WORK OF ART
I held onto an old gift from my dad for decades – I was lost for words when Antiques Roadshow told me it’s worth $50k
The antique item dates back to the 1950s
A WOMAN was shocked to learn a gift from her dad is worth millions.
She had her antique item appraised by expert Todd Weyman on Antiques Roadshow.
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The woman introduced her 1956 Gustave Baumann "Rain in the Mountains" print while on the hit PBS television series.
Antiques Roadshow shared the clip on YouTube, which showed the woman's shocked reaction to finding out the antique's value.
She first revealed that her father handed down the item to her when she was around 10 years old in the early or mid-1970s.
Her father purchased the art piece from Baumann's widow when she came to Colorado State University to raise money by selling work from his estate.
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"And this one always stopped him," the woman remarked.
"Not hard to see why. The colors are beautiful," Weyman responded.
"It says everything about the West," the woman added before revealing that her father had purchased it for about $125.
ANTIQUE HISTORY
Weyman shared that Baumann was born in Germany and came to the United States with his family as a child. They lived in the Midwest.
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The artist trained in Chicago, Illinois, and worked in Indiana before heading to New Mexico around 1918.
He had planned to go to Taos, but relocated to Santa Fe when he thought the former was "too busy," Weyman said.
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Baumann worked in Santa Fe for more than 50 years.
"And his imagery [has] become synonymous with the Southwest.
"He and the Southwest are so intertwined, and New Mexico, and this feel of the Southwest."
He continued, "The light through those colors is amazing. And the appreciation for his work has just grown over the past couple of decades. And he is super hot now."
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Weyman then revealed that Baumann created the original blocks for the color woodcut used for "Rain in the Mountains" in 1926.
The expert then shared the woman's antique is from the fourth edition.
"He printed four editions of this subject over a 30-year period, starting with 1926, and completing with this fourth and final edition in 1956."
Weyman also revealed that Baumann had "recut" and "reshaped" the blocks to make the fourth edition.
"This is the smallest edition, but there are all these intense colors.
"And what's great about this, too, is the way that the rain is coming down.
"That's just such a great talent, to be able to pull that off by cutting a wood block. And then he mixed all the colors himself," Weyman continued.
Baumann also signed the painting with an ink stamp, and the "appreciation" for those monograms has "increased exponentially" over the last couple of decades.
VALUE REVEAL
The woman guessed that the artwork was worth around $1,250-$2,000 and was visibly floored when Weyman valued it at $50,000, noting its superb condition.
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"Oh my God, that is so much more than I thought!" she said, gasping.
Weyman then called the piece "a phenomenal print."
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