Mid-20th Century Olaf Wieghorst Painting
GUEST:
I bought this painting about 25 years ago in an antique/thrift store in Whittier, California.
APPRAISER:
Was it framed then or...
GUEST:
It was framed, but not in this frame. I acquired this frame at a yard sale a couple of blocks from my house.
APPRAISER:
Oh, gee, well, you have quite good luck, I'm thinking. What did you pay for it?
GUEST:
I bought it for $700 on payments when I bought it.
APPRAISER:
Oh, my, $700! So you must have liked it quite a bit.
GUEST:
I thought it was beautiful. I liked the subject and I just thought I wanted to buy it.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's a lovely Olaf Wieghorst painting. Let me tell you a little bit about the artist. He was born in Denmark in the late 19th century, and in 1918 he moved to the United States. And for a while he settled in the Southwest doing odd jobs-- cowboy jobs, military jobs. Wieghorst spent an awful lot of time in New York City. He moved there in the '20s and was a mounted police officer in Central Park.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
So, while he's known for his absolutely wonderful Western scenes, he spent a good bit of his career in New York City. He was always interested in horses and scenes of the old West. And when he retired in the '40s, he did move to California and continue his career painting scenes of the Southwest. It's a lovely example of his work. I like the fact that the background has been kept open. It gives the piece a more contemporary feel. The painting is oil on canvas, and this monogram references a ranch that he worked at when he came over to the United States early on. He began using the monogram in 1923. I don't want to commit to a specific date for the painting because he did have a very long and prolific career, but I think we're looking mid-20th century. It's a contemporary frame, but a vaguely Southwestern-style frame from the 1930s or '40s. So it complements the painting very well.
GUEST:
I only paid five dollars for the frame and it fit perfectly.
APPRAISER:
So I gave you kind of a hard time about how much you paid for it.
GUEST:
It was a lot of money back then.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's a lot more money now.
GUEST:
Wonderful.
APPRAISER:
For retail, I would estimate the painting at between $20,000 and $30,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Now my wife can retire.
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.