GUEST: It came from my husband's family. They went to New Mexico in the 1920s. I do believe that's when they bought it, in Tahoe in New Mexico, either directly from the artist or from his gallery.
APPRAISER: The artist is a well-known Taos school artist. His name is Leon Gaspard. He was born in Russia in 1882. His father was a retired military officer who took up the fur trade, so he would often take his son with him on trips to Asia to trade for furs. Leon started to study art in Russia with Marc Chagall and later in 1901, he went to Paris to study with Adolphe Bouguereau, and there he met a young American ballet student who was to become his wife, and they went on quite an exotic honeymoon for two years in the Siberian wilderness on horseback, and he made a lot of drawings there that he used as a basis for future paintings. In 1914, he enlisted in the World War I effort on the behalf of France, but he was injured quite badly in a flying mission and then decided to go back to New York to recuperate. He was advised by his doctors to go to a warmer climate, which is how he ended up in Taos, New Mexico.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: So here we see this lovely little girl. It's signed and dated 1919. And it's a Native American subject which is absolutely wonderful, has a lot of charm. It is an oil painting. I'm not positive of what the support is. You can clearly see the brushstrokes, and it really gives it a whole new, very contemporary look for that time. Have you ever had it appraised before?
GUEST: It was around, I believe, $10,000 for the painting in the early '60s.
APPRAISER: In the early '60s.
GUEST: And then someone had it appraised again in the '70s and it went up to maybe $15,000 to $20,000.
APPRAISER: I think if it were to be offered now in a retail gallery, the asking price might be as much as $75,000.
GUEST: What?
APPRAISER: Yes.
GUEST: (laughs) Seriously?
APPRAISER: Seriously.
GUEST: Oh, my gosh. Now, that is a surprise.
APPRAISER: Good!
GUEST: A wonderful surprise. Wow! I like... that's excellent. Seriously?
APPRAISER: Yes.
GUEST: (sighs) She will be more special now than she was before. Lovely.
