A woman who came to own a signed Quentin Blake picture by a complete fluke was overjoyed when an Antiques Roadshow expert estimated a four-figure value.
In an episode of the BBC One show from June 20, the guest brought along a miniature artwork showing a man and a woman in swimming costumes hugging and splashing around at the beach.
Expert Frances Christie said: “It’s quite rare to see something so small that puts such a big smile on everyone’s faces.”
She added: “This is unmistakably the work of Quentin Blake, with that pen and ink line, the spontaneity of it, those huge smiling faces.
“How did it come to be yours?”
(Image: BBC)
The guest revealed: “Well, about thirty years ago when I was an art student in London, I had a summer holiday job to clear out an office of a charity.
“And amongst all the papers that were going in the skip was this drawing.”
Sounding shocked, Frances cut in and exclaimed: “No way!”
The owner said she had recognised the drawing because Blake, perhaps best known for illustrating Roald Dahl’s children’s books, was “one of my favourite artists” and she was even able to reunite it with the creator and get it signed – making it much more valuable.
(Image: BBC)
She said: “A friend was going to interview Quentin Blake and so I gave him the illustration and said, ‘If you get the opportunity, could you ask him to sign it?’
“Quentin Blake told my friend the story behind the drawing, and it was an illustration for a leaflet about contraception.
“And originally, the couple were naked, but the powers that be thought it was a little bit risqué, so he was asked to put the swimming costumes on them.”
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Frances then delivered what everyone was waiting for and gave her the best estimation of its worth today.
“Given that you didn’t pay a bean for it, and it’s something that you found amongst a bunch of boring papers, if this was to come up at auction today we would probably expect a valuation of somewhere between £1,000 to £1,500,” she said.
The thrilled owner said: “Oh my goodness – that’s amazing!”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
