'Antiques Roadshow' guest gets $400,000 appraisal for painting — then says it's too priceless to sell
The owner of the Jean-Michel Basquiat Oil Stick Painting made it clear that it wasn't going anywhere
Oct. 20 2025, Published 9:45 a.m. ET
"Antiques Roadshow" guests come to the show with artifacts that hold more meaning to them than monetary value. This is why the owner of a 'Jean-Michel Basquiat Oil Stick Painting' refused to sell his prized possession, despite getting a $400,000 appraisal. The show's expert, David Weiss, was astonished to see the artwork as he told the guest that it was "an amazing thing to have." Weiss noted that it could be one of the artist's earliest works and was worth a lot of money. But the guest firmly said, "That's good. But we won't sell it, we'll keep it."
"I lived in New York from 1979 to 1985. I work in construction, and I've gone to art school. One of my friends that I worked with, Chris Sedlmayr, Jean-Michel Basquiat used to work for him as a helper. Chris and I, and another gentleman, were business partners. And one Christmas, he gave me this as a Christmas present," the guest told Weiss.
Weiss noted that the piece was from 1979, before asking the guest about the letter he got along with the artwork. "The letter is from my business partner, who gifted me the drawing for Christmas. Gives the history of when it was drawn in his loft, when he gave it to me, and then he also had to sell some of the drawings, which Jean-Michel later returned to his loft and signed them because he heard he was looking to sell them," the guest explained.
The expert then said, "Jean-Michel Basquiat, born in 1960, tragically died in 1988. Here we are in September of 2017, and as for now, at little over $110 million, the most expensive work by an American artist ever sold at auction is by Basquiat." He then noted that the artwork was oil stick on paper, and it depicted the signature style of the artist.
The expert went on to explain that Basquiat's work is fraught with signs and symbols, and depending on the piece, the undertones speak of class, race, social upheaval, and more. "Often figural, not always, often accompanied by words that can take on many different meanings," he explained.
However, he still wasn't sure of its authenticity. "We believe that this is a genuine work by Basquiat. That's the committee that makes the official pronouncements, or that has disbanded, makes it somewhat problematic relative to being 100% certain that it's an authentic oil stick drawing on paper," he said. Nevertheless, Weiss went on to estimate that the artwork would come with an insurance value of $400,000.
While the guest was happy to hear the six-figure value, he made it clear that the artwork wasn't going anywhere. "That's good. But it's not, we won't sell it, we'll keep it," he said in the end.
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