An Antiques Roadshow guest was truly amazed at the value of a sketch on a restaurant bill after revealing it was drawn by a legendary artist.
The man appeared on the episode form Salford’s MediaCityUK, which was repeated on BBC One yesterday evening, with the framed bill.
He explained he was given it by his father, who had struck up a friendship with iconic artist Laurence Stephen Lowry during their time together at the Manchester College of Arts.
Some years later, his father opened up a restaurant and invited Lowry to join him for lunch which is when the artist decided to draw on the bill.
The guest was given the sketch by his father, who was friends with L.S. Lowry (Image: BBC)
“They were discussing the proportion of buildings in relation to their surroundings,” he explained.
“And Lowry said there’s one building that makes me cringe. He turned over the bill, drew that quickly and said it was a church steeple because it’s far too tall for its surroundings.”
Fine art expert Dendy Easton then delved into what makes the drawing so special.
The simple sketch was of a church’s steeple tower (Image: BBC)
“So when we look at this picture, we know there are a lot of fake Lowrys around but not here,” he explained.
“It has got such an assured hand, it is beautifully drawn – just a couple of strokes but it is positive.
“It is eye-to-hand, straight on, pure Lowry.”
To make it even more special, on the other side of the sketch remains the original restaurant bill from “Sam’s Chop House”.
Dendy finally revealed his valuation of the item, saying: “Given the story, I’d say it was definitely worth £2,000-£3,000.”
Clearly shocked, the guest replied: “That’s amazing, I really feel that’s amazing.”
It is not the only big surprise to have occurred on Antiques Roadshow, with Daily Star Online recently revealing some of the biggest in the show’s history from a rare watch to a £400k “plant pot”.
Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC One.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
