Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

My great-aunt Los gave this painting to my wife and I on the day of our wedding, and we've loved it ever since we had it. It's very evocative of Paris and the type of painting that Los loved to do. She was full of color.

APPRAISER

And so you are Los Jones's, the artist's, great-nephew, is that right?

GUEST

Great-nephew, correct, yes, yes.

APPRAISER

Yes. And the, the wedding took place, as I understand it, uh, was 1977, is that...

GUEST

1977, yeah.

APPRAISER

The title of this lovely watercolor is "Quartier Saint-Hilaire," and it's a Paris scene.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

And it's signed Los M. Jones, and it says Paris, and it says '47, so it was done in 1947.

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

So you got it almost exactly 30 years after she created it.

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

And I should also point out it's inscribed very nicely on the back.

GUEST

Yes, it is.

APPRAISER

And she's telling you that it's a wedding present to you and your wife, which is fantastic.

GUEST

Right, right.

APPRAISER

But what's also interesting is, on the back, she's even put the value at $1,500.

GUEST

(chuckles): Yes, in 1947.

APPRAISER

Well, I'm assuming it was put there in, in 1977, when she gave it to you.

GUEST

Oh, it could be, yup, yup, yup.

APPRAISER

So yeah, obviously, that's not a current value.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

But it's just interesting as a, kind of a point of reference.

GUEST

Absolutely.

APPRAISER

So, I'm probably gonna tell you what you already know. But Los Jones was born in 1905, and one of the amazing things about that for me is that that's just 40 years after the end of the Civil War...

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

...and the passage of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

And, you know, here she was in her, probably late 50s, early 60s, the Voting Rights Act was passed.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

And the Civil Rights Act was passed and so forth.

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

So I only bring that up because,

for two reasons

one is... She spoke about, often, that she had to submit her paintings anonymously.

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

Because of the racial barrier. Did she ever talk to you about stuff like that?

GUEST

Yeah, she, she talked about that time, and, and the "situation," that's what she called it. Um, oftentimes in Boston, she had to have a white friend submit the painting, and she would go to the exhibit to see people talking about her painting, not knowing that she had done it. And, um, get high accolades and, and, you know, praise for her painting, but never could show her face. And that, that didn't stop her-- she had that kind of spirit.

"I want to be an artist of consequence." And being a female, and an African American female, in those days was, was tough. She started out doing the design on the textiles for a department store in Boston...

APPRAISER

Right.

GUEST

...where she was born, and she saw the textiles being exhibited, but it didn't have her name. She said, "Well, this is the last time I'm going to do a painting, and it doesn't have my name prominently on the painting." So that's why she would always sign very big, let people know, "This is me."

APPRAISER

Sure. Oh, and the second reason I bring it up is because Paris, as I understand it, 1937 was the first time she went there.

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

But she just raved about the experience of being somewhere where race wasn't an issue.

GUEST

Very important to her. It gave her the freedom to be who she was. Like many African American artists who had to go to Paris to really have the atmosphere, and to be able to paint, or create, or do music, or write. So she met a lot of artists over there, white and Black-- Picasso, Langston Hughes, Josephine Baker.

APPRAISER

Did she ever speak to you about that?

GUEST

Well, she, she mentioned it, I mean, I, you know, when she talked about it, I was ten, you know, nine or ten years old.

APPRAISER

Right.

GUEST

And I was just a kid, so the names passed through, but I didn't really know who they were until I became older and realized the scope of her achievements.

APPRAISER

Yes, some scholars actually point to that point in time that kind of transitioned her as an artist.

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

Her painting style changed, and this was a...

GUEST

Correct.

APPRAISER

...big, pivotal point in her career, in Paris.

GUEST

Absolutely.

APPRAISER

And we should also point out she was one of the early art instructors at Howard University, the historically Black college...

GUEST

Ab... That's correct, that's correct.

APPRAISER

...in Washington, D.C. Has a distinguished career as an educator, as well.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

So have you had this, uh, painting appraised? Do you have any sense of how much it's worth?

GUEST

No, no, it's, it was a gift. We're not going to, you know, sell it.

APPRAISER

Of course.

GUEST

This is insurable value, mostly.

APPRAISER

Oh, sure. Of course, of course.

GUEST

Yeah, yeah.

APPRAISER

It's very impressive, her use of color, and her sense of design and composition. I would say this painting is probably worth around $25,000 retail, so I would insure it for that amount, if I were you.

GUEST

Okay, good, good.

APPRAISER

Yeah, I think that she thought enough of it to select it as a wedding present for you, I think, is really kind of a nice, uh, additional point to it, so...

GUEST

Thank you.

APPRAISER

That's where I would, that's where I would place it.

GUEST

Thank you. Los would be pleased.

APPRAISER

Oh, excellent, excellent. (both chuckle)