PBS Antiques Roadshow US had one guest in tears as she learned the true value of the watercolour and gouache painting she had brought in for valuation.
The guest presented the artwork to expert Meredith Hilferty, who seemed ecstatic to get to see the painting in the flesh. The guest explained: “This is a painting I was given when my grandmother passed away. It always hung right above her bed.
“Her dad, I’m guessing, would’ve given it to her after she spent the summer at a dude ranch when she was 19 in the 40s.” She then went on to explain that she wasn’t sure if it was a print or a real painting, adding: “When I got it, there was a mosquito underneath the glass, so I took it out to the front yard and I opened it up to get the mosquito out so I could take it with me to college.
READ MORE: Christina Aguilera says sex should be ‘everyday’ now she can ‘orgasm from 4 new places’
READ MORE: Want more showbiz? Daily Star has just the thing for you!
“Then it kind of scared me a little – I closed it back up immediately because it looked like it might be real.”
The painting had been appraised twice before – at $200 in 1998 and $250 in 2004. It turned out the artwork was by H. F. Farny – and it was even signed with his artist mark. She explained the painter had associations with the Sioux tribe, who “adopted him in”.
She explained: “They gave him a cipher, ‘Long Boots’, and that’s what that little circle underneath his signature is.” Meredith said: “That’s the artist, it’s Henry Francois Farny. He was born in France and he came to Pennsylvania when he was about six years old.”
The painting dated back to 1892, and the valuation had the guest in tears. Meredith said: “If we were going to put this in an auction today, I would suggest an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.”
The guest then put her hand over her face and broke down in tears, trying to compose herself as she responded: “So I can’t hang it up? Oh my god. That’s so much!”
She then wondered if it would have been better to have left the dead mosquito inside the frame, with Meredith telling her: “It’s actually not a bad idea that you took the bug out. Ultimately we would have liked our conservator to do that.
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
“But the bug could’ve continued to decay and caused a stain or something that you could’ve probably had a conservator work on, but it’s good that the bug wasn’t there any more.”
Though it was appraised in 2017, the painting went on to secure its estimated value when it sold in 2021, thanks to the guest’s promise to “keep it away from my dog!”
Follow Daily Star on Threads here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
