An Antiques Roadshow guest was excited when she was given an appraisal on some children’s art prints that she said were “just sitting in a drawer.”
The woman explained that her uncle, owner of his own party planning and promotional events company, gave her the collection in 1998.
He also worked for Fox and had a contract with the network, as the impressions were part of a promotion for the station’s iconic Saturday morning Fox Kids cartoons.
After reviewing the collection, which included pastiche pieces of some of the most important historical works of art, appraiser Travis Landry told the woman they are worth between $4,000 and $6,000.
The woman was stunned and said, ‘Are you kidding me? Holy Cow! Well. “It was literally just kept in a drawer.”
A woman was thrilled to discover how much her uncle’s printed Fox Kids collection was worth thousands of dollars.
Travis Landry said the collection was worth between $4,000 and $6,000 and was the first complete set to come up for auction in 10 years.
‘No, I’m not kidding, Fox Kids is big business now. So they are not child’s play,” replied Landri.
The emotional woman explained that she had not taken the coveted prints out of the drawer since her uncle gave them to her when the project was finished.
Landry referred to the set of promotional prints as a “parody of lithographs” that featured pieces by “some of the greatest canonized artists.”
The appraiser said that when he saw the prints, his mind began to “explode with excitement” because the pieces had the perfect combination of fine art and pop culture.
He added that the set was released by Fox in 1995, and that the appraisal value was so high because the woman had the original packaging that the prints came in.
Some of the prints featured well-known paintings, including Pablo Picasso’s ‘The Ladies of Avignon’, but instead of five women, the print took a more modernized turn and included five Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
The set featured ‘pastiche’ pieces of some of the greatest works of art in history, including one of Sandro Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’ (pictured).
Landry also brought out a print featuring Grant Wood’s iconic 1920 ‘American Gothic’ photographs and changed them to ‘American Goosebumps.’
In it, the husband and wife were seen in a more terrifying and cryptic way, as the husband’s face was covered with a mask from the horror cartoon series Goosebumps.
Another interesting piece in the collection showed the live-action American superhero, the Masked Rider, mounted on a horse, acting as the subject of Frederic Remington’s painting Night Rider.
The set also included a cover of Sandro Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’.
Landry said that because the prints were never framed, suffered no fading or sun damage, the collection was “perfect for a collector of works on paper.”
He added that although the set is part of an edition of 500 copies, a complete set like that has not been sold at auction for about 10 years.
“That makes it worth it to keep them in the drawer for so long,” the lady said as she wiped tears from her face.
At a recently revamped Antiques Roadshow, one guest was left speechless at the price of a wooden chair.
Melinda Murphy brought several items belonging to her father that were created by or previously owned by artist and illustrator Norman Rockwell.
Melinda Murphy was shocked to learn from appraiser Alasdair Nichol that a chair owned by Norman Rockwell was worth at least $50,000.
Murphy explained to appraiser Alasdair Nichol that, as a child model, she worked with Rockwell on several occasions, including appearing as the baby in his famous painting Babysitter. His late father Gene was also her photographer.
She was particularly surprised by the value of Rockwell’s chair, which has appeared in some of his most famous works.
When Nichol asked her how much she thought the chair was worth, she replied: “I have no idea” before adding “maybe a couple of grand.”
To his surprise, Nichol revealed his true value: $50,000.
“It’s pretty iconic to look at this painting and think about the incredible paintings he made when he was sitting in this chair,” he said in the 2012 clip that aired as a special on PBS last week.
