Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

I was at a garage sale in Sebring, and I was on my way out, and I saw it laying up against the garbage can. And I asked the woman if she'd mind if I took it because I wanted the glass and the frame. And she said, "You can have it, take it." So 15 years ago, I scooped it up, put it in the back of my car, and off I went.

APPRAISER

Well, you mentioned the glass and the frame. What about the painting? Did that register at all?

GUEST

No, not for me, it did not appeal to me at all.

APPRAISER

Is this one you have hanging? Is it one you enjoy on a regular basis?

GUEST

No, not really. I did not want to get rid of it because I knew that there was some value in the frame and the glass. So I put it under a bed for several years, and then the cat was sleeping on it, so I took it out, dusted it off and put it back in the closet. And then put some luggage in front of it so it wouldn't get broken, and that's where I pulled it out this morning.

APPRAISER

It's signed and dated '44, 1944 down here.

GUEST

Yes.

APPRAISER

Now, do you know anything about Kelly Fearing? Did you get a chance to do any research about that?

GUEST

Well, that he is from the Fort Worth area, and that he belonged to an artist circle there, and that he graduated, I think, from Columbia.

APPRAISER

Mm-hmm.

GUEST

He seemed to be fairly accomplished.

APPRAISER

He was born in 1918, and I think it was Arkansas in fact. And then you're quite correct, he graduated from Columbia University. In 1943 he moved to Fort Worth.

GUEST

Okay.

APPRAISER

And he became part of what was known then as the Fort Worth Circle. Now, bear in mind in Texas at that time, they were very much in thrall to American regionalism. This is the 1930s and '40s. If they weren't doing bluebonnets and cowboys, which were very popular in Texas at that point, they were doing regionalist paintings. Now, the interesting thing about the Fort Worth circle is that they really advanced the cause of European modernism in Texas. So they were looking at Mir, they were looking at Picasso and Braque and the Surrealists and all those things. So he was a great proponent and supporter of theirs. And you can see all those elements feeding into this painting, I see. Particularly Surrealism, Metaphysical Surrealism.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

I think it's a fascinating picture. It ticks all the boxes for me. It's the kind of thing I enjoy looking at. Some people might find it a little disturbing-- the houses are almost a little somewhere between Edward Hopper and Bates Motel.

GUEST

(laughing) Right.

APPRAISER

And the figures here and the terrible weather and whatnot.

GUEST

They're struggling.

APPRAISER

The broken-down car. Clearly it's a slightly depressing time, but bear in mind this is 1944, the Second World War was raging.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

And he was an interesting chap. He taught for over 40 years at the University of Texas in Austin. And he was a very spiritual kind of fellow. He used to go to India, he was interested in mysticism. And I think that imbues a lot of what's happening in this painting in fact. So I think he's a fascinating artist. And the medium is watercolor, I don't know if you noticed.

GUEST

Yes, I knew it was a watercolor.

APPRAISER

With a little bit of gouache as well, or some people call body color, which just adds a little substance to it. So the painting, I would think quite comfortably at auction probably $5,000 to $8,000.

GUEST

Okay, very good. That's very interesting.

APPRAISER

So not bad.

GUEST

No.

APPRAISER

And the frame and the glass?

GUEST

(laughing)

APPRAISER

Five dollars, maybe five dollars.

GUEST

Well, as long as I can get something for the frame and the glass.

APPRAISER

There you are.