Bakersfield Mist

Maude Gutman has bought the ugliest thrift store painting she could get her hands on as a gag gift. After the painting is rejected, Maude tries to offload it at a yard sale where she learns it might be much more than junk–it just might be the “find of the century,” an undiscovered Jackson Pollock painting. When Lionel Percy, a renowned art expert, arrives at Maude’s trailer to investigate the painting’s potential, the two embark on a fiery debate over class, truth, and what we personally perceive as valuable. Inspired by a true story, this National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere by Stephen Sachs asks, what makes a work of art truly authentic?