GUEST: My wife and I were at an estate sale in Coto de Caza, nicer area, and looking for a desk, and as we were leaving later on in the afternoon, there was a stack of pictures and a little box kind of stacked behind them. Late in the day and said, "What's in that?" They said, "We don't know, it's sealed." It was a hardwood box nailed shut. We said, "Well, what is it? We'll take a gamble." And he said, "20 bucks." So we said, "Well, we have $14." Sold. Went home, cracked it open, and here's this gorgeous painting, which I'm crossing my figures that it's worth a little more than $14.
APPRAISER: I think so. So, you found out who the artist is. How did you do that?
GUEST: There's a name on the bottom. With a little homework online, I believe it's Ream. I'm probably butchering it.
APPRAISER: Right, no, it's Carducius Plantagenet Ream. It's very faintly visible. Ream was born in Lancaster, Ohio, in 1837. He became one of Chicago's most prominent still life painters. He was known for painting fruit primarily. He had a solo exhibition in the Chicago Art Institute. His works were exhibited in London at the Royal Academy and a lot of very prestigious places.
GUEST: So far, so good.
APPRAISER: Yeah. This is a typical painting by Ream. Very dramatic. I love the fuzz on the peaches. Everything is just...
GUEST: That's my favorite, as well. It's like a velvety sheen.
APPRAISER: Remarkable.
GUEST: Yeah, definitely.
APPRAISER: So, very dramatic lighting, a lot of chiaroscuro here with the peaches coming out of the dark background. It's an oil on canvas and it was probably done circa 1880, 1890. So, did you have any expectations on this?
GUEST: The more, the merrier. I have no honest guesstimation. I would say low thousands, would be my guess.
APPRAISER: Well, they've sold all across the board at auction. I think a painting like this in a retail environment, I could easily see a $10,000 to $15,000 price tag.
GUEST: $10,000 to $15,000?
APPRAISER: Yes.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: Yeah, and I would insure it for the higher end of that range.
GUEST: $15,000. That is a very amazing $14 investment.
