GUEST: These paintings have been in our family for about 80-some years. They belonged to my grandmother. They were painted by a fiancé of hers. They were engaged for eight to ten years. He didn't want to get married, he wanted to paint. She wanted a family, so she broke it off and she kept the paintings.
APPRAISER: I think that's the least she could do after such a long engagement.
GUEST: Absolutely.
APPRAISER: The artist is Thomas Berger Johnson.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and he was of Swedish descent. In the 1920s he studied with Birger Sandzén, where he learned this very bold style of painting with very thick impasto, quite a modern movement. The snow scene is probably the Scottsbluff area of western Nebraska. The painting that's closest to us is probably the Plains area. These were painted in the 1920s. Only two paintings by the artist have come on the market. The early painting that came up that was also of the bluffs sold for $3,900. That was quite a bit smaller than these two paintings. I believe that a current auction value would be… about $6,000 to $8,000 each.
GUEST: Whoa.
APPRAISER: So…
GUEST: Was not prepared for that.
APPRAISER: …$12,000 to $16,000 together.
GUEST: Wow. Better take care of them.
