Painting bought for $4.09 at thrift shop identified as David Bowie original

June 15 (UPI) -- A painting purchased for less than $5 at a Canadian thrift store is now up for auction after the artist was identified as music legend David Bowie.

Auctioneer Cowley Abbott said the painting was purchased for $4.09 from a donation center for household goods in South River, Ontario, and was subsequently discovered to have been painted by Bowie in 1997.

The auction house said the painting, titled D Head XLVI, is part of a series the singer created between 1994 and 1997.

"The sitters ranged from band members, friends, and acquaintances and there were also some self-portraits," Cowley Abbott spokeswoman Andrea McLoughlin said. "It has been suggested that, for some of these important paintings, Bowie drew inspiration from the Ziggy Stardust era. With long hair and a pronounced profile, this energetic and enigmatic portrait is truly a rare representation from a celebrated artist."

The painting is being sold as part of Cowley Abbott's International Art Online Auction and is expected to fetch a high bid of $9,000-$12,000.