Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold
Allow me to set the stage for those of you who have yet to make the mecca to Brimfield. Picture thousands of antique dealers set up in grassy / muddy / dusty fields, under tents (some not) with various wares on tables and on the ground. Fresh finds being pulled from inside trucks and from under tables, shoppers are chomping at the bit to find that needle in the haystack. 
I was more grounded that day and just wanted to buy something good. When I saw this hard edge, shaped canvas, abstract painting I knew that I had found it. Fresh from a NY apartment (yes, I live in NYC and bought this in Massachusetts from a NY dealer and then had to bring it back to NYC) I grabbed it as soon as it came off the truck. After I paid, I saw that it was signed. Illegibly, of course, because artists have horrible penmanship. I brought it back to my space and propped it up against my SUV. 
Then a dealer came by and asked a price. I told him that I would be bringing back to NYC and then to High Point, NC where I used to set up at a big show. Insert sour puss face. The dealer then proceeded to tell me how he knew the artist but wouldn’t tell me. Then he had the audacity to say that I would never be able to figure out the name so I might as well just take his offer of $500 and be happy. Excuse me? Oh yeah, it was on. I was prepared to go all the way with this painting now and if he thought he’d ever wind up with it he was sorely mistaken. 
In a short 30 minutes I had deciphered the signature and placed the work in the back of my SUV. $500 my foot. One month later I was in High Point set up and ready to sell. An interior designer came through and immediately bought the painting after I told her the whole story. Provenance with an attitude. And the dealer? I made sure to tell him what I sold it for the next time I saw him. ;-) hkv