Warren Johnson, a local contractor, was cleaning out an outbuilding on a job site north of Durango in 2019 when he uncovered something unusual lying facedown beneath an old rug: a hand-drawn portrait of a young woman dated 1945.
Johnson immediately noticed the details and bright colors that had remained intact. He believes the rug helped preserve the sketch from the effects of time.
“I mean, it looks like it was drawn yesterday, other than the fact that the paper is really, really old and there’s pieces, you know – I didn’t get the whole thing,” he said.
The artist signed and dated the sketch “K. Costas ’45.” Marks on what remain of the edges of the paper indicate it may have been framed in the past, but no remnants of a frame were found with the sketch.
Johnson recently rediscovered the sketch and now hopes to reunite it with the artist, the family of the artist or its rightful owner.
“It’s stood the test of time, and you never know if the person is still alive that drew it,” he said.
The Animas Museum has no record of a K. Costas in a photographic collection, graduation record or cemetery record in the area. Nor does the sketch match any art in the museum’s collection. The portrait was found at an outbuilding along County Road 203, south of Trimble Lane.
Johnson said it is not uncommon to find dated artifacts at local job sites.
“I was on a job site (several years ago) and I saw something winking at me through the dirt,” he said. “I thought it was a piece of glass at first, and then finally went over and looked at what it was, and it was a spoon from Niagara Falls Silver Co. dated 1877.”
The portrait, he said, is by far his most interesting find. He would like to return it to its rightful owner, whether that is the artist or the subject of the drawing.
Johnson said he loves history and the stories it tells. He hopes to solve the mystery of the portrait.
Anyone with information about the portrait or its artist is asked to contact Johnson at 764-0058.
An earlier version of this story erred in saying the Animas Museum runs the Animas Cemetery. The cemetery is run by the city of Durango.
