'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison pays a lot more than what the guest expected for his paintings
"Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison is known to have a good eye for valuable items. This is why when he came across four original paintings of celebrated artist Andy Warhol, he made sure to get a deal without much haggling. In the end, Harrison agreed to pay $27,000 to the owner of the collection, Paul, who was very happy to sell the collection.
Paul brought his collection to the pawn shop, claiming that he had had the original pieces of Warhol's artwork for years. "They've been sitting in a closet, and I heard that a Warhol just sold for 36 million. So I dusted them off and brought them here," he said in his interview. Paul further told Harrison that his father was a historian, and he bought the artwork about 25 years ago.
"They were given to a guy who actually worked at the factory. Warhol started an art factory where he had a bunch of people working for him making art, and since it was Andy Warhol's factory, he signed everything," he added.
Looking at the items, Harrison acknowledged that the artwork did look like something Warhol would do. However, he noticed that the pieces carried some water damage, which may hurt the collection's value. He then asked Paul for the price, and he told the pawn boss that he was looking to get $32,000 for the collection.
"It's not that I don't trust you right, it's just generally I don't trust anybody," Harrison said before calling in his expert, Brett, a fine art appraiser. Upon taking a look at the paintings, Brett told Harrison that they did look authentic and original. "Based on knowing the subject matter. When they were done, the media they were done in, I think these are authentic. I think these are hand done by Warhol himself," Brett said.
Coming to the appraisal, Brett noted that the artwork was probably done in the 1950s, and early works of the artist were quite valuable in the market. Despite the water damage, Brett estimated that at least two of the paintings were worth about $15,000 each.
Once Brett left, Harrison got straight down to business by making a low-ball offer of $20,000. "Okay, the commissions at auctions are as high as 50%" he reasoned with Paul. However, the owner wasn't willing to let the collection go for that amount, so he chose to stick to his original asking price. "I mean you could get $30,000 for just the two pieces in the middle," he told Harrison, recalling Brett's appraisal. Harrison finally went up to $27,000, and after some thinking, Paul accepted the deal.
In the end, Paul expressed that he was thrilled to make the deal as it was much more than what he expected to get. "$27 000! I mean that is more than I expected, so I am thrilled!" he said as he left the shop.
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