GUEST: I inherited it from my grandmother. She had gotten it from her parents. Her sister had studied with Charles Curran as, I'm guessing, a young adult, and my great-grandmother decided she wanted a Curran painting, so my great-grandfather, for their 25th anniversary, got her this one, which featured silver birches, so it's just come down through the family to me. And it's always been a sentimental favorite, because it reminded my grandmother of Cragsmoor, where they used to take their summer vacations.
APPRAISER: Cragsmoor in the Hudson River Valley in New York was founded in the late 19th century as an artist colony, and was the location for many of his paintings. He was born in Kentucky, however.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: Born in Kentucky in 1861. Lived until 1942, and for most of his painting career, he went back and forth from New York City to Cragsmoor, and he did this for decades.
GUEST: Hmm.
APPRAISER: And he was an artist who also had training at the Académie Julian in Paris, and while he painted other subjects besides beautiful women in landscapes, that was really his stock-in-trade. The painting is titled on the back, on the stretcher.
GUEST: Is it really?
APPRAISER: Not only is the painting titled, "Across the Valley," but it's also noted that it's by Curran, and you've got an inventory number. And as appraisers, as art historians, we're fortunate enough when we see the title. It adds information and it helps with establishing the authenticity of a picture. So, the painting of course is an oil on canvas.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And the condition is also very good. So, it's the original canvas and more than likely the original frame as well, although it has been repainted, the gold.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: Do you recall how much your great-grandfather paid for this painting?
GUEST: I don't know. It was just part of a story that my grandmother happened to include in her memoirs.
APPRAISER: Yeah. In today's market, 2014 at auction, this painting has a value of $12,000 to $18,000.
GUEST: Wow. Well, what would be the insurance value?
APPRAISER: You would probably want to insure it for about $35,000.
GUEST: Wow! That's amazing. Thank you so much!
