A lonely man

My brother Mike bought this man's picture in a beautiful little frame at an antique store a few years ago and gave him to me. There is something so poignant about this man not having a home in his descendant's houses but having to live in an antique store, hoping someone will adopt him, otherwise, he'd end up in the trash and gone forever.

Who is he, and how come no one wanted him anymore? I have been throwing stuff away recently but I can't let him down and get rid of him too. I'll have to look after him; someone abandoned him once -- I can't do it to him again.