APPRAISER
Tell me about this young lassie romping in the Miami surf.
GUEST
Yes, this is a painting that I bought at an antique show about 15 years ago, and in fact, the antique show was in this very building here...
APPRAISER
Oh.
GUEST
...in Miami. It had some tears, so I only paid ten dollars for it, but it looked cute.
APPRAISER
Mm-hmm.
GUEST
She reminded me of, like, the Campbell's Soup kids. And about three years later, I was at another antique show, and I found that it was a cover for the Saturday Evening Post. And I had to pay $15 for the cover, so I paid more for the cover than I did for the original art.
APPRAISER
Good heavens.
GUEST
Yes.
APPRAISER
Well, that's an unusual set of circumstances...
GUEST
Yes.
APPRAISER
...I must say. Now, obviously, you know it's by Sarah Stilwell Weber...
GUEST
Yes.
APPRAISER
Who is a marvelous illustration artist and in fact studied at the Drexel Institute, which is in Philadelphia very near where I work, in fact. She signed it with her initials down here. And while she was at the Institute, she worked with Howard Pyle, who's probably the best-known or one of the best-known American illustrators and taught N.C. Wyeth and Schoonover, Harvey Dunn, all these people, but also had some fantastic female students. Now, that probably sounds a bit sexist, but I feel as though they've been neglected, rather, over the years...
GUEST
Ah.
APPRAISER
...against the males. And the market's really become more and more interested in their work recently, so there's great interest in her work. She also did a lot of work with, ah, Collier's magazine and Harper's Bazaar, but as you pointed out earlier, this one's for the Saturday Evening Post. Now, not only are there a whole group of collectors of women artists-- the illustration market itself is extremely hot just now-- but there are also people who specifically collect original artwork for the Saturday Evening Post.
GUEST
Oh.
APPRAISER
Now, this one, I think, is a particularly charming example. It's had one or two little problems in condition terms, but you've sensibly had those addressed...
GUEST
Yes.
APPRAISER
...and it really looks super now. Have you thought at all about the value of it?
GUEST
Um, well... when I had it restored, I paid about a thousand dollars...
APPRAISER
Right.
GUEST
...and I thought it was worth that, so I'm hoping... I'm hoping that I did all right.
APPRAISER
I should probably start with this one, actually. What's this worth now?
GUEST
Okay.
APPRAISER
So that was $15.
GUEST
$15 I paid for that.
APPRAISER
It's worth about $20 now.
GUEST
Oh, good.
APPRAISER
On the other hand, this one's going to be worth, I would say, given the combination of factors and just the sheer charm of the subject, $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST
Very good. Oh, that's great.
APPRAISER
So I hope that's good news for you.
GUEST
Yes, that's very good news. I'm happy to know. She's going to go back in my bedroom, but I'm happy to know the value.
Passport
Follow Us