A painting that hung for decades over Elizabeth Taylor's fireplace in Southern California just sold in New York for $2.1 million, about double what it was predicted to fetch. According to the Associated Press, "Its presale estimate had been $700,000 to $1 million." Poor Taylor: She loved the painting until her death, but never knew just how valuable it was or even if it was real. Called simply Portrait of a Man (or Portrait if a Gentleman, Half-Length, Black Coat, according to Bloomberg) it was only recently found to be a genuine work by the Dutch artist Frans Hals, painted in 1630. That happened in October, seven months after Taylor died in March. But even though she never knew how valuable or historic it was, it's kind of touching to hear how much she loved it. "In 1956, while recuperating from back surgery at New York Presbyterian Medical Center, she had her hospital room decorated with 'Portrait of a Man' and several other paintings, including a Renoir and Monet," the Associated Press reported. 

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Adam Martin