totally. [ applause ] [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]

[ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, heading toward the garden state parkway. i'm meeting a couple of jersey boys who had an old painting in the basement. could it really be a rembrandt? think you're heard a stranger "inheritance" story? forget about it! >> i'm ned landau. neither i, nor my brothers, roger, and steven, had any idea that our mother had left us something so valuable. >> neither did the auction guy up the highway. >> but people around the world were watching. >> hi. how are you guys? i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie.e to new jersey. >> thanks for coming out on such a rainy day. ned, steven, and roger landau grew up here in north jersey, just outside of new york city. >> two parents, three boys, on a street where there's lots of other kids. >> our father had a small chemical company.

they made coatings and industrial finishes. >> three boys can't be easy for your mom. what was she like? >> she was an expert yoga professional, and this was well before yoga was a thing. my mother was almost like a flower child. >> lyla landau was raised in paterson, new jersey, known in the earliest 20th century as silk city, due to its flourishing fabric industry. >> a lot of jewish textile workers who were escaping persecution in eastern europe all came to paterson. as the american dream goes, many of them ended up owning silk companies, and our grandfather was one of them. >> grandpa phil makes his fortune in the silk trade, but then loses it after the great depression. the last remnants of mom's family wealth, a silver collection, some fine china,

and half-a-dozen paintings hanging throughout the house. >> we had art on the walls of our house, and i can't say i particularly appreciated it. >> there's a venetian cityscape hanging over the couch, and a large parisian street scene. the eldest brother ned always wondered about another one of the paintings. >> what was the painting of? >> somebody in a chair, passed out, and there was two people trying to revive the passed out person. >> that could freak a kid out,r. >> i remember thanksgiving or family holidays, i would always look at that painting and think -- >> really? i never even noticed it. [ laughs ] >> yes, it was there. i always looked at it as a kid, because i thought, why did we have a painting like that in our dining room? >> that painting and the others remained on the walls of the family house for decades. mom dies in 2010

at the age of 80. a year later, their dad walter passes away. when the landau brothers inherit their parents' home in 2011, they follow the standard drill for liquidating a family estate. >> we had a garage sale. but there were a few things, like the china and some silver things that looked very nice, and we thought, well, we don't really want to just give 'em away like that. >> so mom's good stuff goes into the "save" pile. four years later, the landau brothers finally decide to have a long overdue estate sale, and what happens next is incredible, even for "strange inheritance." >> i got a phone call from roger, and he said, "are you sitting down?" >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question. before it was silk city, paterson was called "the cradle of the industrial revolution in america. who put the city on the map?

is it...? the answer after the break. ♪ do you recall, not long ago ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ all we need is someone to lean on ♪ a former army medic, made of the we maflexibility to handle members like kate. whatever monday has in store and tackle four things at once. so when her car got hit, she didn't worry. she simply filed a claim on her usaa app and said... i got this. usaa insurance is made the way kate needs it - easy.

she can even pick her payment plan so it's easy on her budget and her life. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa (thud) (crash) (grunting) (whistle) play it cool and escape heartburn fast with tums chewy bites cooling sensation. ♪ tum tu-tu-tum tums cooling sensation. as a doctor, i agree with cdc guidance. i recommend topical pain relievers first... like salonpas patch large. it's powerful, fda-approved to relieve moderate pain, yet non-addictive and gentle on the body. salonpas. it's good medicine. hisamitsu.

now you can, with shipsticks.com! no more lugging your clubs through the airport or risk having your clubs lost or damaged by the airlines. sending your own clubs ahead with shipsticks.com makes it fast & easy to get to your golf destination. with just a few clicks or a phone call, we'll pick up and deliver your clubs on-time, guaranteed, for as low as $39.99. shipsticks.com saves you time and money. make it simple. make it ship sticks. >> so, who made paterson, new jersey, the cradle of the industrial revolution in america? it's alexander hamilton, who helped found the city in 1791. he wanted to harness the

hydropower of the passaic river's great falls to secure economic independence from british manufacturers. >> by 2015 in new jersey, the landau brothers have been storing stuff left from their parents' estate in roger's basement for four years. >> it was in the way of the ping pong table, and he wanted to, apparently, clear out some space. >> roger decides to take action before his table tennis game gets too rusty. >> i got around to calling an auctioneer, someone whose name i saw advertised on the side of the garden state parkway. >> john nye is the auction guy. >> so i said, listen, i'll stop and see you on my way to work. >> nye liquidates estates, some big fortunes like luther vandross and perry como's, and a lot of more modest ones like the landaus. you went to his house, what'd you see? >> he takes me down to the

