An Antiques Roadshow guest bent over in surprise as he was told of the value of his grandfather’s painting.
Antiques Roadshow: Expert apologises to guest
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.
An Antiques Roadshow expert confessed he was “incredulous” about the origins of a guest’s painting until he eventually admitted to being wrong.
Surrounded by an intrigued audience, expert Rupert Maas met with a guest at Belmont House, Faversham, on the BBC daytime series to discuss a painting that caused quite a commotion.
Maas began: “You’re sitting there all day and people bring pictures and the thing they want to know is it or isn’t it by the artist that it says it’s by.
“In this case, your picture says it’s by David Hockney. This is not at all what I’m used to seeing by David Hockney.
“David Hockney is one of Britain’s leading modern painters so you’ll have to tell me what your case is.”
Speaking of how it came to be in his family, the guest explained: “My grandfather saw two young artists on the platform when he was signalman in a tiny station called Trimley St Mary between Felixstowe and Ipswich.
“He noticed their equipment and invited them into the signal box and gave them a cup of tea.
“He eventually invited them home for Sunday lunch because they were living in straightened circumstances.
“So they came for Sunday lunch and he said ‘Oh bring a painting’ and Wallace [his grandfather] bought a painting from each of them.
“A year later, they brandished a piece of paper showing that one of these guys won the gold medal at the Royal College of Art. So that’s my case, that it’s a Hockney.”
“It’s not everyone would think of as a Hockney, is it? It’s pre-splash,” Maas remarked.
“But there is this rather wobbly signature and then of course it’s been roughly sawn as if to get it into a frame.”
The guest admitted that this was the handiwork of his mum’s, sharing: “Mother had a frame so she just trimmed it around the edges so that it fitted into the frame.”
The guest replied: “Oh perfect. Yeah that works for me.”
“And it’s sort of very rough and ready. You’re convinced it’s him,” with the guest agreeing with the statement, Maas added that he understood that it was the “family story”.
He continued: “Well I did do a bit of my homework having been initially incredulous.
“Turns out he was in the village near Felixstowe in 1957 which is his last year at Bradford Art College.
“And he was there with another artist called John Locker. So will that be the other chap that gave you a painting as well?”
“Yeah I’ve got that at home,” the owner shared.
Maas questioned if the other painting was of similar colours, to which the guest said it was, with the expert laughing: “I have this idea that they only had green and brown because they were broke.”
The guest simply agreed: “They were that poor, yes.”
The BBC star went on to state that the painters were fans of artist John Constable and wanted to be in “Constable country”.
“And they sort of made a pilgrimage and it turned out to be a wonderful place to paint and so they stayed there and hence this meeting with your grandfather.
“It’s quite extraordinary. So I think it is a Hockney,” he added.
Clearly relieved, the guest smiled and thanked Maas for confirming.
“I’ve come round to your way of thinking. What’s it worth? What do you think it’s worth?” Maas queried.
The guest predicted: “Well I was thinking about £10,000 I’ve got in my head.”
To this, Maas continued: “But it’s pre-abstract expressionism, pre all of that, so it’s almost juvenilia you might say”, with the owner also stating that it resembled “student work”
Maas then summarised: “I think you might be right but I think it’s closer to £20-30,000.”
Breathlessly, the guest repeated: “£20-30,000? Oh God.” He bent over in disbelief as a woman behind him in the audience said: “Just say thank you.”
He did as he was told with a smile: “Thank you for that information.” With Maas laughing: “Yes it is information, I’m not actually giving you £30,000.”
The guest laughed and thanked him again with the expert sharing how he personally felt after the appraisal, saying: “One of the things about Hockney that he is so instantly recognisable to most people, so when you see one that isn’t, you question it really hard.
“That’s the problem with that picture. But it’s widened my horizons greatly. I now know what an early Hockney looks like.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.