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Alfred de Bréanski Sr. Painting, ca. 1900

Value (2017) | $12,000 Auction – $18,000 Auction
Watch  

APPRAISER:
You brought a beautiful Victorian painting by Alfred de Bréanski.

GUEST:
It was my grandparents'. I believe they bought it in England in the '40s and it hung in their home for about 40 years and then in the early '80s, my father got it.

APPRAISER:
Uh-huh. And so you always knew this in the family house.

GUEST:
Yes, it's a treasure that they had.

APPRAISER:
Now it's yours.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
Well, do you know much about the artist?

GUEST:
I don't know anything about the artist. I had assumed that he was maybe Polish or something.

APPRAISER:
Alfred de Bréanski was a great Scottish Victorian artist. And he did almost exclusively these views of the Scottish countryside, the lochs and the hills, generally at sunset, with the cattle watering down there. And the great thing about him is his ability to capture the light, the sunset, and you see that through here in the painting. Since he does the same paintings almost over and over again, it's the quality of the light that you look for, and you have really one of the best ones I've seen in a long time.

GUEST:
Oh, good.

APPRAISER:
A couple of other things that are very typical of his work are on the back. I wanted to show you that. And, also, it helps to prove the authenticity of this work. Right on the back it says, "The Head of Loch Lomond," one of the most important, famous lochs in Scotland. And then it says Alfred de Bréanski, Sr. This is a very typical thing of the Scottish academy. Almost every Scottish Victorian artist puts where it is on the back. They put "Head of Loch Lomond." When you see a de Bréanski, you almost always know where it is. Another thing you have is a Windsor Newton. It's a manufacturer of canvas. You can see the original canvas here. They stamped it. And the third thing is that it was sold by Harrod's, the famous department store in Knightsbridge.

GUEST:
Right, right.

APPRAISER:
Did they ever tell you what they paid for it? Do you know what value might be on it?

GUEST:
No, we never discussed it. They had two of the same size, and my aunt has the other painting, but I never had any idea what the value was.

APPRAISER:
These a few years ago, they weren't all that valuable. They were $4,000 or $5,000, but they've recently skyrocketed in value. And a painting like this right now, this quality and this size of de Bréanski, would be worth about $25,000 to $35,000 at auction.

GUEST:
Really?

APPRAISER:
They're really... it's a really fabulous example of his work.

GUEST:
Wow.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Alan Fausel
Paintings & Drawings
Bonhams, NY
New York
Update (2017)
$12,000 Auction – $18,000 Auction
Update (2014)
$15,000 Auction – $25,000 Auction
Appraised value (2000)
$25,000 Auction – $35,000 Auction
Featured In
Austin, Hour 1 (#0507)
Vintage Austin (#2121)
Event
Austin, TX (June 03, 2000)
Category
Paintings & Drawings
Form
Landscape , Painting
Material
Canvas , Paint

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.

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More on This Appraisal

Related Appraisal
Alfred de Bréanski Sr. Oil Painting, ca. 1870
Related Appraisal
Early 20th-Century Alfred de Bréanski Jr. Oil Painting
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