1960 René Portocarrero "Catedral" Oil Painting
GUEST:
I have a friend that was in the diplomatic service, and she served in Cuba in '59 to '61.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
She acquired this painting in Portocarrero's studio...
APPRAISER:
Oh.
GUEST:
She bought it from the artist himself. And when she died, I inherited the painting.
APPRAISER:
The painting is dated here "'60," so it was a contemporary piece...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
…at that time. Do you know what she paid for it?
GUEST:
I do not know.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. René Portocarrero, a Cuban artist, he started at an academy but found the art school much too confining, so it's amazing what he's accomplished. Aside from painting, he also did sculpture, book illustrations...
GUEST:
Yeah, yes.
APPRAISER:
...ceramics, and murals. And apparently in Cuba today, you can see his murals at the Havana prison, at the national hospital, the national theater, and other places. So he was certainly well-rounded and well-accomplished.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Although he was born and eventually died in Havana in 1986, he did travel some. He was in the United States and in Europe. And in fact, in 1945, he was in an exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, and that was a very important gallery for abstract and modernist artists of the time. He was also very well-connected. He knew Peggy Guggenheim, he was friendly with Wilfredo Lam, the well-known Cuban artist, and he even met with Castro in 1961.
GUEST:
Oh, really?
APPRAISER:
They had conversation about the culture, what was going on with culture in Cuba...
GUEST:
That's interesting.
APPRAISER:
That was very interesting.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Especially, it was also the year of the Bay of Pigs. He certainly was well-accomplished, and his work is in numerous museums. This piece is a classic example of his colorful abstract pieces. This is oil on canvas, and you'll see that it also has wonderful impasto, they're just such thick layers of paint. The painting itself is signed, dated, and inscribed with the title on the back. And in English, it's called "The Cathedral." And you can certainly see, it's this window here, and the columns, and so, it's an abstracted image of a cathedral. If this were in a gallery, it'd be priced in the range of $80,000 to $100,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER:
It's quite a picture.
GUEST:
Wow, it's wonderful.
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.