Joseph Fleck Taos Landscape, ca. 1927

Appraised on: July 9, 2011

Appraised in: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Appraised by: Aaron Bastian

Category: Paintings & Drawings

Episode Info: Minneapolis, Hour 3 (#1618)

Originally Aired: May 21, 2012

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (0:59)

GUEST: This painting hung on the wall of my grandparents' house. And then my mother had it, and it hung on her living room wall. And she gave it to me a few years ago.

APPRAISER: Well, this is a painting by Joseph Fleck, who's an interesting guy. Started his painting life in Vienna, made his way to Kansas City. And in 1922, he was working for Tiffany's as a stained glass designer. And from there he had sort of a life-changing moment. He saw a show of the Taos Society of Artists in 1924. And he moved to Taos, and stayed there pretty much for the rest of his life painting pictures similar to this. The record price for this artist was actually set this year, so despite the economic woes, he's still doing quite well. And I think even in the current market, this painting is worth $15,000 to $25,000 at auction right now.

GUEST: Wow, okay. That's wonderful.