'Antiques Roadshow' guest refuses to believe that her mom's 1931 portrait was worth a fortune

It's a common theme on "Antiques Roadshow" that people are blown away by the value of heirlooms and artifacts despite hoping to get a good appraisal in the first place. But it rarely happens that someone simply refuses to believe experts when they give a very high valuation to their beloved items. One such guest simply refused to accept a hefty appraisal for his mother's childhood portrait. The show's expert, Robin Starr, revealed that the portrait was done by an important painter named Adelaide Chase, whose art is quite valued in the market, and confidently estimated that the old painting was worth at least $32,000.

In the episode of the PBS show, the guest shared the incredible provenance of the painting and how her family had cherished it for decades. "It's my mom, painted when she was four years old by an artist named Adelaide Chase from Boston. What I heard growing up was that everybody in Boston had their portraits painted by Adelaide Chase at one point in time. We have a portrait of her mother, and on my dad's side, two portraits," she told Starr.

The expert noted that it was amazing to have four portraits done by the same artist in the family. "She was a very important society painter in Boston in the early 20th century," she commented. The expert added that her father, J. Foxcroft Cole, was also a painter, and he was her first unofficial teacher. She explained that the artist trained with two renowned artists, Frank Benson and Edmund Tarbell, at the Boston Museum School. "She went off to Paris and the Académie Julian and got experience there. And she came back to be one of the preeminent portrait painters in Boston, as you said," Starr noted. 

Regarding the painting, the expert noted that it was in the style of the Boston School, with an exact American Impressionist approach. "A slightly more subtle palette than some of the other artists at the time. But still clearly impressionistic and just beautifully captured textures in clothing, in objects, in flesh. And that's why she was so sought after," she said. She added that the painting also had a wonderful curved frame and it was signed, "Thulin, 1932." Starr added that Thulin was a very important Framemaker in Boston around that time.

She explained that the frame maker was joined by artists named Hermann Dudley Murphy and Charles Prendergast, and together they created the beautiful hand-carved frames that have now risen in value on their own. "Not that you would ever want to separate it, because it's, it's the quintessential Boston package," she added.

The expert then said, "I know you would never sell your mother." The guest confirmed that she would never sell the painting. "No, in my younger years, maybe, but not, not at this point," the guest told Starr. "So for insurance purposes, I'd insure it for $32,000," Starr went on to add. The amount shocked the guest, who refused to believe her ears. "No, sir!" she exclaimed. "You knew your mom was a winner!" Starr responded.

In the end, the guest thanked the appraiser for the estimate and noted that her mother always knew the portrait was important.