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Appraisal Update | Cut Glass Centerpiece Base, ca. 1885

Appraisal Update | Cut Glass Centerpiece Base, ca. 1885

Extraordinary Finds | Hear More from Lowry About the Auction!

Extraordinary Finds | Hear More from Lowry About the Auction!

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1957 Milton Resnick Abstract Oil

Value (2014) | $15,000 Auction – $25,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
My father used to travel on business in New York in the 1950s and 1960s. And he was a very good amateur artist. So after he'd do his business, he'd go down to Greenwich Village, and he'd hang out with the artists in those days-- de Kooning, Kline, Resnick, who did this painting, and many others. And he did this for years, and he'd go up to their studios, look at what they were doing...

APPRAISER:
Wow.

GUEST:
...often buy one or two paintings from them, usually for not much more than the cost of the canvas.

APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.

GUEST:
He ended up with quite a collection. We inherited a few of the items, including this one. This particular one, when the members of the family were looking at it with us, some of them said, "Oh, that's not worth anything. "Why don't we give it away to a home for the elderly or Goodwill or something?"

APPRAISER:
(laughs)

GUEST:
We said, "No, we think we'll take that." And we did, and we've had it ever since.

APPRAISER:
Now, did you ever travel with your father to New York?

GUEST:
Yeah, sure. I was with him. Now, at that time, he was in his 60s, I was in my late 20s. After a day of business and calling on customers, we'd go do that, and we'd run till midnight. And the next day we'd be up at 7:00 in the morning. And after two or three days, I could barely keep up with him, and he was still doing it.

APPRAISER:
Yep. Oh, that's great. Well, this is a terrific picture that you brought. Milton Resnick is an interesting artist in that he has two important periods. He was part of the abstract expressionist movement. He had come over to America from Russia when he was five years old. And he enjoyed fine art, but his father was very much against him pursuing an art career. So they let him do a commercial art career through the Pratt Institute. And the teachers there immediately said, "No, you're a fine artist. You need to study more." His father forbid it. So he left home at 17, moved out. In the '50s he was doing abstract expressionist works, and that was sort of his first period. Then in the '70s and '80s his style changed a lot. It became very muted in terms of the palette, and created sort of a mottled, subtle sort of texture, very different from this sort of piece. Now, each of the two periods has very different appeal in the current market. Now, the question is, is this the good period or the less desirable period? Do you happen to know?

GUEST:
No, I don't.

APPRAISER:
It's the good period.

GUEST:
Oh, that's good.

APPRAISER:
It's the period you want to see. He was part of that first generation of abstract expressionists, and he was the last one to survive. He actually didn't pass away until 2004. So this is a great example of his work-- very colorful, very animated in terms of the brushstroke. This is an oil executed on canvas. And although it's a relatively small picture for him, it has a fair amount of value. At auction, you could expect this to fetch between $15,000 and $25,000.

GUEST:
Well, that's great.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Robin Starr
Paintings & Drawings
Skinner, Inc.
Boston, MA
Appraised value (2014)
$15,000 Auction – $25,000 Auction
Featured In
Austin, Hour 1 (#1904)
Event
Austin, TX (June 28, 2014)
Category
Paintings & Drawings

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.

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