An Antiques Roadshow guest brought an heirloom painting on the show where it was valued at an eye-popping sum – but she then refused to ever sell it.
Charlotte Riordan, an expert on the BBC One show, marvelled at the beauty of the artwork by Archibald Thorburn and explained its history in the episode on Sunday night (February 7).
The painting, which depicts a pheasant, was appraised at Culzean Castle in Scotland’s Ayrshire and its current owner is descended from the Kennedy family who lived there before they bequeathed it to National Trust.
“You’ve come on a pilgrimage today to visit your ancestral home,” Charlotte said.
Antiques Roadshow expert Charlotte Riordan values an interesting painting (Image: BBC)
“What started you off on this research is this very interesting inscription on the back, ‘Painted for me by Archibald Thorburn on the occasion of my marriage, 10th March 1923.'”
It turned out, the famous Scottish-born artist was friends with her grandmother.
Looking at the detail of the pheasant painting, Charlotte added: “He’s regarded as one of the finest watercolourists of his period and probably one of Britain’s best painters of birds so I recognised it straight away.
“He’s very technically skilled in his handling of watercolour.”
Surprisingly, the artwork is still in very good condition, as noted by Charlotte.
The Archibald Thorburn painting was appraised on Antiques Roadshow (Image: BBC)
“We have lovely colours still here, beautifully fresh,” she said.
The painting was finally valued, with Charlotte commenting: “In terms of value at auction, this would be worth around £4,000 to £6,000 in its current condition.”
But the guest insisted the huge sum of money would not be tempting her in the slightest and it would remain a treasured heirloom forever.
She said: “Well, that’s lovely, very nice.
“Though it won’t be going anywhere, it’ll be staying in the family.”
Meanwhile, on the same episode of Antiques Roadshow, a guest brought in her collection of silver spoons and was stunned by how much they were truly worth.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
