GUEST: Her name's Fanny Fletcher. She was my great-great-grandmother. She was born in 1797. And the painting was done when she was 20 years old. So the painting's actually... in a few years, it'll be 200 years old. And we think she's pretty good looking.
APPRAISER: She is.
GUEST: One of her daughters is my great-grandmother. And I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.
APPRAISER: This is true. This is a really good example of American folk portraiture. She's young, she's attractive, she's beautifully dressed. Somehow this picture over the years has survived in remarkably good condition. I can see that it's had very little if anything done to it, with the possible exception of the frame. This frame probably dates from the late 1870s, early 1880s. So it was a means by which they could modernize the picture. The artist has taken a particular care in painting her clothing and her best features. When you brought it in, I thought, "I've seen this hand before. I have a feeling I know who painted it." And we've decided that it's probably painted by a man by the name of Thomas Ware.
GUEST: Ware?
APPRAISER: Who was from Vermont. And Thomas Ware painted primarily most of his portraits in Vermont in the first two decades of the 19th century. So I think there's a very good likelihood that Thomas Ware is responsible for this portrait. So all of those factors make it pretty special. She's someone that a collector, for example, you'd just love to have her around the house. I would estimate the picture, let's say in an auction situation, would bring between $8,000 and $12,000.
GUEST: That's good.
