1927 Paul Klee "Leichter Verfall" Ink Drawing
Watch
GUEST:
It's a drawing that I bought when I finished college in Chicago. I had a little money left, saw them, and I bought for $280 this Paul Klee ink drawing.
APPRAISER:
Well, you brought with you today two other objects with the drawing.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And the first is this catalogue, which came with the exhibition. And we'll just carefully open this up, because it goes with the drawing. And it looks like it's number 13.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
The title of the work is Leichter Verfall, or "Slight Deterioration," 1927, ink, and as you point out, $280 was the price. Actually, a lot of money back then.
GUEST:
Oh, yeah.
APPRAISER:
So Paul Klee is the artist, as you said. Paul Klee was a Swiss artist who lived from 1879 to 1940. It's a pen-and-ink drawing. The drawing is signed in the upper right corner here. And on the mount, Klee has, as he always does, put a line, put the title, “Leichter Verfall,” the date, and then his work inventory number. I think the drawing is great, because it's such a nice example of his work, what we think of when we think of Paul Klee. What else did you bring with you today here?
GUEST:
I brought a book that I found a copy of my painting in.
APPRAISER:
And there it is, indeed. And the book is entitled Five Essays on Klee. Paul Klee was somebody who we think of as not only being an artist who has an association with Expressionism, has an association with Cubism, a little bit of an association with Surrealism, a little bit hard to peg. Typically worked on a small scale, very delicate, very fine work. Got a kind of a childlike, almost meditative quality to it. "Hieroglyph" is one of the words that people use to describe his work. Not only is it "Slight Deterioration" as the title, but as we see here in the upper right and then just below, we've got a little bit of damage, which is not irreparable. If this was taken to a good professional paper restorer, I think it's something that could be brought back to life rather easily.
GUEST:
I didn't know that.
APPRAISER:
Klee is so well-known. There's a lot of interest in his work today, and there are a lot of collectors looking to acquire his works.
GUEST:
Right.
APRPAISER: Ultimately, it's worth emphasizing that there is a Paul Klee Foundation. The foundation really would need to see it so that we can be 100% certain that it is genuine. If offered at auction as is, we estimate the work to be valued between $25,000 to $40,000.
GUEST:
Wow. That's... Pretty good price.
APPRAISER:
Now, if these tears were mended, we would raise the value. Probably around $50,000 is where you might think about insuring it.
GUEST:
Oh, wow-- all right. 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.
