GUEST: I got it at a thrift store years ago for $9.99 because I don't ever spend more than $9.99 on art. And so this was one of the pieces that I brought in. My kids say that it's ugly. I was attracted to it immediately when I saw it. And then actually when I picked it up, I saw the name on the back and it was dated 1947, and I just thought, "Wow."
APPRAISER: Well, it's also showing in the front right down here.
GUEST: Oh, I didn't know that.
APPRAISER: "Ferren." The artist is John Ferren. He's American. He was born in Oregon in 1905. He ended up studying in San Francisco. His family moved around the Northwest a bit. And he became an abstract painter early on. He studied both in Paris and Italy with the idea that he was going to become a sculptor, but after he saw an exhibition of work by Henri Matisse in Munich...
GUEST: Oh, wow.
APPRAISER: ...he decided he would focus on becoming a painter.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: So he married the daughter of a Spanish artist, and he met a few Spanish artists like Picasso...
GUEST: Yes, I read that.
APPRAISER: ...and Miró. But they got divorced, and in 1938, he moved back to the States. It's sort of a cataloguer's dream because of so much information...
GUEST: On the back?
APPRAISER: ...on the reverse. And I want to show everyone it not only has the date of 1947...
GUEST: Right-- yes.
APPRAISER: ...which you pointed out, but the artist's name printed clearly so that it can be read easily.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: The title.
Guest: "The Prophet."
APPRAISER: And even the size of the painting, 19 by 26 inches. And this is some kind of artist inventory number.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: This is really terrific to have all this information here. It's like a dream come true.
GUEST: Oh, far out. It is messed up, though, I know.
APPRAISER: It has a few surface condition problems, but it's basically in good condition. The medium here is mixed media on board.
GUEST: Yeah, I love it, and I keep it on my mantel, and it just gives me peace looking at it.
APPRAISER: Well, I think it's terrific. Do you have any idea what it might be worth other than $9.99?
(laughing)
GUEST: Uh... I really don't, and actually, my sister is the one that entered me in the ROADSHOW, and I just thought, "Oh my gosh, it was meant to be," you know? And this was what I love.
APPRAISER: If this picture were offered in a retail gallery, the asking price might range between $15,000 and $20,000.
GUEST: Really, $20,000? Wow, that is a lot.
APPRAISER: So we're really happy to see this today at the ROADSHOW.
(crying)
GUEST: Thank you. Thank you.
APPRAISER: You're so welcome! I'm so glad you came today.
GUEST: Thank you. My kids are all going to say, "Sell it," you know, and I'm just going to go, "No!"
