Nicolai Fechin Portrait of a Young Boy, ca. 1936
Watch
GUEST:
Well, this portrait I inherited from my great-uncle, and as a young man, he moved from South Dakota to California, and became a restorative dentist in Beverly Hills. And he worked on a lot of movie stars and famous people. And Nicolai Fechin, the artist, happened to be not only one of his patients, but a friend of his. And he did this portrait of my uncle's son, and it was his only son. And when he was in college, this... his son got killed in a car accident. So this was also a gift of love, and very special to myself and our family.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's a spectacular portrait, as we would expect of Nicolai Fechin. It's charcoal on paper, as he did many of his portraits. It's initialed lower right, "N.F." He is an artist that led a really international life, and that's had a big impact on his value in the market today. He started his life in Russia. He ended up having to flee, due to the Bolshevik Revolution. Through the good graces of a few American collectors who knew his work, he came to New York. He was there for a few short years, and then tuberculosis drove him to New Mexico, as the climate was thought to be best for his health. Taos is where he really became quite famous in America. And the Taos works are, in many ways, his most well regarded. Then, unfortunately, through divorce, he ended up leaving Taos and moving to Santa Monica, and I'm sure during that time, around 1936, is probably when he met your great-uncle. I would place the value at auction at $15,000 to $25,000.
GUEST:
Thank you. I think my great-uncle would be very proud.
APPRAISER:
It's such a moving story. We were all trying not to cry when you told us. (chuckles)
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.
