Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is hoping someone can help locate a young female constituent’s missing artwork. Hayley Chambers’ winning entry for the Congressional Art Competition was mailed via UPS from Jordan’s district office but failed to reach its destination of the U.S. Capitol. Instead, it was lost and somehow ended up sold at a yard sale in Pulaski County, Kentucky.
How did the artwork get from Ohio to Kentucky? After mysteriously vanishing on its way to Washington, the painting made its way to an online auction before being sold at the popular East 80 Yard Sale.
In speaking with The Daily Signal, Jordan referred to Hayley as a “real champion,” and her mother, Traci Chambers, as a “mom on a mission.”
Although a copy of the artwork has been displayed in the tunnel between the Cannon House building and the Capitol, Jordan is hopeful that the original will be found. He emphasized the importance of getting the painting back for Hayley, given how “tough” it is for such a young woman to lose something so important to her. He hopes raising awareness will make the difference needed.
“The painting doesn’t mean anything to anyone but Hayley,” Chambers told The Daily Signal, explaining how her daughter entered her winning entry during her senior year, the third time she entered the competition.
The painting, “All That Jazz,” was inspired from a trip her marching band at Lima Catholic Central took to St. Louis in April 2024.
“Hayley who played alto saxophone in the marching band and pep band was also in the school’s jazz band playing the tenor saxophone. She painted this with her love of jazz and her love of art,” her mother explained. “The painting and winning was the highlight of her senior year. The night she won she already had people asking to purchase the painting once it was back from being displayed in the Cannon tunnel at the U.S. Capitol.”
Her other accomplishments include being named by their local art gallery, Art Space Lima, as one of Art Space’s 11 Women to Watch in April 2024.
Hayley is now at Ohio Northern University, majoring in Art Education. She has also started her own face painting business with a friend.
Chambers credits her friend for doing reverse image searches on the painting, which on Aug. 30 turned up a match at the Gallery 27 auction house in Burnside, Kentucky. Unfortunately, they were too late. The piece was no longer at the auction house. “We were so close to getting the painting back, we just were a few weeks too late,” she shared.
The Commonwealth Journal explained earlier this month how the artwork came to be sold by the auction house:
So how did the artwork come to be in Burnside? “We get truckloads of liquidation items,” said Gallery 27 owner Nick Meece, who noted that such items could come from something like UPS if the item was not effectively delivered.
“It was placed in an online auction and it didn’t receive any bids,” added Meece. “So it was then lotted with a bunch of other stuff that doesn’t receive bids. … That way, we try to avoid throwing away as much as possible, of course. Then you usually have buyers who buy in larger bulk, and they bought the item.”
The buyer was a Randy Allen, a Pulaski resident along Ky. 1247 near Campground Road, who bought the lot around August 10 and placed the item up for purchase in a yard sale … where it sold for a dollar to a man and woman couple the first weekend of September. The price wasn’t a reflection of the painting’s perceived value; rather, Allen says he prices all of the items he sells for only a dollar to simplify things.
Although the search continues for the original, Hayley was able to go to the Capitol and show off the copy of her artwork. Her outstanding achievement award was signed by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., as well as Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa. and C. Scott Franklin, R-Fla.
Chambers said Jordan’s office “has been wonderful with all the help they have been doing.” Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., whose district includes Pulaski County has also been helpful in trying to locate the painting.
Chambers is offering a $200.00 reward and is asking that those with information contact Jordan or Rogers’ offices. She can also be contacted via her home phone number at 419-222-1607, her cell phone number at 419-235-2229, or her email at [email protected].
The Daily Signal also reached out to UPS about the missing artwork.
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