1965 Walter Anderson Watercolor

Appraised on: July 8, 2006

Appraised in: Mobile, Alabama

Appraised by: Debra Force

Category: Paintings & Drawings

Episode Info: Mobile, Hour 2 (#1111)

Originally Aired: April 2, 2007

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (3:02)

matte here, and that, eventually, could cause some staining, so you should definitely have that replaced. But otherwise, it's in great shape. His work is somewhat rare today. He was prolific, but you were telling me a story about what happened to his work as a result of a hurricane.

GUEST: Yes, the family had the watercolors and pottery, too-- I'm not sure-- stored in a vault,

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: but, unfortunately, Katrina smashed in the vault and, and...

APPRAISER: And ruined and destroyed.

GUEST: And ruined a lot of things, yes.

APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: I believe both of his brothers were potters and they had the Shearwater Pottery? Is that correct?

APPRAISER: That's right. And so there were paintings stored at that location.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: This was done on typing paper, and there were many; he'd done many of them.

GUEST: And we looked through them and bought this one at Shearwater Pottery.

APPRAISER: And what year was that?

GUEST: 1974.

APPRAISER: How much did you pay?

GUEST: $500.

APPRAISER: A watercolor from the same date, a different bird-- not the pelican-- sold in December at a Southern auction for about $11,000.

GUEST: Good.

APPRAISER: This particular piece, because it does feature his favorite bird, it's in great condition, and it has wonderful history coming directly from the pottery, I would judge, for insurance purposes, would probably be worth at least $15,000, and possibly a bit more.

GUEST: Oh, that's good. Good. Thank you very much.

APPRAISER: Well, you're welcome.

GUEST: I just hoped it would be $500, at least.