'Antiques Roadshow' guest covers her mouth in disbelief after mom's $200 painting gets appraised
A guest on "Antiques Roadshow" received the happiest surprise of her life after her mother's $200 painting fetched a five-figure appraisal. The owner of the 1955 Earl Moran pin-up painting knew very little about the provenance of the artwork. However, she fought hard for its possession as she found it incredibly pretty. It all paid off in the end, as the show's expert, Colleene Fesko, appraised the piece at over $30,000.
In the episode, the guest shared how her mother got the painting and how she fell in love with it as a young girl. "As much as I can remember, it spent ten to 15 years at my mom's house. She bought it at an estate sale, and she paid about $200 for it. And I've been begging her for this picture ever since I've seen it," she shared with Fesko. She added that after her mother remodeled the house, she finally got the painting—and she couldn't be happier.
Fesko then took over to explain the significance of the painting and its artist. She explained that the pin-up painting was created by Earl Moran, who started off his career as a shoe illustrator. "He also studied at the Art Students' League in New York. But where he found fame and fortune was in mid-century Los Angeles, and this is a really wonderful, wonderful example of his pin-up calendar art," she added.
Speaking about the artwork, Fesko noted that it was a mixed-media piece on board. "This was probably done as an advertisement for a car company or even a sporting company, because you also have the sailboat and the motorboat," she told the guest, pointing to the subject of the painting.
Before revealing the appraisal, Fesko asked the guest if she had gotten the item appraised before. "No, I have no idea, honestly. I just painted a wall in my house the pink on the car, and it looks excellent in my house, so as to the value, no, I've never," the guest responded. Fesko noted that the value of Moran's paintings tends to vary in the market. "Not the usual sliding scale; the more clothes that slide off the pin-up girl, the more valuable they tend to be," she told the guest.
She further noted that the picture of the young girl wearing the bright green bathing suit, with the great period car, the period sailing vessels and motorboat, the dog, and the artist's signature was remarkable. "I would be estimating it between $20,000 and $30,000 at auction," she said. The valuation surprised the owner, as she covered her mouth in shock. "Is my mom going to see this? Because I'm not giving it back!" she exclaimed, laughing.
Fesko assured the guest that it would be a secret and congratulated her. "Oh, my goodness. And she looks good on my pink wall!" the guest said before profusely thanking the expert for the appraisal.
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