Art historian Kristiina Tiideberg discovered Faehlmann's portrait at an American art auction and successfully bid on it for the Art Museum of Estonia.

"There's a wonderful story of collegial cooperation behind this discovery. Our colleagues at the History Museum sent information to the Art Museum about some fascinating Baltic German artworks appearing at auctions. I thought, why rely only on others' observations when it's actually quite easy to monitor these auctions myself," she said.

The portrait had been listed at the auction as a painting of an unknown man with blue eyes.

"When I saw the work, I felt that I had seen this blue-eyed man before, in articles and publications from the late 1930s that discussed various portraits of Faehlmann and described what he looked like, and I compared those images with the portrait," Tiideberg explained.

"Faehlmann was one of the first educated Estonians to be portrayed in a dignified way. He is a very important figure in Estonian cultural history, who also initiated the idea of writing the epic 'Kalevipoeg.' He was one of the founders of the Learned Estonian Society and promoted the National Awakening," the art historian noted.

"This is a very important work for our cultural history. It is one of the earliest portraits of Faehlmann and the only oil painting ever made of him. The first mention of this painting appeared in the Estonian press in 1935," the art historian told "Ringvaade."

There were 18 bids placed at the auction, and the final price was $2,000.

"I'd be willing to bet that the other bidders were also Estonians. For Americans, a portrait of an unknown man by an unknown artist would hardly have generated that much interest. We can see that the prices of other Estonian artworks are also rising at auctions held outside Estonia," Tiideberg said.

The painting is now on display at the Niguliste Museum.

Faehlmann (1798 – 1850) was a researcher of Estonian language, culture, and history. He was of Estonian origin. Faehlmann studied medicine and earned his living as a doctor until the end of his life. In the second half of his life, however, he became one of the most important local estophiles to contribute to the appreciation of Estonian national culture through his academic research and the creation of his original fiction. Read more about him here.

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