'Antiques Roadshow' guest sheds tears after expert reveals the value of her 1959 oil painting

"Antiques Roadshow" isn't just an opportunity for guests who arrive on its sets to get items appraised, but it also raises awareness among millions of viewers about the history and hidden value of old artifacts in their possession. Even avid viewers of the show are sometimes left in shock over the valuation of things that they bring when they finally make it to the show. This was the case of a guest who brought in an Édouard Cortès, oil painting, after watching a fake painting of his, getting rejected on the show. 

In the episode, expert Alasdair Nichol started off by asking the guest if she had any idea about the painting or the artist. The guest explained that she knew it was from a famous painter called Édouard Cortès, and she came to know about him while watching the show. "I was watching Antiques Roadshow, and in the Feedback Booth, a gentleman stated that he found out his Cortès was a fake. And a light bulb went off, and I ran downstairs, and sure enough, this painting that had been hanging on our wall for 40 years said, 'Édouard Cortès'," she shared. 

The guest added that the painting was owned by her grandparents both of whom were painters, who vacationed in Paris. She explained that she looked up the bio of the artist and learned that he was from a family of well-known artists, and was best known for his paintings of the Parisian street scenes.

"You've done your research; I commend you," Nichol said to the guest. He then explained that the artist was born near Paris and his father was a Spanish court painter. He added that the painter's subject matter was mostly from about 1900 onwards and he was known for being "prolific and even formulaic." The appraiser noted that the artist had a unique method of marking his paintings. "He would take a little pin and stick it in the canvas, and he would do that to establish the vanishing point to determine the perspective in the painting and in the drawing," he explained.

The same was found in the painting as well and the guest said that she thought it was a flaw at first. The appraiser added that there were experts who authenticated his work, but he had no doubt that the painting in front of him was an original.

"It's very well done; you've got these wonderful light sources. You see the reflections on the road in the foreground," Nichol said. He added that the size of the 18x22 piece of art was a bit larger than the artist's other paintings, which made it rare. After explaining the prominence of the oil painting, Nichol got straight down to the numbers. "For an 18x22-inch canvas, at auction, that should be worth $30,000 to $50,000," he told the guest, almost knocking her off her feet. "You've got to be kidding me-- $30,000 to $50,000?" the guest said in response while wiping her tears.

Adding to her delight, the expert mentioned that he was very confident about the appraisal and that the value could go up to $40,000 or $50,000. "That's absolutely wonderful. Wow! That's really exciting," the guest exclaimed. 

Nichol then asked the guest if she had tears in her eyes, to which the guest confirmed that she did. "They are tears of joy," she said in the end.