1908 Thomas Virgil Hill Painting

Appraised on: June 7, 2008

Appraised in: Palm Springs, California

Appraised by: Alan Fausel

Category: Paintings & Drawings

Episode Info: Palm Springs, Hour 2 (#1302)

Originally Aired: January 12, 2009

IMAGE: 1 of 3  

Appraisal Video: (1:37)

GUEST: I got it at a garage sale, found it for a dollar.

APPRAISER: For a dollar? Really?

GUEST: For a dollar.

APPRAISER: Well, it's a painting of Yosemite. It's clearly Bridalveil Falls and the floor of the valley down below. A very popular spot for painters and artists. It's by Thomas Hill. We see down here the signature. It says "T. Virgil Hill." And then below that it says "1908." We know his dates are 1871 to 1922, is when he lived.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: Now, Thomas Hill Jr., is the son of Thomas Hill, who's also a very famous painter of Yosemite. Now, this painting you said you got at a garage sale. How long have you had it?

GUEST: About 25 years.

APPRAISER: Have you thought about restoring it at all? I mean...

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: Because I think you might enjoy the painting a little bit more because this painting is, as we say in the business, it's filthy dirty. If you look at it in places like this, you see stains... looks almost like coffee stains on there. There's something... It's probably the varnish, which has discolored. And this color here, this should be pretty much... the falls should be almost white, and it's very grayish brown there. So I think this would liven up a lot. Also, you can restore it by having it re-lined, in which case you'd lose some of these lines caused by the stretcher underneath. Now, Thomas Hill Jr., his paintings sell fairly well, but they're not as much as his father's. If this were to go to an auction, I'd probably put an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000 on it.

GUEST: All right, thank you.

APPRAISER: Now, if it had been Thomas Hill, his father, this would be about a $20,000 or $30,000 painting.