GUEST: This is a painting by Louis Comfort Tiffany. He was mostly known for his stained glass, but he was originally trained as a painter. This was given to my parents by my father's aunt. And it was kept in a boiler room, of all places.
APPRAISER: (chuckling): Oh, geez.
GUEST: Along with another painting. And they asked my parents if they would like it, along with the other painting. They said yes. It was given to me ten years ago. I have since had it reframed. However, I kept the original frame, and it was originally kept behind glass. Well, and that answers a lot of questions, because when a picture is left in a boiler room, it's usually covered with soot and dust.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And schmoo, which is an industry term.
GUEST: (chuckles)
APPRAISER: But this looks oddly clean. Ultimately, framing oil paintings behind glass isn't a good idea.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: But given the, this poor little picture's history in a boiler room, it was actually something that protected it and actually preserved it well. When Louis Comfort Tiffany started, he was very enamored of paintings and subjects of Italy and of the Orient. But he started his studies with George Inness, who was a Hudson River painter.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And I think this is actually a Hudson River subject, or nearby. It could be Cooper's Bluffs, or it could be Lake George. And it's also got all of the bells and whistles. We have several different vessels, both sailing vessels and steam. You also have a very animated dock scene, where you have figures unloading. So the fact that you have so many details and so much bustle going on in this, this tiny little port, just makes it that much more interesting. So you put all of that together, and I think, realistically, were you to put this at auction today, you'd be looking at an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000.
GUEST: Wow, wow, that's impressive. That's quite amazing for such a, a small painting. (chuckling): Wow. That's wonderful. Oh, my goodness. (laughs) I better get it insured.
APPRAISER: For insurance evaluation? Mm-hmm. I would say you would want to protect it somewhere in the neighborhood of $75,000.
GUEST: Oh, wow. Okay, thank you so much.
