1977 Frank McCarthy "On the Owl Hoot Trail" Oil Painting
Watch
GUEST:
I grew up in the state of Kansas, in a little farming community west of Dodge City. And this particular painting always hung in the living room of my mother- and father-in-law's home, over the television. And I always liked it, thought it was a beautiful painting. In my father-in-law's later life, he says, "Gary, would you like to have that painting?" And I said, "Of course." And so that's how I acquired it. And at that time, he was not able to recall all the details of how he acquired it. So I don't know much about how all that happened.
APPRAISER:
And who's the painting by?
GUEST:
It's by Frank McCarthy. He's one of the Western artists, or cowboy artists. I've researched him some on the internet. He was very prolific, you know, during his career. So I was hoping that you could tell me more than I know.
APPRAISER:
Sure, sure.
GUEST:
The title of this painting is “On the Owl Hoot Trail.” And an owl hoot trail was the trail that the outlaws used to go into their hideout. And so there's always been a question in my mind as whether these are the outlaws going home, or the sheriffs coming after them.
APPRAISER:
Well, I hope to answer some questions. I'm not going to be able to tell you whether or not those are the good guys or the bad guys.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Frank McCarthy, as you said, is known for his Western material, but he didn't start doing that. He really started as an illustrator. And he started in New York, and then ended up out in the West, much like Frederic Remington, right? He had a very rigorous training, and he did a lot of illustration work, a lot of book covers. He did a bunch of James Bond covers, if you can imagine.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Yeah. And then one of our security staff was talking to me earlier-- he also did a lot of Louis L'Amour book covers.
GUEST:
Oh, yeah, my father used to read those books all the time.
APPRAISER:
That was his start to the West, was those illustrations for Western book covers. But the big moment for McCarthy was in 1973. He had a show in Arizona, the story goes, of 23 paintings, and he sold them all in 20 minutes. So he did what you or I would do, and in 1974 he moved to Arizona, where he painted for the rest of his career. This particular picture, you'll see down here, is signed, McCarthy, and then "CA", that's "cowboy artist," and then the C with the circle, and then "77" So it's after he's moved to Arizona. Right now, at auction in 2016, I think a conservative auction estimate would be on the order of $20,000 to $40,000.
GUEST:
For this painting? Wow. Well, I don't know how much it was acquired for, but that's... that's a big number.
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.
