'Antiques Roadshow' guest gasps in disbelief after her $25 yard sale find gets a massive appraisal
People who bring heirlooms or things with emotional original stories on "Antiques Roadshow" are known to break down on the show. But someone getting that sentimental about something picked up at a yard sale is rare. It did happen to one guest who was blown away by the mighty appraisal for her $25 yard sale discovery. The guest who endured the taunts of her kids for buying the items was pleasantly surprised to find out that some of them were worth over $50,000. The show's expert, Robin Starr, revealed that some of the prints in the guest's collection were from renowned artists such as Kenneth Hayes Miller, and the total value of her collection was nearly $100,000.
The guest shared the funny story of how she got the item that her kids did not like at all. "I like to yard sale, but I get a lot of grief from my sons all the time. So I've been trying to, like, not do it as often, but I saw a sign, and I stopped, and I saw these, and I liked them," she told Starr. She further revealed that she paid $25 for the folder that included about five artsy prints.
The appraiser was shocked to hear the price that she paid, as she knew how valuable the prints were. "It's signed "Edward Hopper" underneath. So then, I flipped the page in the book, and this piece showed up. Now, this is by Kenneth Hayes Miller, who is, was, in his day, a very important artist and instructor, but isn't somebody who's really withstood the test of time," Starr said. She further added that the Hopper print was in a portfolio called "Six American Etchings: The 'New Republic' Portfolio," which was published in 1924, and the second print was also in the same portfolio. "So just by having found the two together, that strengthens the provenance even more," she noted.
She went on to explain that the other prints and there was one more that was missing. "And I left one behind, I only had, like, $25, so I left one behind," the guest confirmed. Starr shared that it must have been "The Bandits Cave" print by John Sloan. Coming to the appraisal, Starr started with the 'The Hayes Miller' print. "It's pencil-signed, also an etching, lovely print, not in terrific condition. Realistically, were you to sell this at auction, you might expect it to bring about $80 to $120," she added. While it wasn't a tremendous amount, things were going to get better for the guest.
The guest was starting to get excited. Coming to the John Marin print, called the "Brooklyn Bridge Six Swaying," Starr noted that it was in lovely condition. "So at auction, for the John Marin, you're looking about $15,000 to $25,000," she said. This blew the guest away as she gasped for air. Oh, my God. I'm glad I didn't leave that one behind," she exclaimed.
However, Starr had saved the best for last. Moving on to the final print of the collection, 'The Hopper,' she noted that it was possibly one of the artist's best-known prints. "And at auction, you're looking at $30,000 to $50,000," the appraiser stated. They left the guest nearly in tears.
"Are your kids going to give you grief after this?" Starr asked. "No, they better not," the guest responded in the end.
