• Connect with us
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Funded By

Discovering America’s Hidden Treasures ™
On Tour
Watch
Special Features
Appraisals Archive 
Appraisers 
 Shop
    Quick links
  • Learn more about ROADSHOW's 2023 Tour
  • 2023 Tour Complete Rules
  • 2023 Tour FAQs
  • LSU Rural Life Museum — May 2
  • North Carolina Museum of Art — May 16
  • Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens — June 6
  • Old Sturbridge Village — June 13
  • Alaska Native Heritage Center — July 11
On Tour

On Tour

2023 Tour Rules

2023 Tour Rules

2023 Tour FAQs

2023 Tour FAQs

    Quick links
  • Watch Episodes Online
  • TV Schedule
  • Best Moments of Season 26
  • Best Moments of Season 25
  • Best Moments of Season 24
  • Best Moments of Season 23
  • Cities from Past Seasons
  • About Executive Producer Marsha Bemko
  • Roadshow's Editorial Policy
Watch | Little Rock, Hour 3

Watch | Little Rock, Hour 3

Watch | Charleston, Hour 1

Watch | Charleston, Hour 1

Watch | Little Rock, Hour 1

Watch | Little Rock, Hour 1

    Quick links
  • Detours Podcast
  • Video "RoadShorts"
  • Roadshow Topics — Endangered Species
  • Roadshow Topics — Sports Appraisals
  • Roadshow Topics — Best Moments
  • Roadshow Topics — Staff Picks
  • For Teachers
  • AR "Extras" Newsletter Sign-up
Owner Interview | 1919 William Faulkner Handmade Poetry Book

Owner Interview | 1919 William Faulkner Handmade Poetry Book

Owner Interview | Robert Cumpston Sculpture, ca. 1985

Owner Interview | Robert Cumpston Sculpture, ca. 1985

Owner Interview | Babe Ruth Archive

Owner Interview | Babe Ruth Archive

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

1933 Tsuguharu Foujita Drawings

Value (2011) | $20,000 Auction – $30,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
These were my father-in-law's. He was in Mexico City, staying at the St. Regis Hotel in 1933, and discovered that an artist by the name of Foujita was staying in the same hotel. So he talked to the bell captain and arranged to meet Foujita, and the bell captain made the arrangements, and after he met Foujita, he bought this drawing directly from Foujita, and I believe he paid $100 for it. A few days later, my father-in-law was talking to the bell captain, and the bell captain was sort of complaining about how cheap Foujita was, and he says, "Well, he didn't leave any tip." He just gave me this. And so my father-in-law took one look at it and graciously offered him five dollars for it, and he accepted the five dollars and was very happy about it.

APPRAISER:
The artist's name is Tsuguharu Foujita. He was born in Japan, educated in Tokyo, and in 1913 he moved to Paris. He managed to immediately meet up with Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, and all the great artists who were working there at the time. And unlike some of his counterparts, he was actually financially successful early on, so much so that he was probably the only artist at that time that had a bathtub with hot running water. That made him very popular with all the models. And he was also known for his flamboyant costumes and his kind of wild behavior. He was quite a character. And after his third marriage failed in 1931, he took off for South America. He organized a number of very successful exhibitions. There was one in 1932, in Buenos Aires, where 60,000 people attended the exhibition.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
And 10,000 people lined up just to get his autograph. He had submitted a work for a portfolio that was published by the League of Nations calling for world peace. So he was quite a successful artist. And, as you said, he went to Mexico in 1933. Foujita was really the first Japanese artist to sort of break out of the mode of the traditional way and style of doing art. And he managed to synthesize a kind of Japanese style with Western subject matter. In 1940, he moved back to Japan and started to produce these paintings that were really propaganda for Japan's military ambitions at the time. And these paintings were so revered that people would actually pray to them. But after the war, his reputation was sort of ruined. He was called a warmonger and a war criminal, basically. In 1949, he moved back to the West, and he was able to salvage his career, and then he died in 1968. You have two very different works. This is a small drawing of one of his favorite models, Madeline, or she's known as Mattie, and this larger depiction of a young Mexican boy holding his hat. He's really known for his wonderful depictions of women, and beautiful women. This is really the subject matter that people find more desirable. So although this one is larger, it's not as much what people want in the marketplace. So, they're really about the same value, which would be, at auction, around $10,000 to $15,000 each.

GUEST:
Oh. That's kind of nice. Little more than five dollars.

APPRAISER:
Better than five dollars.

GUEST:
Yeah.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Nan Chisholm
Paintings & Drawings
Nan Chisholm Fine Art, Ltd.
New York
Nan Chisholm Fine Art, Ltd.
Kansas City, MO
Appraised value (2011)
$20,000 Auction – $30,000 Auction
Featured In
Eugene, Hour 3 (#1606)
Event
Eugene, OR (June 04, 2011)
Category
Paintings & Drawings
Period
20th Century
Form
Drawing
Material
Paper

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.

More from PBS

The Great American Recipe

Meet a new group of home cooks in an all new season!

Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock 'n' Roll

Explore the life and influence of a musical icon.

Pride Month Video Collection

Stream videos that highlight LGBTQIA voices and experiences.

"I know there's a lot of envious people hearing that story..." Antiques Roadshow on Facebook

What’s inside the case?

@RoadshowPBS on Instagram

William Austin Burt patented the U.S.'s first "typographer” on July 23 in 1829. 110 year later came this "The Gold Royal" typewriter… @RoadshowPBS

We're soaking up the story behind this @LeslieKeno appraisal! #antiquesroadshow @RoadshowPBS

  • Connect with us
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  • ABOUT ROADSHOW
  • Schedule
  • Contact Us
  • Credits
  • Press
  • For Teachers
  • Telephone Scam Warning
  • Roadshow Imitators Warning
  • Doing Business with Appraisers
  • Our Sponsors
  • Our Funders
  • Corporate Sponsorship

Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry, American Cruise Lines, and Consumer Cellular. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.

Produced By

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is a trademark of the BBC and is produced for PBS by GBH under license from BBC, Worldwide. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. ©1997 – 2023 WGBH Educational Foundation.

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Copyright
Subscribe Hide  ×

A weekly collection of previews, videos, articles, interviews, and more!