Folk Art Portrait, ca. 1845
Watch
APPRAISER:
Well, you've really made my day today.
GUEST:
Oh, thanks.
APPRAISER:
Real surprise.
GUEST:
Good.
APPRAISER:
I wasn't expecting this when you came in. At first, I thought it was a poster and I didn't think it was original painting. Now, I want you to tell me about the subject, where she's from, and the history of it.
GUEST:
Well, we know her name's Barbara according to the family genealogy. We're not quite sure which Barbara she is. She can either be the one that was born in 1752 or there was one born, like, 1830s. We do know that she came from a wealthy family out on Staten Island. The family had a ferry. Her uncles and grandfathers had connections with George Washington. We have lots of the family history like that.
APPRAISER:
But you have no idea who might have painted it or...
GUEST:
No, no.
APPRAISER:
Well, I've had a lot of non-academic or folk paintings like this. It looks like a number of paintings that I've seen before, but I can't tell you exactly who might have done it. Now, what I want to tell you is this is the dream painting that everybody looks for in Americana. It's a little girl in a landscape. We've got a beautiful fence here, a beautiful rendition of her head, a non-academic painter-- this means somebody that's not exactly trained as an official academic artist with great background and training. But he's got all the wonderful decorative elements. There's the background. There's the lace, the flowers, the strawberries here, and he's even repeated the strawberries down here. So, it's really remarkable. Now, what you're seeing up here is the discoloration that shows that the varnish has changed color. It's never probably been cleaned. It's never had the varnish removed. And on the back, if you look at it, as you know, it has its original stretchers and canvas. Do you have any idea what this painting's worth?
GUEST:
We had it appraised years ago for insurance purposes, but he wasn't able to tell us anything. He just gave us a...
APPRAISER:
Well, in the market today, possibly at auction, I would think the picture would bring between $30,000 and $40,000.
GUEST:
Really? That wasn't even close to what he insured it for for insurance purposes. But it is... as I said, it's what everybody wants in a great American primitive painting.
GUEST:
Well, thank you.
APPRAISER:
Thank you for bringing it in.
GUEST:
Oh, you're welcome.
APPRAISER:
So you are surprised?
GUEST:
Yes, I am. It's great, thank you.
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.
