My husband was gifted a ‘print’ we hung for 20 years – an expert told us it’s actually worth $25k because its ‘scarcity’
A HOME owner has discovered that a print hanging in her house for two decades has significantly appreciated in value.
The painting’s owner was surprised to hear the $25,000 estimate during a stop on Antiques Roadshow.
YouTubeA homeowner realized her painting was worth thousands under the hammer[/caption]
YouTubeA painting expert, Nigel Freeman, explained the small details that made the painting worth more[/caption]
The painting’s owner said the artwork serendipitously fell into her possession.
“My husband used to work for a moving company in Boston,” the homeowner said during the episode.
“Someone just gifted [the painting] to him.”
She told a professional art director, Nigel Freeman, the print had been hanging on her home’s walls for over 20 years.
“I was really excited when I saw you bring this to the table,” Freeman said.
Freeman explained Ed Ruscha, one of the pioneering Pop Art and Conceptualism painters of the 1980s, created the artwork.
Ruscha’s work often features bold text, mundane objects, and landscapes.
Fans of his work say his art captures the essence of American culture and the urban life.
He is also well-regarded as a photographer, printmaker, and filmmaker.
Most museums feature his work, but some of the elements of the homeowner’s painting made her work of art “scarce.”
“He continues to make art today,” Freeman said.
Freeman told the homeowner that she had an original print of Ruscha’s painting named “Two Similar Cities.”
The painting captures two flat-lying orange light orbs emblazoning a starry night sky.
Freeman said the orbs are supposed to represent the light pollution eminating from Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The painting spans five feet across.
“This is a big screen print,” Freeman added.
In the bottom right-hand corner, Ruscha left a signature in pencil with a date confirming it was painted in 1980.
What is a die break or error on a coin?
What causes such defects on coins and why are they so rare to find?
A die break, also known as a cud, is an error on a coin that is formed when a die, (a metallic piece that is used to strike a coin) is missing a piece near the rim.
When dies strike coins, they have a heavy impact and pressure and the metal from the blank part of the coin, known as the planchet, overlaps the area left by the missing piece of the die.
Coins with such deformities are rare thanks to the strict quality control measures at the US Mint.
When such errors do occur, they are often caught and destroyed.
However, those that slip through the net become huge collector’s items worth much more than their face value.
Source: Littleton Coin Company
“There is what we call a ‘bland stamp,’ it’s a little embossed pressing,” Freeman said.
“That’s usually the mark of the printer or the publisher. The artist published this print himself.”
In the left-hand corner, Ruscha left a marking that read “27/35.”
The number likely indicates that the painting was part of a series of artwork from the famous painter.
“It really hasn’t come to auction very often,” Freeman said.
“I would give a conservative estimate at auction of $15,000 to $25,000.”
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