Hassan El Glaoui Tempera Painting, ca. 1970
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GUEST:
I brought a painting from Morocco from the artist Hassan El Glaoui, and it was gifted to my father in 1971. My father was in the mining business and worked for a company that made big mining machinery.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
So he was invited to Morocco by King Hassan, and he took him as a gift one of the very first digital watches that had ever come onto the market. And the king was thrilled, and he said, "I'd like to give you a gift." So he sent him with a driver to the home of his favorite artist. The artist wasn't there, but his wife was. She took him into the studio where there were maybe a hundred paintings, and said, "Take your time." And most of the paintings were bright red, and orange, and turquoise. And so he was looking for something a little subtler, and this is the one he chose. At least one, maybe more, of my siblings said, "Dad! Oh, yuck!" (laughs) So he took it and put it in his office, and he kept it there till he retired. He kept it in a house that had no heating, no cooling, right near the ocean, and you can see little drips.
APPRAISER:
It depicts a succession of horses in the Moroccan tradition, with the riders raising their weapons up in the air. And this is one of El Glaoui's favorite themes and subjects for his paintings. The medium is tempera on board, and as you can see, it's quite a large painting, and it's signed here lower left. Hassan El Glaoui was born into one of the most wealthy families in Morocco, and it was a 300-year dynasty. His father, Thami El Glaoui, basically, today, would have been considered one of the richest men in the world.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
His father was a good friend with Winston Churchill, so Churchill visited his father in 1943. And Churchill was actually a painter himself. Now, while Hassan El Glaoui's father wanted him to be, follow in his footsteps, or be more of an administrator, in an administrative role, the son wanted to paint. And actually, Churchill was the instrumental person in his life who told him, "You can be both a painter and an administrator," if you will. Following Churchill's advice, El Glaoui went to Paris, and he exhibited at some of the most important galleries in Paris and then ended up returning to Morocco in 1965. You said your father was there...
GUEST:
1971.
APPRAISER:
1971. Basically, we can date this painting to around that time period, some time between 1965 and 1971. The artist just passed away, unfortunately, last year.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
He was 93 years old when he died. There's a lot of interest in his work. The painting is overall in good condition. The value of this painting, for insurance purposes, I would put at $75,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my. (laughing) Oh, my. I knew it was worth something, but not... With the water damage, I... That's... that's, um... (laughing) Pretty amazing.
APPRAISER:
I think a qualified conservator could take care of this kind of restoration. I do think it will increase the value, especially if you do take care of some of the, uh, losses, as well. And it could be actually closer to about $85,000 to $95,000. As an insurance value.
GUEST:
Whoa. (laughs)
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