'Antiques Roadshow' seller's painting gets valued $1 million — and now he is really scared

"Antiques Roadshow" has emerged as a platform that not just stuns people with the real value of everyday items in their possession, but also motivates others to pay more attention to heirlooms and old artifacts. Sometimes, items that have been overlooked for decades turn out to be worth millions and this is what a guest, Rue Ferguson learned thanks to expert Colleene Fesko, who appraised an old oil painting of his to about a million dollars.

A Missing Masterpiece 

The episode from Corpus Christi, Texas aired way back in 2012, but it has remained etched in the memories of viewers. In the episode, Ferguson brought his family heirloom, an oil painting of a Mexican brick layer for the experts to take a closer look. He shared that the painting was bought by his great-grandparents in 1930, while they were in Mexico. He said that his father suspected that it was from renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera, but since the singature was slightly off, they thought it was a knockoff. Thus, the painting was kept in their home, hidden behind a door where nobody could see it. 

He further shared that the condition of the painting also deteriorated because of which they had to get it restored. Appraiser Colleene Fesko was astonished by the backstory as she said "Oh dear." Fesko then took over to explain the origin of the painting and its significance. She revealed that the painting was indeed made by Deigo Rivera and it is titled 'El Albanil'. She said that the illustrious artist was in his teenage years when he created the piece, which is why the signature is an amateur version of his autograph.

She claims that the artist painted the piece in 1904 at just 18 years old, but the painting shows all of the traits of his techniques that developed later in the years. Furthermore, the subject, which is a bricklayer, was also in line with Rivera's philosophy of celebrating the working-class heroes of Mexico. Fesko then mentioned that their research indicates that 'El Albanil' was once marked as "missing" in the Mexican City records post-1930.

She said that the painting resurfaced in 1996, 39 years after Rivera's death. A Houston rancher named Rugeley Ferguson, Sr., presented it to Marion Oettinger, then curator of the San Antonio Museum of Art. The painting was then authenticated as 'El Albanil' by Ramon Favela, an expert on Rivera's paintings. 

A Painting Trifecta

Fesko then informed the guest that he had a 'painting trifecta'. "The painting itself is by a very important artist, it has a terrific history of being purchased in Mexico in 1930, and it's a very beautiful and important painting," she said. She explained that trifectas usually pay pretty well and she would put its estimated retail price between $800,000 and $1 million. The Texan owner was stunned to hear the value and was at a loss for words.

Scared to Keep it Around

Six years after the show aired, a reevaluation estimated the painting's value at $1.2 million to $2.2 million. Speaking on Twin Cities PBS the owner said, "Now I'm really scared to carry it around."

The artwork was finally lent to the Antonio Museum of Art as a part of its permanent collection, where people from across the world could take a look at the early masterpieces of Diego Rivera.