basement. my initial reaction was, i was loving the silver. the paintings were beautiful, but not remarkable. >> nye schleps the stuff over to his auction house to examine each piece and price it for sale. he values some of those silver pieces, which roger was optimistic about, for a few hundred dollars each, and a sterling centerpiece bowl at about $2,000. >> you have a couple of interesting things. >> it's a nice group. >> tchotchkes. >> bingo. >> nye estimates the signed painting of a parisian boulevard could fetch about 500 bucks. not bad. he titles the unsigned smelling salts painting, "triple portrait with lady fainting," and describes it as "continental school, 19th century." >> it's got varnish that has crazed and crackled, and paint loss on the board.

it's not a beautiful painting, and the people sitting in the picture are not beautiful people. it was remarkably unremarkable. >> nye estimates the 9x7-inch picture is worth, say, $500. the heirs aren't even counting on that. >> we thought, if anything, the silver would have some value. >> when the auction day arrives in september 2015, a few bidders phone in. that's when the folks at the new jersey auction house realize there's probably something up with that remarkably unremarkable painting. >> it was just solid bidding, back and forth, back and forth. >> here's another quiz question for you. was rembrandt, the 17th century dutch master's...? the answer when we return. it took over 100 years

to perfect this masterpiece of italian design and performance... ...and about 15 minutes for us to paint one neon green and do this. blends right into the italian architecture! see everything you should never do with an alfa romeo... ...then experience everything you should on the road now. well-qualified lessees get a low mileage lease on the 2019 alfa romeo stelvio for $379 a month. step up, please. empty your pockets. looks like you're all set for that business trip. you've got your smartphone, laptop, your other smartphone... woman: is this all the devices you have? your tablet... seriously? smartwatch, your backup tablet, and... woman: anything else in your bag? ...whatever that is. (beeping) this isn't working. introducing samsung mobile workspace solutions. with the galaxy note10 with dex software,

you can run your entire business on the one device that does it all. samsung business solutions. may your holidays that dglow bright and all your dreams take flight. lease the glc 300 suv

for $439 a month with credit toward your first month's payment at the mercedes-benz winter event.

>> he was known simply as "rembrandt." so where did that name come from? it's the first name of dutch master rembrandt van rijn. >> in september 2015, in northern new jersey, the three landau brothers are auctioning off some family valuables. >> i guess, to a certain extent, it was just taking care of our parents' estate. >> if i get my, you know, few hundred dollars, i'll be extremely happy. >> their expectations are so modest, they don't even attend the sale. it happens that the auction falls right at the end of the jewish high holidays. >> it was yom kippur. and i'm not terribly observant, but i don't answer my phone. and i even forgot when the auction was happening.

>> expectations are also modest for auctioneer john nye, who's combined the brothers' items with inventory from a few other estate sales. >> we do press releases, we do advertising. it goes online for a two-week period, so people see what's being offered in the sale. >> did anyone express an unusual amount of attention to any of the items? >> no. >> a few days before the auction, three international bidders do express interest in lot 216, the "triple portrait." >> one called from london, one called from paris, and one called from germany. not particularly unusual. all they requested was the opportunity to be on the phone for that specific lot. >> john's wife kathy speaks to the mystery bidder from france. >> we're never allowed to use the phone bidder's name, because they don't want anyone else knowing who it is that we're calling. >> nye employee amy ludlow gets a curious inkling about her

german bidder. >> he said, "i just want you to know that it's really important, and i'm going to win this." >> auction day, september 22nd. john nye breezes through the first bunch of lots in about 45 minutes. the landau family's sterling silver centerpiece bowl sells for $2,100. that parisian street scene, $300. >> okay, our next lot is lot 216. >> then comes lot 216, "triple portrait with lady fainting." it's the one that used to hang in the family dining room, that the young landau boys thought was rather unappetizing. how much was the reserve? >> the estimate was $500-to-$800, and so the opening bid was $250. >> $250, right here. $500 is... >> ready to pounce, any's bidder from germany. >> my bidder definitely wanted to jump in right away. >> us right here, $500. >> so do a half-dozen other bidders.

