Fremont Ellis Painting, "Red River Canyon, El Rancho De San Sebastian"
Watch
GUEST:
I used to live in New Mexico. I went home for Christmas, and my mom loves to go thrift-store hopping with me, and she said, "Well, why don't we go to the local Salvation Army? I hear they've got 50% off today."
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
This painting was just kind of tucked away in the corner.
APPRAISER:
Oh, really?
GUEST:
It had a three-dollar price sticker on it, and for that day, since everything in the store was 50% off, I got it for $1.50.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I saw that it was Fremont Ellis, so I looked at the back of the picture and I noticed that it was painted in New Mexico so I thought, "Oh, this is somebody I think I know." I guess a school that he started-- a group of about five painters that called themselves Los Cinco Pintores.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
That's about it, that's all I know.
APPRAISER:
Well, Fremont Ellis was from New Mexico, and he did go off to study school in New York, study painting at the Art Students' League, but came back and did paint in New Mexico and painted a lot in New Mexico. It was very typical of the Santa Fe and Taos area. And when I saw this painting coming up, you could see immediately it was a Western painting. And you can tell by the great use of light in the sky and the light in the trees, this wonderful autumn foliage. It's very typical of his work. The great water here, all these elements-- this wonderful plein air painting, this sort of Western impressionist style. The other thing is on the back of this, it says exactly where it is. It says, "Red River Canyon, el Rancho del San Sebastian." He's known to paint there often. It's very important in American painting to have the spot, and rarely do you get it, but here you have exactly where it is, so that'll add to the value of the painting. You can see it has some age to it. Ellis was born in 1897, he died in 1985, and his paintings have come up recently. Now, you said you paid $1.50 for this one.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Would you be surprised if I told you that this painting, if it were to go to auction today, we would probably get about $10,000 to $15,000 for it?
GUEST:
Oh, my Lord, you're kidding me!
APPRAISER:
Yes, exactly.
GUEST:
My mother told me it's ugly.
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.
