1955 Harold von Schmidt "Oscar's Boy" Oil
Watch
APPRAISER:
Now tell me, how long have you owned this painting?
GUEST:
I've owned it approximately 22 hours (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Okay. And in that brief time, have you done any research on the artist? Do you know anything about him?
GUEST:
Well, actually, my wife did-- went on the internet and looked up Harold von Schmidt.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
Come to find out he's a fairly famous painter. She found out that some of his works, as recent as a year ago, went for around $23,000 to $25,000.
APPRAISER:
Well, I have to be honest with you, I mean, I could live to be 100, and I'm not going to understand American football. I'm more of a rugby and soccer guy where I come from. (laughs) But my, my friends here who are aficionados tell me that most likely this is the L.A. Rams and... Probably the Philadelphia Eagles.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And we can see down here, it's signed, Harold von Schmidt, and dated, as well, 1955.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
As often is the case with illustration pieces, rather indecipherable now...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
But there's some writing up here, which is most likely telling the printers exactly how he wanted this to be done. And we can see the remnants of the tape where this has been taped on, as well.
GUEST:
Correct, yep.
APPRAISER:
So I guess it makes sense it's the L.A. Rams, because he was originally from the West Coast and studied there with Maynard Dixon.
GUEST:
I'll be darned.
APPRAISER:
Who went on to be a Western artist. And von Schmidt was also probably best known for his Western paintings. What drew me to it is, it's a really wonderful piece of sporting art. And this was a guy who was certainly, seems to be a very physical kind of guy.
GUEST:
Apparently.
APPRAISER:
Artists are often thought of as being slightly effete, you know.
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
But this guy was a lumberjack, he was a cowboy, and in fact, he represented the U.S.A. team in the 1920 Olympics and was a rugby player.
GUEST:
Well, I'll be darned.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, so, it's pretty, pretty apparent to me he knew what physical contact was all about.
GUEST:
How interesting.
APPRAISER:
And probably knew what it was like to be in this position.
GUEST:
Certainly.
APPRAISER:
The illustration art that he produced is very much in demand these days. You mentioned a figure to me earlier.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Which was?
GUEST:
Uh, the $25,000 figure?
APPRAISER:
Yeah, did you happen to notice what those were for?
GUEST:
Actually, they were for his Western pieces.
APPRAISER:
That's correct, because it tends to be the case that the Western pieces are the most sought-after.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
Now, this is a wonderful example of a sporting painting, and I think will appeal to many people who are interested in American football.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
As much as to the illustration collecting community.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
But I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings.
GUEST:
Uh-oh!
APPRAISER:
I think you're going to have to scale down your ambition somewhat.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I would think at auction, a piece like this is more likely to be in the $6,000 to $10,000 range.
GUEST:
(chuckling) Oh, my gosh. Uh, I'm not disappointed at all.
APPRAISER:
Well, what would have happened to it otherwise? I mean, when you got it, what, what was the situation?
GUEST:
The situation was, a friend of my wife's was moving because he was retiring, and he wanted to get rid of some stuff out of his home, and I went over to pick up a chair.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And I was leaving, he said, "By the way, would you like this? "Because if you don't take it, I'm going to cut it up and throw it in the garbage."
APPRAISER:
Well... (chuckles)
GUEST:
So, there you have it, I know.
APPRAISER:
Could have gone in the garbage, and instead of that, you got a $6,000 to $10,000 piece.
GUEST:
I'm not disappointed at all.
APPRAISER:
And it's a super piece.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
