GUEST: I went to a local auction house in Bucks County, P.A., in 2001 and saw this sculpture there. They happened to be selling the artist's estate, and I fell in love with it. Found out that it had actually won a prize in 1951 with the Metropolitan Museum of Art sculpture competition. The artist's brother was there, I spent a long time talking with him, and he brought me the catalog as well as a letter that his sister had written about winning this prize.
APPRAISER: When you purchased it at auction, what did you pay for it?
GUEST: I had $2,000 to my name, and I paid $1,900 plus a 10% buyer's fee.
APPRAISER: A buyer's premium.
GUEST: So, a little over $2,000. There was just something really beautiful about it. There just seemed to be a love between the father and the son. And it was just really beautiful.
APPRAISER: I think with collecting, that's the key, is to buy what you love. It's carved out of marble.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: It's unsigned, which always poses some difficulties for us if we don't know much about the artist. So I think you were lucky enough at the time to be able to put a few pieces together that really tell an interesting story. It was exhibited in 1951, and there's a picture here. The Metropolitan Museum of Art seemed to be on a dedicated campaign in 1951 to try to do a better job of exhibiting contemporary works of art, which is something that is still very relevant for us today. And they started off with a paintings exhibition where they called for entries from all over the country from artists. It was very well received. And then they moved on to sculpture. And it seems at the time that they had over 1,100 entries from around the country, with about 5,000 different works submitted, of which they picked a little bit under 100 pieces.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: This artist, Jeanne Urich, was one of the people that was selected. I think it particularly interesting that it was a young woman in 1951, was brave enough to put herself out there, to enter a national competition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and it was really exhibited with some of what are now some of the leading artists of the mid-20th century. And that's the hard thing. You know, you figure you exhibit it at one of the most well-regarded museums in the world.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: You're part of a contemporary art exhibition that was the focus.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: What happened to the career?
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: Did life intervene? Or, was it being a woman working at that time...
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: It was priced at $500 in 1951. And looking at the price sheet, that was on the low side of what works were being offered. The fact that you have all of these pieces together help us know who the artist was, we hope that over time that tastes shift, there may be more works that come on the market to be able to provide a price point.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: I think the reality is while some of the people she exhibited with are bringing six figures and some of them seven figures, her career hasn't taken that trajectory.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And I would think in today's market at auction, maybe you'd be looking at an estimate in the $4,000 to $6,000 range.
GUEST: Okay, okay. That's wonderful. Thank you. I'm happy for Jeanne. Very happy for Jeanne. And I love it very much.
APPRAISER: For insurance, maybe in the $7,500 range.
GUEST: Okay.
