John Risley Bench, ca. 1955
GUEST:
My mom in the '60s, '70s loved antiques, loved funky art stuff because she was an artist. And she bought this bench when she lived in the Allentown, Pennsylvania, area. Now, she went to New York a lot, she also lived in Rhode Island, so I don't know where she got it, but I think she said she got it from a store that was going out of business, like a ladies' fashion store. She always told me it was by a famous '60s artist named John Risley or Raisley. I've tried to look it up on the Internet. There's just all kinds of stuff that looks like it, but I never could tell for sure if it was this artist or if it was a knock-off.
APPRAISER:
It is a John Risley, absolutely, it's right as rain.
GUEST:
Oh, good!
APPRAISER:
And it's a wonderful piece of Risley. He made a whole series of different stools and chairs and benches. This is his most iconic piece.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The gentleman always looks like a 1910 driver and the lady driving in an open car. And what I love about post-World War II modern design is it can be whimsical, it can be almost... this borders almost on folk art, I think. At auction, it's probably worth $2,500 to $4,500.
GUEST:
Wow!
APPRAISER:
Absolutely.
GUEST:
How exciting.
APPRAISER:
Most of them I've ever seen were painted black. This one's white. But it's original-- you can repaint this. One of the great things about modern design is that it's a very forgiving clientele that buys this sort of thing.
GUEST:
Well, yee-haw! This is great, thank you so much.
APPRAISER:
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.
