'Antiques Roadshow' guest says 'oh my, oh my' after hearing the value of her dad's sculpture
A guest on "Antiques Roadshow" got an eyebrow-raising appraisal for her father's iconic sculpture. While she knew its provenance and the significance of its creator, Alexander Calder, she had little idea about the value of the item. In the end, the show's expert, Eric Silver, left her nearly in shock by appraising the item, "Calder 'The Whirling Ear' Maquette," at around $75,000.
In the episode, the guest shared how the item came into her family and how her father cherished it. "My father was in possession of it for many years. He was in a metal fabricating shop in Watertown, Connecticut, near where Alexander Calder lived. And Alexander Calder brought this into the shop and said, 'Can you make this? I've been commissioned by the U.S. government to do something for the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.' So they said, 'Yup,'" she shared with Silver. She further explained that the full-size sculpture stands about 22 feet tall.
"I can remember standing next to the actual thing in the shop before it was shipped over. It was dismantled after the Brussels World's Fair and stored in a museum basement somewhere, and only in the last, I think, seven years has it been brought out and put on display again in Brussels," she mentioned.
Silver then took over to explain the significance of the artist and the sculpture. "Well, Alexander Calder is a very, very famous 20th-century American sculptor. His father was a sculptor and was born in Philadelphia, as was Calder himself," he said. He further added that Calder went to the Stevens Institute of Technology, which provided him with a scientific background, which often reflected in his sculptures.
The expert then noted that the guest had brought in a photograph of the full-size sculpture at the World's Fair. "And then you brought in this article that shows the piece. Here it is before it was painted. So it was hammered out of aluminum and then painted black," he explained. He added that the piece was meant to revolve, as it had a motor that caused it to rotate once a minute.
He added that while Calder's work is very desirable, they are relatively easy to fake. He noted that the item was cut out of sheet metal and painted with household paints. "Even though you do have this impeccable provenance, this article mentions the maquette. I would encourage you to contact the Calder Foundation, and they would give you a letter of authenticity," Silver suggested.
The expert then went on to share an auction estimate that left the guest in shock. "I think a conservative auction estimate at this time would probably be in the $50,000 to $75,000 range," the expert said. "Really? Oh, my!" she responded, visibly stunned.
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