'Antiques Roadshow' guest asks 'are you kidding me?' after expert revealed the value of his artwork

Guests bringing artworks on “Antiques Roadshow” is nothing new, and these could be paintings by iconic artists or works related to historic milestones. But someone walking in with their own portrait to sell is unheard of. That’s exactly what happened on an earlier episode in which a guest wanted a portrait of his father appraised. The special thing about it was that it was made by the late great Robert Rauschenberg.

According to the guest, his father and Rauschenberg knew each other from their time in the Navy. He even had a picture of them together to prove that fact. The expert, Gene Shapiro, then revealed that the artist worked with several traumatized army men, which is where he could have met the guest’s father. Shapiro also said that the picture of the two served as provenance, which helped authenticate it.

The guest also had brought a photograph of the painting, which was sent to the Rauschenberg Foundation. It was sent back, and the curator had written a note on the back of the photo, confirming that the portrait was indeed an original work of art by Rauschenberg. With all that out of the way, it was now time to place a value on the painting, which the guest believed to be $500 when he was younger.

The expert said that given the provenance and the condition of the painting, it could have a conservative auction value of $40,000 to $60,000. The guest wasn’t expecting this and had a big smile on his face. “Holy cow, are you kidding me?” he asked in disbelief. “My dad would be really, really excited to hear that.” The portrait has probably become a treasure in the family after such a high appraisal.

Sometimes, the most valuable items are right there sitting in front of people, like the Rauschenberg portrait. Sometimes, such items are thrown away due to ignorance. One guest, on a different episode of the show, claimed that her father salvaged a painting in the ‘50s or ‘60s during a road trip with his wife. She brought the painting and was not expecting the high valuation it received.

The artwork was made by John Rae, a lesser-known but highly talented artist. The painting of "Alice in Wonderland" depicted Alice interacting with the red queen, as written in the beginning of Through the Looking-Glass, and a jack of hearts, symbolizing the end of "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland." It was quite a unique take on the popular books and was worth a lot of money.

The expert at the time revealed that the painting’s retail value was $10,000, given its condition. The guest wasn’t expecting this at all, especially for something that had to be taken from the trash. “Not bad for something rescued from the trash,” the expert said. “That’s surprising, wow,” the guest responded. According to the expert, the artist had also made a portrait of Alice Liddell, the girl who was the inspiration for Lewis Carroll to write the Alice in Wonderland books.