'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison didn't even make an offer for painting that is too 'difficult to sell'
"Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison always avoids buying things that he can't sell for a profit later on, no matter how fascinating the item is. In one episode, when a seller named Troy brought a very old painting from Eanger Irving Couse, it was too big to sell, even for the pawn boss himself. While his appraiser valued the painting at $20,000, Harrison believed it would be tough for him to find a collector to sell it to for a profit, so he let the deal slide.
The seller dragged in the large painting, and looking at its condition, Harrison was intrigued. "I believe this is the earliest-known painting by Eanger Couse. And I think this was painted by him when he was about 12, 13 years old," Troy explained. Harrison noted that the artist was quite famous for making impressionist paintings, and collectors love his work.
"I took a risk when I purchased the painting online. But the one thing that I'm very proud of is that I saved this painting from ending up in a trash heap somewhere. And I actually was fortunate enough to preserve this part of history," Troy said in his interview. "He was one of those artists, I mean, not quite Norman Rockwell, but people know him because he did all the calendars for the Santa Fe Railroad," Harrison remarked.
After examining the painting up close, Harrison noted that the painting had the artist's signature, but it didn't look like his usual work. Troy clarified that he contacted the Couse Foundation, and the artist's granddaughter authenticated the piece herself. "And she's like, you're not gonna believe this, but this is a dead-ringer signature," he recalled. However, Harrison was concerned with the condition of the painting and the brackets on it. When Troy told him that he was looking to get $50,000 for the 1885 painting, Harrison didn't waste any time and called in fine art appraiser, Brett Maly.
Maly noted that it was natural for the painting not to look like Couse's known work, as he painted it when he was just a 12-year-old boy. "I mean, this isn't bad for a 12-year-old. But for a course, it's pretty rudimentary," he noted. "From what I know of the artist, he grew up surrounded by Native American culture. So, he had an early fascination. And this kind of demonstrates a little bit of that inspiration without having a full understanding of what goes into it," he added.
After looking at the piece closely, Maly told Harrison that he would need to spend about $5,000 to repair the frame and restore the artwork. Coming to the appraisal, he told the pawn boss that the artwork could bring $20,000, only if Harrison finds the right collector. "I mean, this is a piece that I think would be much more valuable to a museum, somebody that had an exhibition of Couse's work," he said.
Once the expert left, Harrison told Troy that he wouldn't be able to make a deal. "I know you wanted 50 grand for it. But I just don't see a deal happening here. It's just too difficult for me to sell," Harrison admitted.
"Not to have an offer made, I feel a little deflated. I believe the painting was worth more than what the appraisal was," the seller expressed in the end.
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