Louis Aston Knight Oil Painting, ca. 1910
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APPRAISER:
This painting looks like it's gone through a couple of hurricanes. Is that what happened here, these damages?
GUEST:
Well, no, actually what happened was the neighborhood kids broke in and punched a broom handle through it several times.
APPRAISER:
Any particular reason?
GUEST:
Just meanness.
APPRAISER:
Did you chase them down?
GUEST:
No, I found out later who did it, but you know, the damage was done, so...
APPRAISER:
The first thing you see about this is these gashes here. I know to a lot of people that seems like a really bad thing. And it's not all that bad, because you haven't lost that much. When you put this back together, you have all the pieces there. And it can be gently teased together and overpainted. This will come back together. You have all the pieces here. Even here, you have what's left inside. I could show you, you could put that back up right here.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
So the damage looks significant, but it's not that bad. Another thing about it, though, is the fact that it's awfully dirty.
GUEST:
Yeah, I don't think it's ever been cleaned.
APPRAISER:
You'll see that up here in the sky. You see this yellow varnish and the dirt and probably tobacco smoke. You'll see it mostly with the moon right here. That's supposed to be white. Now, where'd you get it?
GUEST:
My wife's grandfather. He was an art collector, and it's been passed down. And then when she passed away, she left it to me and the kids.
APPRAISER:
It's a very typical type of painting you would find in a late 19th century, early 20th century collection. This is by an artist by the name of Louis Aston Knight. He was born in 1873 to a painter by the name of Daniel Ridgeway Knight. And he spent most of his life in Europe. He was an American expatriate painter. And so that's why he signs "Paris" down there. Do you have any kind of idea of maybe when he would have painted this?
GUEST:
I know he was out of the country, I think, I believe during World War I.
APPRAISER:
So it could be first decade or so of the 20th century. This is north of Paris, towards Normandy, in that area. He specialized in painting these mills and cottages. He's a master of painting water.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
In fact, so much so that he was known to put on waders like a fly fisherman and actually get into the water with his easel.
GUEST:
Oh, my.
APPRAISER:
And actually, this painting is so large, you feel like you could almost walk into this one, too.
GUEST:
That's true.
APPRAISER:
Now, I was joking with my colleagues that this might be one of the largest ones in captivity. It's a very, very large painting for him. It's over six feet tall. I know it takes a big wall. If I were to insure this, I'd probably insure it for about $45,000 to $50,000 these days.
GUEST:
All right, okay.
Appraisal Details
Current Appraised Value: $40,000 - $50,000 (Unchanged)
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