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Watch | Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

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Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

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Maurice Braun Landscape Oil, ca. 1920

Value (2019) | $10,000 Auction – $15,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
I had gone to an estate sale, which I had previewed online. And I'd seen in one of the pictures a picture in, in the distance leaning against a wall, on the floor. And I thought, "That's kind of neat." So when I got there, I made sure I was first in line, and I went right directly to it. Didn't have a clue who it was.

APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.

GUEST:
But I knew I loved it.

APPRAISER:
And do you remember what you paid for it?

GUEST:
I paid $40 for it.

APPRAISER:
$40, okay. And how long ago was that now?

GUEST:
Probably four, five years.

APPRAISER:
Okay. And the artist is, of course...

GUEST:
Maurice Braun.

APPRAISER:
Maurice Braun-- he's very much associated with Southern California.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
He was born in Hungary, originally.

GUEST:
Oh!

APPRAISER:
And then moved at a young age to New York, where he studied art. Studied with William Merritt Chase, who was a major artist and teacher at that time. But the big year for him was 1909, and that's when he moved to San Diego. And he fell in love with the landscape, and he fell in love with the intensity of the light there, and responded to it. He was very interested in esoteric philosophies.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
He was interested in things like theosophy and transcendentalism. And so he believed in the unity of man and nature. And so when he was painting, that was really an expression of that. So, this is an, an oil paint on canvas.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
In terms of when it was done, it's a little hard to say, but he moved there in 1909, 1910. He died in the 1940s, so I think it's fair to assume it was done... Before... '20s, '30s. It has a number of things going for it. It's just a really nice painting.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm, yeah.

APPRAISER:
It's a really nice example by him. The other two things are, it's in the original frame, and collectors love that. And finally, what I love to see in a painting is, it's really, really dirty.

GUEST:
Yes, it is, I'm sorry.

APPRAISER:
Now, that might... No, no, no, no need to apologize. That's a good thing in our world. So that's, that's actually a very good thing. Now, there's a very strong market for Californian Impressionism, and particularly Southern Californian Impressionism. He also worked on the East Coast. You don't get so much at auction for those works. It's really this kind of thing that people want. And although the title on the back is fairly generic-- "The Road to the Hills," that could be anywhere-- we know that this is Southern California. So you bought it for $40.

GUEST:
Bought it for $40.

APPRAISER:
Would you be surprised if I told it was worth at auction $10,000 to $15,000?

GUEST:
That's, that would be awesome, yeah.

APPRAISER:
It's a pretty good return, I think.

GUEST:
It is, yeah.

APPRAISER:
Isn't it?

GUEST:
Pretty good return on your money.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Alasdair Nichol
Paintings & Drawings
Freeman's Auctioneers
Philadelphia, PA
Appraised value (2019)
$10,000 Auction – $15,000 Auction
Featured In
McNay Art Museum, Hour 2 (#2414)
Event
San Antonio, TX (April 27, 2019)
Category
Paintings & Drawings
Period
1910s
Form
Landscape , Painting
Material
Oil

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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