GUEST: We lived across the street from the Hurleys when Wilson Hurley was married to his first wife. He and their seven children lived directly across the street. And when they broke up and went their ways, this painting came into our family. And my father made a frame, kind of a ranch oak frame, and it hung behind our family room couch all of my life. And then when my parents passed away, it came into my possession.
APPRAISER: Do you know very much about Wilson Hurley?
GUEST: I know that he did monumental landscape paintings of the Southwest and that he has paintings in the Smithsonian and he was represented up in Santa Fe in one of the galleries, but as far as the value of it, I don't have any idea.
APPRAISER: Well, I think this is a very exciting painting to see at the Roadshow because of where we are and its regional importance. He did paint vast landscapes. He was born in Oklahoma, but he did move to New Mexico and he was really taken with the natural landscape. We know it is Wilson Hurley by the fact that it's signed here. It's signed in an interesting manner. He often signed with his first name, but after speaking with my colleagues, they felt sure that this also was Wilson Hurley.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: And he did date it on this side, "1960." The interesting thing about this date is, between 1958 and 1960, he became kind of intrinsically interested in how technology and nature were relating. I think it's an incredible contrast between this lone windmill, this figure out in this vast landscape, and he has made it even more emphasized by the use of these vertical clouds, which kind of echo this tall, lean piece of technology. He was a really interesting man. He was considered a renaissance type of man.
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: He was into law, he was an engineer. He's won countless awards. He has murals in the Capitol in Oklahoma, he has paintings in museums, he's just a very recognizable and important Western landscape artist. With all that said, this painting is in fairly good condition. We do have small bits of grime, we have crackle and a little bit of cupping. I think, at auction, particularly in this area, this painting might bring $10,000 to $15,000.
GUEST: Really? Even that it's... for Wilson Hurley, it's small.
APPRAISER: That's right.
GUEST: Wow.