>> $750. >> it reaches the high $800 estimate, and passes it. then kathy's french phone bidder enters the competition. >> he was a cool cucumber. he was so calm. every time i presented a bid, he would say, "yes." >> and all of a sudden, said, "$5,000," and, man, that happened in no time. >> everyone started creeping back into the sales room, and the bidding just kept going. >> the bidding rises to $80,000, then 100 grand. >> the guy from england gets blown out, and it's going back and forth between kathy, my wife, and amy. >> are you thinking that the people on the phone are making a mistake, or they know something that you don't? >> they know something that i don't. >> when it got up into the $100,000s, i just went, "oh, my gosh!", like this, and just kind of... >> $200,000. then amy's german bidder ups the ante. >> $300,000.

>> i'll take you $300,000. >> amy's bidder from germany jumps it to $300,000, and now i'm really smiling. >> kathy's frenchman is unfazed. he jumps the bidding to 400 grand. >> "we're at $450,000. would you like to bid?" "yes, bid." >> $500,000. >> i was in disbelief. [ laughs ] >> and the bids keep coming in steady increments to $600,000, then $700,000. >> $800,000 is the next bid. $800,000 right here. >> i was just writing down my bids. [ laughs ] >> $830,000. >> trying to keep it together. and my fellow from france, all he said was, "yes." >> i do have $860,000. >> finally, at $860,000, germany surrenders. >> he bowed out. >> sold! >> the painting goes to kathy's anonymous phone bidder in france, with commission, for $1,100,000. vive la france!

♪ best day in your auctioneer history? >> personal best, absolutely. it was so fun. >> but hang on, how could this odd painting that spent decades in a new jersey dining room, unnoticed and unremarked upon, be worth a million bucks? amy gets clued in by her losing german bidder. >> he said, "amy, it was a rembrandt." he said, "i've been looking for this painting my whole adult professional career." >> rembrandt? the rembrandt? the 17th century dutch master who liked to paint himself? how could that be? it's not every day a real rembrandt just pops up out of nowhere in jersey. >> in jersey? >> in jersey. in bloomfield, new jersey. >> where, this whole time, the landau brothers have been observing yom kippur, the jewish "day of atonement," with their phones turned off. >> maybe one, two days after

yom kippur, i returned his call. and i said, "oh, so how'd the auction go?", he said, "well, it actually went quite well." >> and your reaction is? >> i think i actually might've used some profanity. >> when roger called me and told me the amount, and i was -- my jaw just dropped. >> that's the one from the dining room, the one thatd you . >> that was it, yeah. >> it's now your favorite painting. >> right, that's one of rembrandt's best. >> well, in retrospect, john, was it within your scope to know that it's a rembrandt? >> that's a good question. i don't think so. because there was no indication that it was by a master. >> and at this point, no proof yet, either. that's right, despite that million dollar-plus bid, no one has actually verified whether the painting really is a rembrandt. so it is possible that the dealer may have gone all the way with this thing, and it turns out not to be? >> totally.

>> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. (vo) the flock blindly falls into formation. flying south for the winter. they never stray from their predetermined path. but this season, a more thrilling journey is calling. defy the laws of human nature. at the season of audi sales event. it's finally time for... geico sequels! classic geico heroes, starring in six new commercials, with jaw-dropping savings. vote for your favorites at: geico.com/sequels ahhh, which way do i go?! i don't know, i'm voting for our sequels.

with geico, the savings keep on going to a screen near you. not the leg! you dang woodchucks! geico sequels. vote and enter to win today! quitting smoking is freaking hard.st,s! like quitting every monday hard. quitting feels so big. so, try making it smaller. and you'll be surprised at how easily starting small... ...can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette but you don't feel good. with polycythemia vera, pv, symptoms can change so slowly over time you might not notice. but new or changing symptoms can mean your pv is changing. let's change the way we see pv. you track and discuss blood counts with your doctor. but it's just as vital to discuss changing symptoms as well. take notice and take action. discuss counts and symptoms with your doctor. visit takeactionpv.com discuss counts and symptoms with your doctor. it's been reported that there's a cyberattack on business every 39 seconds.

ouch. i don't even want to think about it. comcast business has a solution. we go beyond fast with a cloud-based security system that automatically updates, so you always have the latest protection. phishing. malware. risky sites. it can help block all of that. it's one less thing for us to worry about. comcast business securityedge automatically protects all the devices on your network. call 1-800-501-6000 today.

