An Antiques Roadshow guest was thrilled when he brought a painting reminiscent of a Teddy boy to find a whopping valuation of £80,000.
Appearing on Sunday’s (February 28) BBC programme, art historian Lawrence Hendra admitted he was feeling nervous when he came to valuate a painting by Laurence Stephen Lowry.
He told the guest: “Not only because he was one of the most distinctive and popular and valuable British artist of the 20th century, but he was also one of the most faked.”
The man said he found the painting in a fine art gallery and spent £1,300 on the artwork.
The guest bought the painting for £1,300 in 1998 from a gallery (Image: BBC)
“I was buying an antique bicycles in Christie’s, and I got it for way below what its value was,” he explained.
“And so I had some surplus cash and I walk around. The consequence of that is, I found that.
“I was a Teddy boy and it looks like a Teddy boy.”
The expert gave his opinion to the Lowry painting and said the artist was hugely popular because the paintings were not portraits and not studies of character.
Expert Lawrence Hendra said provenance is a crucial part to verify if the Lowry painting is genuine (Image: BBC)
But he pointed out a record of ownership of the artwork is crucial when it came to valuate Lowry’s painting.
Lawrence said: “Provenance with Lowry is crucial. Thankfully on the reverse of your picture, you have a label from the Lefevre Gallery, who represented Lowry, and who, as you know, sold many of his works.
“And you also have this letter and it was sent to you from the director of the gallery in 1998.
“He says ‘Further to your letter of July 18th, the painting by Lowry – Figure Standing 1 – which is your picture, was sold by us in 1965 for £175′.
“And it’s got all of the labels and the stock codes on the reverse. So that is absolutely crucial and you’ve got it.”
Confirming that the guest’s painting is genuine, the expert revealed how much the painting was now worth.
The guest smiled when he learned the value price of the painting is now £80,000 (Image: BBC)
He continued: “In terms of value, now I think if your painting were to come up at auction, I would expect to see it sell for a figure in the region of £60,000 to £80,000.”
The guest took a quick pause and giggled: “I like the sound of that.”
Viewers were shocked at the astonishing valuation and some suggested the guest to sell it for cash.
One said: “Wallop. Get it sold.”
“Poshest Teddy boy ever,” another wrote and a third jokingly commented: “He took that valuation way too calmly.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
