Painting traded for a cheese sandwich in 1973 sold at auction for C$350,000

Maud Lewis sold her paintings on Nova Scotia roadsides but found a larger audience after a documentary chronicled her life and work

A Canadian painting that was swapped 50 years ago for a grilled cheese sandwich has sold at auction for an astounding" C$350,000 (US$272,000).

Black Truck by the folk artist Maud Lewis sold for 10 times its assessed value, setting a new high mark for a painter whose popularity has surged in recent years.