'Antiques Roadshow' guest's jaw drops after expert revealed the value of his 1958 sculpture
Guests on “Antiques Roadshow” are usually people who possess items that do seem vintage, but they still aren't sure about the true value until an expert blows their mind. One of those individuals brought a unique "Coyote Warrior" sculpture that was carved by the famous artist, Dick West. The show's expert, Tony Abeyta, was astonished to see the rare item as West, who was known for paintings, didn't create many sculptures.
In the episode of the PBS show, the guest shared that he got the item from Bacone College as a gift, and he didn't know much about it, apart from it being very interesting. "My grandfather was a donor to Bacone College, which was a Native American college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. And one day, he put me in the car, and we went to Bacone College, and we came home with this," he told Abeyta.
He further shared that it was carved by Dick West, who was a friend of his grandfather. "I don't know, like, if he commissioned it or if he just saw it, liked it, bought it," the guest noted. The expert then took over to add that the sculpture was a "wonderful example" by Walter Richard West, who served as the head of the art department at Bacone College. The appraiser noted that he wasn't really known for making sculptures as he was primarily known as a painter. "His paintings are represented in the Gilcrease Museum. He also has paintings in the Philbrook Museum," Abeyta noted, before adding, "I can only use the word 'rare.'"
Looking at the sculpture, Abeyta said he was impressed by the scale and the portrait of the "Coyote Warrior." He then revealed that what looked like a mohawk on the head of the subject wasn't really his hair but it was a roach. "He's got a, a long loincloth, he's holding a rattle, um, and the title being Coyote-Warrior, it's up to interpretation. We can use sort of a pan-Indian identity without being too specific because it's hard to identify without having the artist here to really explain the narrative of it," Abeyta explained.
Nevertheless, the appraiser noted that the provenance of the sculpture was "really wonderful." When asked about how much his grandfather paid for the item, the guest said that it was about $250. The expert noted that it was a great deal even though it was purchased at a time when $250 was a lot of money. The expert then went on to deliver a mind-boggling appraisal. "For insurance purposes, the value of this would be between $25,000 and $30,000," Abeyta said, leaving the guest gasping for air. Recovering from the shock, the first thing that guest said was, "That's a motorcycle. That's a Harley!" to put the value of the sculpture into perspective.
Viewers in the comments were astonished by the appraisal, and many appreciated the skills of the artist as well. "It's amazing that a man who was known as a painter would also have such fantastic skill as a sculptor, but that his sculptures themselves are considered "rare." That means he didn't create many sculptures, and I find that rather sad. He was obviously *quite* skilled in both disciplines," a user @JAMoore-zz3ki wrote in the comments on YouTube.
