1935 Birger Sandzén "Bear Lake, Logan, Utah"
Watch
GUEST:
It was my grandfather's. He purchased it from the artist, Birger Sandzén, in 1935.
APPRAISER:
Do you have it hanging on your walls?
GUEST:
We do, in kind of a dusty place, but we really love it. I know that Sandzén was originally from Sweden, and he is an American impressionist.
APPRAISER:
You're right, he is from Sweden, born there. Then he also studied in Europe, but he's associated most often with Kansas and spent a lot of time teaching there. But he also is known as a painter of the West. He painted in Colorado and also Utah. One of the things he's noted for is his great sense of color, and the contrasting colors, and you see that in the paintings, but also you see his brushwork as well. He has this very thick impasto. If you look at it you see these contrasting colors, and you see these almost sort of chartreuse against the lavender, and then these little points of fuchsia coming through here. And all those liven the piece up. As well, once you get in close, you see these points, they're almost like cresting waves. And that's important as well, is the great condition of it. Even though it's dusty, we got all this dust on here, we can blow some of that off... It hasn't really been touched. Right. There's an inscription back here, it says, "Bear Lake, Logan, Utah, Lindsborg, Kansas, 1935," and so it tells us all we need to know. He went to Utah to teach in 1928, so it's something that he probably did in Kansas, but was from sketches or remembrances of what he had seen over in Utah. Now, you have the original receipt, is that the case?
GUEST:
Well, it 's a corner from my grandfather's checkbook. And he paid $200 for this painting in 1935, October 23.
APPRAISER:
It's a medium-sized one for him, it's a good size, not too large, not too small. This is its original frame, not the most attractive frame, but it's the right frame for it. It's what he would have had in there. I think at auction today we could get a little bit more than $200. Right now I'd put an estimate at $40,000 to $60,000.
GUEST:
Great, wonderful.
APPRAISER:
And, in fact, you never know, the fact that it's Utah, a known place, location always helps, it could do a little bit better.
GUEST:
Right, wonderful. Thank you very much.
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.
