And now, he has a story to prove it.

"My wife and I like to go to Lexington and visit antique shops." Huffman said.

A story that began with a painting.

"It was in excellent condition?" Huffman said.

The painting was in the back room of Clairebourne Antiques last fall.

"When I was looking at it, I thought, well, I like it. It may not be worth anything, but I like it."

Little did he know the treasure he was about to purchase.

"It was 900 dollars," Huffman said. "I said well this is a good alternative for me. And it turned out to be a lot better than I thought it was."

The jaw-dropping news came in an appraisal by a restoration expert in Cincinnati.

"We had people give me estimates anywhere from 50- to 70- to two hundred and fifty."

That's 250-thousand dollars. It's because of what a little cleaning uncovered.

Huffman continues, "He said well when we were cleaning it we found a signature and it's a pretty important artist. And I said you're kidding. And he said no it's Robert Scott Duncanson who was the first African-American painter to make a living painting."

He dated it to 1868.

"He's a very well known artist for this area."

His paintings are well known around the globe too.

One of his paintings belonged to Queen Victoria.

Others are on display in the Smithsonian.

And this one is temporarily on loan to the Speed Art Museum in Louisville.

Loan being the key word there.

"Just the fact that he was alive and painting during the Civil War was special. So I don't think I'll ever sell it."

Plus, who knows what this pair of eyes may spot next.

"I've been trying to see if I can find some more deals but I don't think ill ever find another deal like that."