Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

I found it on an auction site and paid about $800 for it.

APPRAISER

This is a painting by Lee Godie, who was a self-taught Chicago legendary artist who showed up on the steps of the Art Institute in about the '70s. She suffered some tragedies and then wound up on the streets. Kind of lost it. And started making art. She was obsessed with the French Impressionists. I believe this is probably a postcard from the Art Institute. She was obsessed with beauty and thought she was bringing beauty to the world by creating these portraits, often of society ladies. It's on canvas, which is unusual, and it's double-sided.

GUEST

Yes, yes.

APPRAISER

Shall we show what the back looks like? She writes a lot of notes on the backs of the paintings, and I believe she traced her hands. This is part of this whole category of self-taught or outsider art.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

And it's really interesting because this is an aspect of American folk art which has tremendous interest in the collecting world. And it's beginning to move into the realm of contemporary art. And so there's a lot of interest and the prices are beginning to rise. This is in a higher category of value and desirability because it's an early work that includes the postcard of a French 18th century work of art. There have been recent sales of this kind of work for about $3,000. So your $800 investment was a pretty good one.

GUEST

Excellent, excellent.