Gaston Chaissac Artwork, ca. 1960
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GUEST:
Well, I come from a family of collectors. And these were purchased by my parents in Paris back in the, probably the late '50s, early '60s. They had a favorite art gallery on the Rue du Faubourg...
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
...by the name of Eris Claire.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
And she was quite an exotic woman who carried very avant-garde art.
APPRAISER:
Well, these are very exotic and avant-garde, as well.
GUEST:
Oh...
APPRAISER:
They're by the French artist Gaston Chaissac.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And he really has all the characteristics of the classic outsider artist. He never really fit into a standard day-to-day mold of artist, or even as employee. The artist Otto Frohlich suggested to him that he begin to paint and study art. He took immediately to the abstraction that you see here, and was especially influenced by prehistoric art and the artwork of children. On the other hand, he was also really influenced by Picasso. So much so that he referred to himself as "Picasso in clogs."
GUEST:
How interesting.
APPRAISER:
So on the one hand, you have this self-taught artist using very, very anthropomorphic shapes, prehistoric images, children's art images. And then you have someone who was influenced by Picasso, as well.
GUEST:
That's fun.
APPRAISER:
That combination became a little controversial for some of the outsider art experts in France during the time. But in the 20th century, his work became very popular just because of that combination. Here we have an example of his collage. And collage is cut paper applied to another background. This piece is an ink on paper.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And the final piece is an oil on canvas. His work is growing in popularity.
GUEST:
Oh, good.
APPRAISER:
And these are terrific later examples of his work. The pieces were executed in the '50s and '60s, and he died in 1964. It was in the '60s when he began doing collage. His value keeps going up. I would value the collage at between $20,000 and $40,000. The oil on canvas...
GUEST:
Oh, my...
APPRAISER:
...between $30,000 and $50,000.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
And the drawing at between $5,000 and $10,000.
GUEST:
You are, you are surprising me.
APPRAISER:
They're wonderful pieces.
GUEST:
Very surprised.
APPRAISER:
And what I like about seeing them in Arizona is, it's Arizona petroglyphs...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...meet high-style French outsider art.
GUEST:
(laughs): Very good connection.
APPRAISER:
Thanks so much for bringing them in.
GUEST:
Thank you.
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