Ellen Pyle "Rainbow" Illustration, ca. 1936
Watch
GUEST:
Around 1938 or '39, my uncle came to my parents' home, and he saw that there was a very large stone fireplace with nothing hanging on it. He looked at it, he said, "I have just the painting for that fireplace." So, a few months later, this arrived in the mail.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
And this was a "Post" magazine cover from about 1937, I believe, by Ellen Pyler.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
And the editor of "Post" magazine was a good friend of my Uncle Lou's, and my Uncle Lou had mentioned how much he liked the magazine cover.
APPRAISER:
Yeah.
GUEST:
So he said, "I think I can get the original for you if you would like to have it." But, evidently, this didn't fit in with Aunt Pauline's decor.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
So he was looking for a place to put it, and when he saw the mantel over the fireplace, he said, "This is it." So that's how they came by it.
APPRAISER:
Right. It looks like it's "Pyler," but it's actually Ellen Pyle.
GUEST:
Pyle, oh, all right.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. And that's an important name in the history of illustration. A man by the name of Howard Pyle ran an art studio in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. And he ran a school for illustration art. And he taught many of the great illustrators-- N.C. Wyeth and others-- and he was teaching a woman by the name of Ellen Thompson, from Philadelphia. Well, Ellen Thompson was in this class in the late 1800s, and she met up with Walter Pyle, Howard Pyle's brother. Well, they got involved. The problem was, Walter was married and had a child, so she got banished to Philadelphia.
GUEST:
Ah-hah.
APPRAISER:
And her parents took her out of the school. But they eventually got married in 1904, and then he worked near Wilmington and had a leather business. But suddenly, he died in 1918, leaving her with four young children. And so she went back to her old art school training and became an illustrator. Well, she did that for the next 20 years almost. She lived until 1936. This is-- at the same time, you had people like Norman Rockwell doing "Post" covers, as well. Now, these are the materials a commercial artist would use. That's oil on a commercial artist's board, a board that would be used for production. And she has a very colorful palette. You see this rainbow here, and also these very bright cheeks of the, the children. I think they're enhanced because it makes it read better on a magazine cover.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
The thing about illustration art right now, it's very, very hot, the market is. It's very strong right now. And what also helps is the fact that this is a "Saturday Evening Post" cover. It's one of the most sought-after magazines. Other magazines are nice to have, but the "Post" is what people collect. Ellen Pyle, she did, she did about 40 "Post" covers, but only one or two have come on the market. I would put a value on it probably about $25,000 to $35,000 at auction.
GUEST:
Really? Oh, gosh.
APPRAISER:
Yeah.
GUEST:
I had no idea.
APPRAISER:
Yeah.
GUEST:
That's wonderful.
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.
