Marc Brown: Original "Arthur" Artwork
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APPRAISER:
So where did you meet Arthur?
GUEST (laughs): I met him in third grade, when I was in third grade. I am Arthur. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
No, I won't believe that! (both laughing)
GUEST:
Everyone in my family and my life in third grade became characters in these stories and books. I used to get in trouble in third grade, fourth grade, for daydreaming and doodling. And now it's my life.
APPRAISER:
(laughing)
GUEST:
So, take that, Miss Mansfield!
APPRAISER (laughs): So let me get this straight. You've written over 130 books and it will be 80 "Arthur" books. And, in the studio, how many pieces do you think you have?
GUEST:
You know, I have never counted. Well over a thousand, for sure.
APPRAISER:
More.
GUEST:
More than...
APPRAISER:
(laughing)
GUEST:
Thousands. How do I find a value? I know there'll be gradations of things and what they're worth, but what is a good starting point?
APPRAISER:
Well, the good pieces-- which to you and I may be the most wonderful pieces, because they show your process...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...and the early creativity of the pieces-- are generally smaller works that would be working examples of, of later pieces.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
They would be the drawings, they would be the graphite. They would be...
GUEST:
So I shouldn't throw those away.
APPRAISER:
Oh, my gosh, no! And you should sign them, too!
GUEST:
Well, sometimes I do.
APPRAISER:
No, no, no, no, no, no. Those pieces would have a value based on current auction values of probably between $500 and $1,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Okay. I'm gonna run to my wastebasket right now.
APPRAISER:
Right now! The middle range is, is harder to discuss, because it's very vast. Some pieces will be important, even though they're not finished, because they're seminal examples of something in "Arthur" or in one of the other books that you've done.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
So that's a, that's a very...
GUEST:
Wishy-washy area.
APPRAISER:
It's a squishy area.
GUEST:
Somewhere in the middle.
APPRAISER:
Somewhere in the middle that would be between, I would say, $3,000 and $5,000.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And then what we're using as the best is a piece of yours that sold at auction. And that was a very elaborate watercolor of "Arthur's Christmas."
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Uh, that sold for $7,800 at auction. But there would be pieces that would be better than that. There would be pieces that would be much better than that. So we're working on a scale of maybe $500 to $10,000. But it's very fluid.
GUEST:
Yeah, I understand.
APPRAISER:
And, um...
GUEST:
And I think I have an instinct about which, which pieces are better.
APPRAISER:
Sure, absolutely.
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