Matisse, Monet, Turner... Hitler?

A set of paintings and sketches purportedly done by a young Adolf Hitler sold at auction Thursday for 97,672 pounds ($143,358).

Among the 15 pictures is a portrait of solitary figure dressed in brown peering into wine-colored waters. The date is 1910, the signature reads "A. Hitler" and scribbled just over the mysterious figure are the letters: "A.H."

Mullocks, the auction house that conducted the sale, vouched for the authenticity and said they were acquired at the end of WWII by a British soldier serving in Germany.

The "mystery" portrait sold for about 10,000 pounds ($14,600). Buyer John Ratledge, 46, said he planned to hang it at home or in his office.

Hearst Castle Paintings Return Home - To Holocaust Survivors

We never cease to be amazed by the circuitous, often tortured routes items that come to us and other collectors often take. This came home to us again this week after three distinctive paintings, mainstays of the art collection on display at William Randolph Hearst's famed "Castle," turned out to have been acquired during a coerced sale of Jewish assets by Nazi "buyers."

The paintings are being returned to the family of two Holocaust survivors and, oh, what they have seen in their lives.

Investigators determined the paintings belong to the heirs of Jacob and Rosa Oppenheimer. They were deeded to the state of California by the Hearst Corporation in 1972 as part of the transfer of the Castle to the state park system.

William Randolph Hearst, who didn't know the ownership history, acquired the paintings from a Berlin gallery in 1935.

Da Vinci Emerges from a Collection in Basilicata

Some beautiful things coming out of the weeds these days as historians expand their reach for interesting bits of history.

One such item was a lovingly rendered portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, discovered the in the art collection of a family in Italy's southern Basilicata region. The artist is unknown and there is damage, but the initial consensus among experts is that the wood supporting the canvas dates to the late 15th or early 16th century - when Leonardo was known to be among us.

The newly discovered portrait, partially damaged by scratches and measuring some 60 by 45 centimeters (24 by 18 inches), shows Leonardo wearing dark robes and a black, feathered hat.

FBI Tracing Treasure Trove of Art

Leslie James Skelton
Pike's Peak from Manitou Peak, Colorado - one of several dozen paintings found in the apartment of William M.V. Kingsland.

More than 300 works of art—paintings, sketches, sculptures, and other pieces by such artists as Pablo Picasso, John Singleton Copley, Alberto Giacometti, Giorgio Morandi, and Eugene Boudin — were discovered in this man's apartment after his death.

Well known in New York City’s art circles as an engaging and intelligent connoisseur of art, books, architecture, and genealogy. But when he died, he left no will… and no apparent heirs to claim the floor-to-ceiling stacks of paintings and art works crammed into his one-bedroom apartment man of which have been confirmed as stolen, according to the FBI.

For more info, click HERE and help solve the riddle of a mysterious man's mysterious past.