William Wendt Landscape Oil, ca. 1920
Watch
GUEST:
This painting, uh, has been, um, hanging in the house, childhood house that I grew up in here in Vermont my entire life. Before that, uh, my father inherited it from his grandmother, and it hung in, uh, her house for his entire life. And I believe it came from their family friend, um, William Wendt.
APPRAISER:
Who was the artist.
GUEST:
Who was the artist.
APPRAISER:
Uh, that painted this wonderful painting. So I noticed there's a letter attached to the back that's dated 1937. Uh, it, it indicates that it was purchased. It doesn't say the amount, but do you remember what it was purchased for?
GUEST:
I don't think we have exact record for what it was purchased for, but my great-great-uncle did purchase this directly from William Wendt for a couple of hundred dollars. And we believe it was, uh, as a gift, or intended for a gift, uh, for his sister, my great-great-grandmother. It basically talks about the relationship that William Wendt had with my family. Uh, apparently he became a family friend acquainted from his wife, Julia, who went to, uh, the Chicago Art Institute with my great-great- great-aunt Bertha.
APPRAISER:
Ah. William Wendt was born in Germany in 1865. He immigrated to the United States in 1880, so he was only 15 years old. He died in Laguna Beach in 1946. He actually moved to Laguna in 1918, and that's when he set up, uh, his, uh, studio there. And I know this painting is actually purchased through that studio, so that's a, a really kind of a cool thing. He's known as a landscape painter that actually painted a lot of California landscapes. And this is a California landscape. Very nicely done. It's an oil on canvas. It measures 16 by 20 inches. And it's signed down here. It's kind of close to where the, uh, frame hits, but it's signed "William Wendt." It's not dated, so I have to estimate the creation date, which is roughly, I would say, 1920, somewhere in that area.
GUEST:
I've always loved this painting.
APPRAISER:
And do you have any sense of what you think it might be worth?
GUEST:
(chuckling): Um, no, but I know that my father, um, would tell my brother and I as children that, uh, in the event of a fire, grab this painting first and then exit the house.
(both laughing)
APPRAISER:
Get the priorities straight, right?
GUEST:
(laughing): Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, so I would estimate this to be worth at auction between $15,000 and $25,000.
GUEST:
Wow, great. Good job, Dad.
(both laughing)
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.
