GUEST: I am an avid collector of paintings in general. My great-great-grandfather painted landscapes, and I have several of them, and I'm very happy to have them. And so when I look at a painting, I just see the detail in it. And the subject matter of these particular two paintings were just exquisite. The fact that, you know, one's on one side of the door and one's on the other, listening. I got them in New York, in Chelsea, at a garage flea market that is no longer there any longer, but...
APPRAISER: A long time ago or...
GUEST: About three years ago.
APPRAISER: What did you pay for them?
GUEST: $100 for the pair.
APPRAISER: Well, they're wonderful examples of Second Empire fancywork, as I like to refer to it.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: The artist is Glisenti. Signed here, and this piece is signed here. It's a diptych, which are two paintings that are talking to each other. And often we don't see that. Often, they'll be separated at birth for whatever reasons. But here, we have this gentleman who's knocking on the door, and on the other painting, the lady who is very coyly listening to it. What do you think about this narrative?
GUEST: I love it. (laughs) I mean, it's just intrigue, rendezvous going on, right?
APPRAISER: Absolutely, and that's why the artist painted it. At this point in the late 19th, early 20th century, they were very interested in this very sort of coquettish, roguish, high-society look. And these two paintings are a terrific example of them. The paintings were painted in the late 19th, early 20th century, probably in Italy, and painted for the European high-style market. The other aspect of the pictures that was very important is the detail of the work that you see. And there is incredible detail, especially in the male figure. The female, I believe, has a little condition issue, and I don't know if that's something that can be cleaned off or restored in some way. They may have been overcleaned at some point in their life. They are oil on canvas, so they are quite stable. I don't see any need for lining or anything like that. They're wonderful pieces, and as I said, they really do fit right into Rosecliff. The moldings around the doors are exactly what we see in this wonderful building. You couldn't have brought better paintings. For auction, I would estimate them at between $2,000 and $3,000.
GUEST: Wonderful. (chuckles)
APPRAISER: And for insurance, I would suggest an insurance value of $5,000.
GUEST: How wonderful, that's great.
APPRAISER: Do you think she's going to let him in?
GUEST: I hope so.
APPRAISER: I don't know...
GUEST: I don't know... (laughing)
