She Paid $15 For This Painting At an Estate Sale... Then This Happened on Antiques Roadshow

Wow, that's pretty amazing. Wow, I had no idea. A family collection of African-American art gets passed down after a loss. On the back of one bright piece, there's a handwritten note. Today we count down seven family finds, hand-me-downs, and porch decorations. Okay, let's get into it. Number seven, Steinlen's Summer Cat on a Balustrade, color lithograph, 1909. A cousin in the Women's Army Corps brought this cat home from Paris in the 1940s. She is a cat lover and she paid a few hundred dollars for it, told that it was extremely valuable. And this was in the 1940s? Yes. And I'm not a cat lover. So it's been on my porch for 15 years. 15 years on a porch. But the appraiser sees something very different. Of his models are his own cats. So he didn't have to go far to find cats to draw. Now you said you thought it was a painting initially. It's actually a color lithograph. You have one that's in very, very good condition. So what's an unloved porch cat really worth? In this condition, if I had to put a replacement value or a retail value on this, I would say it's around $10,000 to $12,000. So you're at the top end. I'm stunned. Do you like cats anymore after that? Is that? I'm beginning to love it. Great. That's $10,000 to $12,000 and one brand new cat lover. If you're enjoying this, hit subscribe because the numbers only climb from here. 6. Eugenio Zampighi Oil Paintings, circa 1900 These two paintings started a tug of war that lasted for years in one family's house. These paintings were purchased by my mother, I believe in the late 50s, early 60s, at an antique store for $120. My father hated these paintings from the day she brought them home. She loved them. She'd put them up, he'd take them down, she'd put them up. I always loved them. The owner wasn't even sure they were real, so let's see what the appraiser thinks. These are really terrific. They are indeed original oil paintings. They're executed on canvas. Eugenio Zampighi was Italian. He loved to depict images of peasant life. That's why I actually thought they were prints, because they almost look too smooth to be oils. So who wins the family fight? Mom or dad? The one closest to you at auction, you could reasonably expect that to bring $6,000 to $8,000. The one closer to me would probably bring $7,000 to $9,000 at auction. So not to get in the middle of a family squabble, but I think mom was right. I guess she was, dad. I'm putting the paintings back up. That's $13 to $17,000 combined, and mom gets the last word, even now. Number 5. Enrico Fanfani Oil Painting, circa 1860. Grandpa's auction find has a little secret that nobody can explain. It was purchased by my grandfather at an auction. Damage can hurt a painting's value badly, so let's see how bad this is. So with a hole right in it, what's Grandpa's painting worth? If this were to go to auction in its present condition, I think it probably would sell for $8,000 to $12,000. That's $8,000 to $12,000, hole in all, and it will only look better after a cleaning. Number 4. Robert Atkinson Fox Duck Hunter painting, circa 1910. This hunting scene came down through the family, and the name in the corner surprised even the expert. Well, it's something that my wife inherited from her sister and her husband. That signature in the lower left is the key to this one. The artist is Robert Atkinson Fox. During his Hold on. Before we get to the number, think about what's sitting in your own home right now. A painting nobody's looked at twice. A ring that's been in a drawer for years. A box you've never actually opened. This ebook is built to help you spot which of those things might actually be worth something. Check the link and QR code on screen if you want to dig into it. Now, back to the video. So what's a duck hunt by a famous cow painter worth? You've got an artist who's really prolific during his lifetime. $15,000 to $20,000 is where I would see it in a good retail store. That's $15,000 to $20,000 and maybe the calmest thank you of the whole day. Tell me in the comments. Is there a painting in your house that somebody in the family can't stand? Number three, a Talico brass Venice oil painting circa 1920. This collector kept going back to one little mom and pop antique shop in Italy. I lived in a small town called Tortona in northern Italy in the Piedmont region, the equivalent of around, I guess, $600 at the time. And I actually found it on a map and went there before I left Italy. Imagine standing by that same canal almost 100 years after the artist did. There's an example of painting by Italico Bras, who's a really an Italian Impressionist artist. He studies originally in Munich and then in Paris, but he really hits his stride in Venice. And less formal, it's not the Grand Canal, it's not the Doge's Palace, it's a little back canal here. So what's this quiet corner of Venice worth today? Well, given that this is a fairly pristine work by him, It's a good size work for him, too. Not too many have come up at auction. This is one of the larger ones. An auction estimate for this would be about $20,000 to $30,000. Wow. Wow, I had no idea. That's incredible. That's $20,000 to $30,000 for a painting that cost about $600 in a little shop. Number two, Chinese export painting of Canton circa 1850. A missionary uncle brought this busy harbor scene home from China. This painting was given to my father from my great uncle. My great uncle was a missionary in China from 1922 into the 50s. It had to have been probably So where in China is this and how old is it really? And it's what we call an export painting. However, if you look on the far right, what you see here is a French flag and you see a series of Western trading ships. They would be there from one to three years. So what's a traveler's souvenir from the 1850s worth today? Wiz, I know you had it appraised. Yes, my father actually had it cleaned back in 1978. And at that time, he had it insured for $4,500. $4,500. Yeah. Well, I think at auction, you could expect to get somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 for this picture. Wow. That's $30,000 to $40,000, a long way up from that old insurance number. Number one, abstract work on paper, 1976. Thank you. Here it is, the piece with the handwritten note from Mexico on the back. My wife's aunt passed away in 2019, and she was a collector of all kinds of art, but particularly African-American artists. And my wife inherited a number of pieces from her, and that's how we got this. And do you know the name of the artist? Yeah, it's Ed Clark. That name on the back turns out to matter a great deal. Ed Clark was a very important African-American artist. He reached a level of prominence later in his career. He later moved to Paris. And his style changed dramatically. Something that is indicative of his work are the bands of color that is signature to his style. So what's a work on paper from a Mexican trip worth today? In recent years, his work has become highly sought after. So I would give a conservative estimate of between $50,000 and $65,000 in a gallery. Wow. That's $50,000 to $65,000. That's the conservative number. We started with a porch cat at $10,000 to $12,000, a harbor in Canton, and finally Ed Clark at $50,000 to $65,000. And if you want to find out what your own old treasures might actually be worth, just copy the link in the description below, or you can scan the QR code on screen. Which one of these would you hang in your living room? Let me know in the comments, and subscribe for more Antiques Roadshow surprises.