On an episode of Antiques Roadshow, a guest presented a somewhat spooky-looking painting. After revealing its history, the scary image turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As it turned out, the antique could be worth quite a pretty penny.
The Spooky Painting Appears To Have Originated In Mexico
On the PBS show, the guest brought in a painting that originally belonged to his parents. The painting notably boasted surreal imagery, filled with bats and ghost-like figures.
Expert Alan Fausel evaluated the piece and appeared to be able to identify the artist. As he shared, “I know there’s an artist by the name of Leonora Carrington and that she lived in Mexico.”
As noted by The Express U.S., Fausel continued that, “Originally, she came from Europe but that she came to Mexico after the Second World War.” However, he added, “Much more than that I don’t know, except I know she was a surrealist.”
Revealing what he knew, Fausel mentioned Carrington started painting in her early 20s and became involved with Max Ernst, a German artist. He added, “She did run off with Max Ernst. She’s a student and then ran off to France and after the war, she suffered a nervous breakdown and I think these pieces are very personal.”
“I think that’s part of it, is her coming to grips with the nightmares and the imagery in her life. And you look at this piece, it’s all very macabre and surreal.”
Some Fans Think The Painting Could Be Worth Even More
The expert then went into detail describing the painting’s dark imagery. As he noted, “The central piece here is this large sort-of wolf-like figure with multiple arms and legs all around it. And then distributes throughout the bushes are figures.”
Fausel then went on to describe bats and figures with a spider. As he noted, “Overall, she had a fairly normal life it seemed, but she was haunted by these visions.”
The guest also shared his own history with the painting. As he noted, “It was originally my parents’ and they had a large house and they had a rather extensive collection of art.” He said he loved it once his parents bought it, saying that gave it to him when they downsized.
The guest said his parents had friends and connections in Mexico who had more paintings than they needed. He also noted he did not have it appraised, estimating his parents would have bought it for somewhere between $7,000 to $10,000.
Fausel himself estimated, “Right now, I would expect an auction estimate of $200,000 to $300,000 these days.” This caused the guest, thinking of his parents, to say, “They bought well. Amazing.”
When the video was uploaded to YouTube, some fans noted it could be worth even more than that. As one fan wrote, “I just watched a Sotheby’s auction for another Leonardo Carrington work that sold for 24 million! Sounds like he loves it too much to sell, but it’s worth more than antiques roadshow predicted, even.”