GUEST: The family story is that my grandmother and grandfather went on a tour of Europe and decided to bring back some items to commemorate it. And this is one of the things they bought, and I think it was in the early '30s.
APPRAISER: Well, that makes sense. People were doing the Grand Tour at that time and collecting art along the way. The painting is by Pierre Jan van der Ouderaa. He was a Flemish painter, born in Antwerp in 1841, and studied all over Europe. Went to the Middle East, and he was an academic painter. So the painting is titled Lovers, but when you first brought it to the table, you, um, had another idea.
GUEST: Well, I was just commenting that he probably should have named it "Lover," because she looks really, you know, unexcited to be there. (laughs): So I've always been curious about the name and, and the subject matter, so...
APPRAISER: Right, he seems to be amorous. She not so.
GUEST: (laughs)
APPRAISER: It's in an academic style, it's dated 1875 and signed lower right. It's oil on panel. There's a label on the back by a very well-known gallery out of London, Frost and Reed. And that really helps authenticate the painting. Once it's got their stamp of approval, then we know it's legitimate. It's unlikely that the frame is original. It was probably put on the painting in the 1930s, when your grandparents purchased the painting. It's a genre painting, and they're not as in style these days as they once were. He painted a lot of historical subjects. Those can bring a lot of money-- tens of thousands. This, uh, is an earlier work, and I think at auction, a fair value would be $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST: Great, thank you. Right now, it's just in all my Zoom calls 'cause it's behind me in my office. (laughs)
