Antiques Roadshow

APPRAISER

So, Grace, tell me, how long have you had this painting?

GUEST

About 45 years, I would judge.

APPRAISER

And all these years, you've had it hanging like this, is that right?

GUEST

Yeah. Well, I had it the other way, and then everybody said, "Grace, you're wrong." And friends came to the house and did it this way, wired it that way, and it's been hanging that way for over 40 years.

APPRAISER

Some friends.

GUEST

Yes, they were smart, they thought.

APPRAISER

Should be... this way. Should be this way.

GUEST

Yeah, but then, the basket isn't sitting on the table.

APPRAISER

Well, we could argue that one, but I think the clue is actually the signature here. Do you see that?

GUEST

Yes, it's very vague.

APPRIASER

"L.W. Prentice." That's Levi Wells Prentice, who was born in the Adirondacks back in around about 1850 or so.

GUEST

Oh, he's from New York state.

APPRAISER

Yeah. Now, where did you get the painting?

GUEST

On Third Avenue, they had art shops, and they were very reasonable. And it had a broken frame, so I put this, quote, "terrible" frame on it.

APPRAISER

I wouldn't disagree with that. It is a terrible frame. It really doesn't help the painting. Prentice is a marvelous artist. He's one of these painters who, I feel, when you've seen one of his paintings, you'll always recognize other ones. He's got a very distinctive realist style. He tended to work in two kinds of painting mode, either landscapes or still lives. You did well getting the still life, you see, because they tend to be much more coveted by collectors. The landscapes he did in the Adirondacks...

GUEST

The Hudson River artists.

APPRAISER

Yeah, exactly, but he was well known for doing these still lives. Often it was strawberries, sometimes raspberries, apples, quite often tumbling out of a basket, as is happening here. Hence the confusion about which way it should be hanging. Now, tell me about when you bought it. Do you remember how much you paid for it?

GUEST

Oh, yeah, like, $50, $50, $60.

APPRAISER

You'll be pleased to hear the market's moved on quite a bit for Levi Wells Prentice, and there's a lot of demand for his work these days, and particularly for this kind of still life. And at auction, these days, it would fetch probably in the region of $20,000 to $30,000.

GUEST

That's ridiculous. I loved it! I mean, it's such a wonderful, wonderful painting.

APPRAISER

It deserves a better frame. (laughs)