Madison Neighborhood Auctions Off Mystery Painting, Raises Money

MADISON, WI— A year ago, Madison resident Morgan Robertson woke up to find a large painting of two old-fashioned figures fidgeting with toy sailboats — described by many as “mayonnaise” for its blandness — hanging from a stray nail on his fence.

In his initial amusement and confusion, Robertson posted about the scene in the Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara or SASY Neighborhood Facebook group. Quickly stirring up speculation, the painting became the talk of the chat—enough so that Robertson decided to auction it off amongst the group members.

The auction raised about $800 for the Madison social justice organization Freedom Inc. which Robertson said was a way for the community to come together and do something positive during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid the backdrop of protests against police brutality.

“It was a nice moment in the middle of the pandemic, where we just got to laugh at something together,” Robertson said. “We can laugh at it, but can also do something good with it.”

And the impact lives on. The winning bidder, a local artist Wendi Kent, will receive the canvas in a few weeks to repurpose it and donate the profits from the new piece to a racial justice organization as well, Robertson explained.

The SASY Neighborhood is known for its quirkiness, affluence and active community—and this painting incident is one of the most SASY things to happen, Robertson said.

“We can all celebrate the quirkiness of a neighborhood that is affluent and not going through any of the major struggles that a lot of neighborhoods in Madison and up the road and down the road and other big cities are, so let's also do something," he said. "Why not?”

Beyond enthusiasm, of course, the neighborhood group also exploded with snarky comments and plenty of jokes at the expense of the painting—with comments like “is this new guerilla marketing for a Decemberist album?” or “this thing looks like it belongs on a Precious Moments plate,” Robertson joked.

The origins of the painting, which would later come to be informally named “White Nonsense,” mostly remain a mystery.

Based on one Facebook comment, Robertson said it is believed someone in the area bought it intending to paint over it, but eventually put it at the end of their driveway with the hopes someone would take it.

Still, no one has come forward admitting to hanging the painting on Robertson’s fence.

As if the situation could get any quirkier, Robertson explained, the painting is on a temporary loan to SASY resident, Caitlin Tefft to use as a backdrop for her two cats’ quinceañera photo shoot.

Tefft said she could get the cats to keep the quinceañera tutus on but having them sit still in front of the painting was a dealbreaker. As for the auction, Tefft said it was a great idea and something she wanted to participate in to raise some money during such an upsetting time in the world.

And, it encapsulated the spirit of the SASY Neighborhood.

“The SASY Facebook page is kind of notorious for being pretty ridiculous, and it can definitely get very obnoxious at times and highlight the worst of us, but sometimes it really hits the nail on the head of what is so delightful about our neighborhood—the humor, the generosity, and the kindness,” Tefft said.