Let us all shed a tear for disgraced Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. chairman Richard Fuld Jr., forced out from the helm of power and now forced to do what the rest of us do when money gets tight: Cut expenses and sell off assets. He's just put a block of post-war artwork up for November auction.

Except Fuld's assets are a bit richer than yours or mine, I suspect. Fuld and his wife Kathy are longtime art collectors, and Kathy, in particular, is noted as a collector of American modern art. She's a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and is known to have a keen eye for undervalued master works. But she's known more as a collector, not so much a seller. I guess sometimes you have to sacrifice.

The auction house Christie's gave a pre-sale estimate for the block of 16 drawings as between $15 and $20 million. It's shopping the lot around to buyers in Europe and Asia, where they still have that kind of money for things to hang on their walls. Indeed, today's art market is dominated by these buyers.

The twist here is that newly-wealthy art collectors in these places like to chase trophy paintings -- impressionists and modernists, that are practically household names. Mrs. Fuld has sought out drawings by American masters, and in particular their more subtle works and studies. While beautiful and valuable, these pieces tend to fly under the radar of the noveau riche. The American collectors more likely to snap this collection up are now, well, probably nursing their net worth for the time being. A condition that Mr. Feld didn't help along when he rode Lehman Bros. to collapse and set off the credit panic.

This is the second in a series of posts about why and how to collect art -- even when you don't have a lot of extra money

We've all heard the stories: Guy finds a painting in his attic, has it appraised, learns it's a long-lost Picasso, sells it to a collector for zillions.

Hope springs eternal. But these stories aren't all urban legends. There's enough stuff out there that you just never know. My colleague Zac Bissonnette wrote recently about the German woman who pulled a million dollar painting out of the trash.

The chances of finding a lost master at a garage sale are slim, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of high-quality art out there. And I'm not talking in the galleries, either. In one sense, art is where you look for it. In another sense, everyone's an artist. Find what you love, and go from there.

Here are a few places I've hit pay-dirt when trolling for art.

Pssst, Hey buddy, have I got a deal for you.

Every once in a great while you might get an approach similar to that at your friendly neighborhood resale shop. That can be especially true if it's a shop you're not very familiar with. When a thrift store employee or operator brings out something from under the counter which they have "saved for special customers,"... watch out! The chances are good that you'll be looking at an item from a questionable source.

Take for instance that mint condition collection of Buffalo Head nickels, or a complete set of sterling silver flatware in its own velvet lined case. The sales person may tell you that it came from an estate sale they were at that same morning. Take care about your purchase or you could become guilty of receiving stolen property. It's a dead giveaway when the store clerk suggests that you go outside to look at items they have in their car. Yeah, it's not on the shelves and it's not on the books. Ask them if you really look that much like an idiot.