KEY POINTS:
When Elizabeth Gibson spotted a canvas in a New York dumpster three years ago, she claimed it as her own. The picture of three standing figures looked good on her wall, and would have stayed there, had she not been curious about its origins.
Her research revealed it was by Rufino Tamayo and valued at US$1 million ($1.36 million).
The painting had been stolen and dumped and the original owner has now been reunited with it.
Gibson has been left with a reward of just US$15,000 and a hole on her living room wall.
