20th-Century John Fery Painting, Glacier National Park
GUEST:
I received it from my mother. My folks passed away I would say probably ten years ago. My mother got it from her great-aunt, and nobody else in the family wanted it. My wife didn't want it. I wanted it, so I ended up with it.
APPRAISER:
Well, this is by an artist who was actually born in Austria in 1859; his name is John Fery.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And he first came to the United States to lead groups of hunters who would go on expeditions in the Pacific Northwest. But he ended up moving to New York in 1886, and he lived in a lot of different places. But as a matter of fact, he lived in Milwaukee from 1903 to 1911. And his biggest patron was the Northern Railroad, and he traveled all across the western United States painting pictures of the West. The railroad company would exhibit them in the hotels and the lodges and the stations along the railroad.
GUEST:
Huh...
APPRAISER:
But what this did was, it really promoted travel for people in other parts of the United States to come out west and see the things that they saw in these paintings. And Fery is really credited with helping to establish Glacier National Park.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Which I think is so interesting, because on the reverse of your painting, it says "Glacier Park, Montana."
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
President Taft signed a bill to make Glacier National Park a national park in 1910. It was the tenth national park, so I think that means your painting must date after 1910. The presentation of the painting is really enhanced by the original frame that it's in. I think if this were to sell at auction, it might bring between $15,000 and $20,000.
GUEST:
Really? Holy cow. Very nice.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