>> now, back to, "strange inheritance." >> in bloomfield, new jersey... >> sold! >> ...the hammer has just fallen on this curious painting, described as "triple portrait with lady fainting," for $1,100,000. auctioneer john nye is still reeling from the news that the art world believes it's a rembrandt. congratulations. >> thank you. i'm still smiling. >> how remarkable does this unremarkable painting now become? >> it's remarkable in the sense that it's not the type of dramatically lit individuals with the big hats and the ribbon collars that you see, and you just know, boom, that's a rembrandt. >> it's soon revealed that the winning phone bidder for the landau brothers' strange

inheritance is a french art dealer named bertrand gautier. but before the small painting can even be verified as a rembrandt, gautier resells it to a new york billionaire and rembrandt collector, named thomas kaplan for an undisclosed price rumored to be at least $3 million. what's going on here? >> these probably were his earliest-known works. >> art historian dennis heller explains that in the early 1600s, the young rembrandt van rijn, born in the dutch city of leiden, is studying art with some of the local masters. he will soon eclipse them all, but it's during this time that the teenage sensation creates a set of little-known paintings depicting the five senses -- touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. >> rembrandt's early works don't bring out this rembrandt-esque quality that we equate with the artist. early rembrandt has really only

been rediscovered in the last 50-to-60 years. >> rembrandt's paintings of touch, hearing, and sight are accounted for. in fact, thomas kaplan owns touch, and hearing, but the remaining two, taste, and smell have been lost for hundreds of years. >> we're all looking for the five senses. [ laughs ] >> so, it seems those european phone bidders had sniffed around and concluded that the landau brothers' strange inheritance must be the master's long-lost painting of smell. >> the fact that it's a triple portrait, it has people dressed in these outlandish clothes, and it's an allegory for one of the human senses, is what told the people in europe to look more closely at this painting. >> seems like someone might want to prove it's a rembrandt about now. curators working with billionaire thomas kaplan get down to work. lo and behold...

>> when they cleaned the painting, you could see that it was signed. rembrandt had a way of signing things, just with an "r," and when it was cleaned, there was an "r" there. >> case closed. >> what's so crazy about this story is that not one person in the united states recognized the significance of this remarkably unremarkable painting. an old master dealer came from the city, and sat in the front row.old master specialist comes and walks right past the rembrandt. >> yes. >> even after the painting's authenticated, we can only guess how it ended up in the landaus' new jersey home. >> would've come from europe at some point. i think the size had a lot to do with it being able to cross the atlantic. >> the landau brothers figure it's time to do a little sleuthing into the grandpa they barely knew. >> we learned that our grandfather phil liked on the weekends to drive from paterson into manhattan, and he would

hang out at this auction house. >> really? >> they sold estate sales from people who had apartments in manhattan. and so, i think that grandpa liked the idea of going and getting some real bargains on some artwork. >> none of them turned out to be valuable, except, says steven, for this one redeeming purchase. >> he was not known as an art collector, certainly, but he did choose that painting to buy. >> grandpa, you think, is winking down at you like... >> i think so, yeah. >> "nice work boys"? the landau brothers say they're a little sad that they're parents couldn't share in the excitement. >> if they had known about that painting, it would've meant so much to them. >> in march 2016, the restored painting, now officially titled, the, "unconscious patient: an allegory of smell," is unveiled to great fanfare in the

netherlands. today, it travels to museums all over the world as part of thomas kaplan's leiden collection, which now includes three-of-the-five senses. a dutch museum owns sight. what happened to taste is a mystery. >> it is an amazing story. and, you know, the money is great.not complaining about that at all. but the story's even better. >> your family in jersey. >> yeah. [ laughs ] in jersey, that's right. ♪ >> another mystery remains with the landau family. did grandpa phil know he had picked up a painting of such value? if he did, he sure kept it tight-lipped, says roger. but grandpa may have left a hint behind for his grandsons. when roger was cleaning out some of grandpa's old boxes, he found a big, dusty, old book -- the title, "the art of rembrandt." hmm. i'm jamie colby.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance," and remember, you can't take it with you. ♪ >> an expert gunsmith... >> anything i could imagine, i could build, just like that. >> ...with an eye for history... >> this is a copy of daniel boone's rifle. davy crockett rifle that hethe . over here, is a 12-pounder napoleon. >> ...and a goal in his sights. >> collection of every gun of major importance in the history of the united states.ut when itl the incredible arsenal... >> were you shocked? >> oh, yeah, of course. oh, yeah. >> ...it's his heirs who hear a blast from the past. >> what did you estimate that collection was worth at that time? >> probably a million dollars. that was a small load. if you put a big load in there it'll knock you on your fanny. ho!