'Antiques Roadshow' guest's voice breaks after expert reveals the value of his 100-year-old painting

Guests on "Antiques Roadshow" don't just bring fascinating artifacts and collectibles to the table, but also make it engaging with their dramatic reactions to the value of their treasured possessions. While the fans look out for the massive appraisals, sometimes the stories behind an artifact are much more valuable. This was the case with a guest named Denis Chandler, who brought a stunning oil painting with a heartwarming backstory.

In the episode, the guest brought an original 1923 oil painting by American illustrator Frank Schoonover, who is famous for his work on books such as "Swiss Family Robinson,"  the "Zane Grey Western" novels, and "Robinson Crusoe." On the PBS show, Chandler brought Schoonover’s painting titled "At A Hail From The Boat, He Went To The Rail", which was from Chapter 13 of author Ralph D Paine’s book Privateers of 76’, according to a handwritten note on the back of the painting.

While the artwork was significant in itself, what made it even more special was the touching family story behind it. “I inherited this painting from my parents. My mother wanted to give my father a gift that he would love as he loved reading to his children books that had illustrations," Chandler explained to the expert, Debra Force. “This is one of the illustrations. She knew how much he would love to get one of those, so she decided she needed to make this a secret," he added. 

Chandler shared that his mother saved five dollars every week from her food money for two straight years to afford the painting. All this time, she kept it a secret from his father to make the gift special. “It was either his birthday or their anniversary, gave him a card that said ‘You can go down to the Schoonover Studios and pick out a painting'," he shared. 

Thus, the family chose the painting that he had with him on the show. “This is the one with a clipper ship, which he thought was extraordinary and he settled on that one and we were all thrilled," Chandler explained. The special illustration depicted men standing at a rail on the stern of a ship, talking to men in a skiff below. “The painting, of course, is oil on canvas and it looks like the original frame. This painting is dated in the lower right, ‘23, 1923, and that’s when the novel was first published," Expert Debra Force noted. The expert mentioned that the artist was a popular illustrator with many known works displayed across the nation. Coming to the numbers, Force estimated that if the painting was in a gallery, it would sell in "the range of $125,000.”

Upon learning about the value, the guest was in utter disbelief. "Are you kidding?” he asked before Force insisted she wasn’t and that it was a “wonderful painting”. 

Tearing up, the guest shared that it was a special moment for his family. “My father would be so thrilled to know that people were being turned on to illustrations," he said.

The painting was later put on display at the Delaware Art Museum, according to Delaware Online.