(It’s one of the ultimate collectible fantasies: found money. The odds are astronomical and, in fact, I may have better luck waiting for a suitcase of money to fall from the sky. The attic or basement find, or the unassuming treasure adorning a wall, that is Heritage’s stock in trade – we see it all the time. Today Eric Bradley skillfully portrays a recent jaw-dropper in the Fine Art realm, uncovered at a Heritage appraisal day. – Noah)
Appraisal events are funny things.
I’ve had the opportunity to be on both sides of the table and it’s equally thrilling.
If you’ve ever had a chance to score free tickets to a taping of Antiques Roadshow then you know an appraisal event is equal parts adrenaline, controlled chaos and a crash course in history. Experts behind the tables have to be on their game (or at least know where to turn for answers at a moment’s notice) and attendees have to ensure their valuable objects don’t get smashed in the process.
The most entertaining and interesting stories are from people’s families and the objects that have passed down from generation to generation.
Surprisingly, those objects are not always beloved – or even wanted.
At a Heritage Auctions appraisal event in June, a visitor brought it a painting that no one in her family particularly liked. The owner’s uncle worked as a maintenance man at an apartment complex in a major metro. One particular family in the building liked this maintenance man very much. When they moved out of the building in the 1960s they gave him a painting as a gift.
The painting was hung in the maintenance man’s basement and it remained there long after his death.
His wife, the owner’s aunt, was always curious about the painting’s value but something always prevented her from finding out. It didn’t help that no one in the family could make out the signature.
Time went by and the aunt passed away. The family planned an estate sale and, as belongings were cleaned and sorted, the truth came out: No one in the family really liked the painting.
In fact, even the owner’s own son encouraged her to throw it away. She refused, simply because she had always promised her aunt that one day it would be brought to an expert for a proper assessment.
Last month, the consignor’s son (the one who encouraged her to pitch the painting) forwarded an email he received regarding a recent Heritage Appraisal Days event. He encouraged her to visit to see if Heritage ‘would offer anything just to take it.’
The family learned that the ‘junk painting’ is actually Siberian Girl (No. 14) 1922 by Leon Gaspard, a very desirable Russian-born artist who spent his most productive years in America.
It may bring as much as $50,000 at a Western & California Art auction in November.
Sometimes chaos creates a happy ending.
By Eric Bradley