GUEST: I bought this at a yard sale.
APPRAISER: Yard sale?
GUEST: About seven years ago.
APPRAISER: Oh-ho!
GUEST: My wife and I...
APPRAISER: Right.
GUEST: ...on an average Saturday...
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: ...went, went in our neighborhood.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: And with this, uh, a couple of wooden picture frames, uh, a couple of other, uh, paintings...
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: ..and two tennis racquets for about $30.
APPRAISER: Oh, my goodness! Really? (laughs)
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Wow, it... Did you know what it was? What this painting was?
GUEST: I had no idea.
APPRAISER: Uh-huh.
GUEST: It was literally across the yard, and I saw it...
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: ...and thought it was interesting.
APPRAISER: Yes.
GUEST: As I got closer, I saw the texture.
APPRAISER: Right, uh-huh.
GUEST: Having watched ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, I knew to look at the back.
APPRAISER: Right. Yeah, you knew it.
GUEST: I did not recognize the artist's name.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: But because it had a label on the back...
APPRAISER: Yes, uh-huh.
GUEST: ...and the artist had signed the back, as well...
APPRAISER: Right, yes.
GUEST: ...I thought, "Well, this is... This is kind of neat."
APPRAISER: Yes.
GUEST: And more than that, it just kind of spoke to me.
APPRAISER: His name is Kōjin Toneyama.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: And Toneyama, it's written here, and he's from north of Tokyo. The place is called Ibaraki. It's, like, maybe an hour from Tokyo. He was teaching Japanese to, to high school students, but he decided to go to, uh, Mexico. He made his name in Mexico. That's why you see the, the word "pintura" on the back.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Yes-- he made lithograph, he did sometimes ceramics, and he did paintings. And I think paintings are very rare. I tried to find similar ones.
APPRAISER AND GUEST: (both chuckle)
APPRAISER: I couldn't. I saw a lithograph, too.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: His nickname was, um, "the, the Painter of the Sun," and maybe this yellow part is, maybe the sun.
GUEST: Sure.
APPRAISER: He was awarded a Mexican government reward.
GUEST: Oh, wow.
APPRAISER: Yes. So, and then, uh, he went back to Japan, and he was chosen as a judge for some painting comp... contest. It was in the northern part of Japan. It's called Iwate prefecture and he loved the area, and he made a studio there. And now that's his museum. Toneyama Kōjin Museum in Japan, so...
GUEST: Oh, wow. Fantastic.
APPRAISER: Yeah. So he's a, he's a known, uh, fantastic painter in Japan.
GUEST: Absolutely.
APPRAISER: Yes. But in America, he's not that known, and he was probably sold in a gallery in Mexico. Are you going to keep it? (laughs)
GUEST: Well, I think it depends on how much it's worth.
APPRAISER: Depends on the price, oh, okay.
GUEST: It could be a great college fund.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm, ooh, yes. (laughs)
GUEST: But it's also a fantastic conversation piece.
APPRAISER: Conversation piece, yes.
GUEST: And now a story to tell about ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
APPRAISER: Yes, I know. It's wonderful, yes, uh-huh.
GUEST: So I guess it depends.
APPRAISER: This '63 painting, I, I would say it's abstract with mixed media. It's wonderful. I think you should insure it for $4,000.
GUEST: $4,000?
APPRAISER: $4,000, yes.
GUEST: Okay, all right.
APPRAISER: Not too much. (laughs)
GUEST: No, no, that's great.
APPRAISER: Right, because, um, I saw, uh, his lithograph being sold for $800 or so, so, maybe auction, $2,000 to $3,000. So insurance, $4,000.
GUEST: Wonderful, excellent.
APPRAISER: Maybe in Japan, much more. (laughs)
GUEST: Okay.
