René Portocarrero Oil Painting, ca. 1958
Watch
GUEST:
This painting is my mother's, and she was a personal friend of René Portocarrero back in, uh, in the late '50s, when we lived in Cuba. She had immigrated from Holland and quickly got to know them. She also paints. When she saw this painting, was in their studio. It was still wet, it was on the easel, and she said, "I have to have that." And he was very excited that she loved it. And, um, they went all over the old part of Havana to all the flea markets just to pick this particular frame, which, you cannot really see the colors that he had put into it when he had this picked for it. She's had it ever since. She has several paintings by him. We don't know any values, because they are just, they were gifts to her.
APPRAISER:
Exactly.
GUEST:
So...
APPRAISER:
René Portocarrero is one of the several artists who is absolutely crucial for the development of Modernism in Cuba. And that was beginning in the 19... Late 1920s and 1930s, actually.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And he, along with other artists named Amelia Peláez, Mario Carreño, uh, to name a few, were responsible for making an absolute break from European Modernism, and what they did is basically start painting scenes that were endemic to Cuba. And in addition to that, they were using bright colors, and you can notice in this brightly colored composition that the artist has used some almost fauve colors. And he also is very, very lavish with his application of paint.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
You can see, in the, in the petals of the flowers, a great deal of impasto. It's funny that you mention that he and your mom went out to the, to the flea markets to, to search for frames. He adored putting baroque frames on his paintings, and once he would find a matching frame for the painting...
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
...would add his own personal touch by adding certain pigments. And this, and in this particular case, green and white paint into the floral part of the frame. The market for Cuban paintings has really become very hot in the last number of years, basically because the growing number of Cuban Émigrés into this country are interested in trying to reclaim some of their national patrimony, or their artistic patrimony.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And we have enjoyed a rise in his prices. We think that this painting is worth in the vicinity of $18,000 to $22,000.
GUEST:
My goodness, that's wonderful.
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.
