Vladimir Tretchikoff Painting with Inscribed Book
Watch
GUEST:
I brought a piece of artwork that was given to my husband and I when my in-laws both passed away, that was given to them many years ago. I know just a little bit about the artist. He actually was in San Jose for an exhibit back in the '50s, and he stayed with my in-laws, and his name is something Tretchikoff is his last name. They always called him "Tretchy."
APPRAISER:
Well, his name was Vladimir Tretchikoff, and it's true, he was nicknamed Tretchy, and mostly everybody called him that.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
He actually was born in Siberia in 1913, I believe. And he was a self-taught artist. He traveled the world. He went to China, Singapore, Indonesia, and he mostly was known for very realistic portraits of the people that were living in these places. He was one of the first artists to make lithographic reproductions of his work. And he sort of had this motto that he went by, which was, "Bring art to the people." So he made lots of reproductions. And here we have one of his most famous paintings, called Chinese Girl, completed in Cape Town, South Africa, where is where he ended up settling. It's actually said that this painting had more copies printed than copies of the Mona Lisa. That's how many of them are out there. So he really was a self-promoter. Art critics kind of disliked this approach. They felt that he was devaluing his original work by putting so many copies out there. They nicknamed him the "King of Kitsch" because they thought that he was really just, you know, now he was making his work something that wasn't that special. However, we found that not to be true. Over time, because people saw his work so much, they really started to love him. And now his paintings are quite desirable. This work that you brought in is an oil-on-canvas painting. We do have his signature on the lower left, "Tretchikoff," and then under that there's an "S.A.," which may be for South Africa. And I believe it says "1954," though it's a little bit hard to discern that date. It's in very good condition. If we were estimating this painting for auction, I would place an auction estimate of $50,000 to $70,000.
GUEST:
That's amazing. It takes my breath away, really. Okay. That's very surprising, to be honest with you. It hung for years in my father-in-law's garage with a thumbtack holding it up.
APPRAISER:
And this book as well also has some value to it. It has sold at auction. It sells at auction for around $150.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I think yours is probably a little bit more valuable than that because it does have the personal inscription to your in-laws. And this is a limited edition book. There were only 1,500 copies made. I think with the inscription, the book is actually more like $500. But the important thing is that this book adds a provenance to the painting, which we wouldn't have otherwise.
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.
