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California couple unearths massive sculpture while digging in backyard –– and it could be worth a fortune

Nypost · · 520 words · By Sheetal Banchariya
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What to know about California couple unearths massive sculpture while digging in backyard –– and it could be worth a fortune

California couple unearths massive sculpture while digging in backyard –– and it could be worth a fortune See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 6
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

California couple unearths massive sculpture while digging in backyard –– and it could be worth a fortune See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The California Post on Google A routine landscaping project in San Francisco has turned into an art-world mystery after a couple unearthed a carved limestone sculpture in their backyard that they believe is linked to the city’s storied Art Deco past.

Common ground

Greg Gatwood and Judy Gitelson have several theories that hint at the sculpture’s possible connection with one of the city’s most influential artists, Ralph Stackpole.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/11/us-news/bay-area-couple-unearths-massive-sculpture…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
info Single Source 1
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Claim 1: “Gatwood said he was digging in his Russian Hill backyard in May when his shovel hit something unusual.”
CORROBORATED
Three separate web search results (NBC, KTVU FOX 2, and another news source) confirm Greg Gatwood was digging in his backyard in May when he found the sculpture.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2022. In these midterm elections, which occurred during incumbent Democratic president Joe Biden's term, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Repr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_elections
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web search NEUTRAL — Greg Gatwood was digging in his backyard in May when he found the sculpture. NBC. The couple lives directly across the street from the former San Francisco Art Institute, a historic training ground fo…
https://nypost.com/2026/08/11/us-news/bay-area-couple-uneart…
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web search NEUTRAL — Discovery while grading the yard. Dig deeperGatwood is continuing yard work around the heavy stone, while Gittelsohn is reaching out to art experts in hopes of tracing its origins and how it came to b…
https://www.ktvu.com/news/russian-hill-couple-finds-mysterio…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 2: “a couple unearthed a carved limestone sculpture in their backyard”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent news sources (Flipboard, NBC/Bay Area, KTVU FOX 2) confirm that a San Francisco couple unearthed a limestone sculpture in their backyard.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 826,079 in 2025. Am…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The San Francisco Bay Area is the cultural and economic center of Northern California. The region surrounds and includes San Francisco Bay, and is anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Giants
+ 4 more evidence sources
info
Claim 3: “The couple lives directly across the street from the former San Francisco Art Institute”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one specific news source (NBC) mentions that the couple lives directly across the street from the former San Francisco Art Institute. Other search results for 'Greg' are irrelevant.
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web search NEUTRAL — He is the host of the late-night comedy talk show Gutfeld!, [1] which was formerly aired on Saturday nights as The Greg Gutfeld Show from May 2015 until March 2021, when it was announced that the show…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Gutfeld
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web search NEUTRAL — Identify your plants in seconds and get smart, personalized care info.
https://greg.app/
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web search NEUTRAL — Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (sometimes spelled "Gregg") is also a surname.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg
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Claim 4: “Stackpole, a prominent figure in the San Francisco art world during the 1920s and ’30s, created major public works including statues for the old San Francisco Stock Exchange and murals inside Coit Tower.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that Ralph Stackpole was a leading artist in SF during the 20s/30s and created works for the Stock Exchange and Coit Tower is confirmed by both Wikipedia and news reports.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Coit Tower ( KOYT; also known as Coit Memorial Tower) is a 210-foot (64 m) tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California, overlooking the city and San Francisco Bay. The tower,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coit_Tower
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Pacific Exchange was an American regional stock exchange in California, from 1956 to 2006. Its main exchange floor and building were in San Francisco, California, with a branch building in Los Ang…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Exchange
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ralph Ward Stackpole (May 1, 1885 – December 10, 1973) was an American sculptor, painter, muralist, etcher and art educator, San Francisco's leading artist during the 1920s and 1930s. Stackpole was in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Stackpole
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 5: “Stackpole did teach there for years.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The NEHMA collection reference explicitly states that Stackpole taught at the San Francisco Art Institute.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ralph Ward Stackpole (May 1, 1885 – December 10, 1973) was an American sculptor, painter, muralist, etcher and art educator, San Francisco's leading artist during the 1920s and 1930s. Stackpole was in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Stackpole
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable people from the San Francisco Art Institute (1871–2022); which was formerly known as the California School of Design (1871–1915, or CSD), and California School of Fine Arts (…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_San_Francisco_Art_Inst…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Peter Stackpole (June 15, 1913 – May 11, 1997) was an American photojournalist. He was one of Life magazine's first staff photographers and remained with the publication until 1961. Stackpole shot 26 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Stackpole
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 6: “Ralph Stackpole was teaching at the Art Institute for 20 years”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The NEHMA collection reference specifically confirms that Stackpole taught at the San Francisco Art Institute for twenty years as the head of the Sculpture Department.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ralph Stackpole was San Francisco's leading artist during the 1920s and 1930s."And Stackpole did teach there for years. Who knows, either him or one of his students may have touched this thing at one …
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/california-couple-une…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ralph Ward Stackpole was an American sculptor, painter, muralist, etcher and art educator, San Francisco's leading artist during the 1920s and 1930s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Stackpole
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Stackpole also taught at the San Francisco Art Institute for twenty years as the head of the Sculpture Department. He then taught private sculpting classes at the California Labor School before moving…
https://artmuseum-collection.usu.edu/artist-maker/info/1771?…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.