Antiques Roadshow guest left stunned at six-figure valuation of family heirloom: 'I fell out on the floor'

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left in shock as she discovered that two 19th Century paintings purchased by her great-grandmother could be insured for a six-figure sum.

The season 29 premiere on Monday night saw the hit PBS show make a stop in Arkansas, where the owner of the Winslow Homer Watercolors explained that the art had been in her family for 'probably 150 years' without realizing the significance of the artist.

She explained to appraiser Betty Krulik: '[They] probably were bought by my great-great grandmother in the late 1800s.

'I had copies of them hanging on the wall in my office at work. And I work at a university.'

She continued: 'And one of the art history professors came in one day and she saw the works, and she goes, "Oh, I didn't know we had any Winslow Homers in our collection."'

Naturally, the reveal of the artist immediately left the guest stunned as she continued: 'And I just about fell out on the floor, and I said, "Well... (chuckles) those belong to me."'

Betty then revealed the history of the art as she stated: 'Winslow Homer started working in watercolor in about 1873 in Gloucester. These works date from slightly later, about 1878.

'The medium of the one closest to you is pure watercolor. There might be some pencil underdrawing that's very faint.'

She continued: 'The one closest to you, the little boy and girl on a swing, that has lost color. We call that light struck.

'There were times when he painted in very pale washes but this is a little paler than usual.'

Sharing her expert opinion, she said: 'I'm going to value them as though they are by the artist. They look absolutely right to me.

'In my opinion, they're signed with every stroke of the brush. The little boy and girl on the swing is probably worth about $30,000 to $50,000.

'That's fair market value. That would be the range you might get in an auction. I would insure it for about $70,000.'

Betty also went on to share why the second painting had an even higher value as she told the guest: 'The one closest to me, it has the pencil underdrawing the watercolor. And then these touches of gouache, they're just perfect 1878 Winslow Homers.

'It is in much better condition. This has not lost color. And you can actually see that the opening goes to the very edge, that there might-might be a little bit of what we call acid burn... from the old frame where it's darkened at the very edge.' 

She continued: 'But you can see that the color hasn't really changed. You get that full range of the greens.

'What might have happened, though, is that the paper might have darkened very slightly.'

Betty explained: 'And you can see that here where the gouache has protected the original color of the paper, this kind of buff tone. And the papers darken slightly.

'For this one, an auction estimate would be about $150,000 to $200,000. And I'd insure it for closer to $250,000.'

The guest was stunned as she replied: 'That's pretty amazing. I don't think I would have guessed that.'

The premiere episode of the beloved show saw appraisals taking place in the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Another guest was overcome with emotion at the value of a precious gift from his father. 

The owner of sterling trophy awarded to baseball legend Rogers Hornsby's explained how his father had been 'good friends' with the sporting hero.

Thanks to this friendship, the sporting icon had been willing part ways with his 1926 trophy so that it could be given to the guest - a gift that is now worth a five-figure sum.

Rogers Hornsby (1896 -1963) was generally considered the game's greatest right-handed hitter. 

Others treasures featured in the episode included 1976 Marvel UK Super Spider-Man No. 175 cover art, Clarence Millet oil paintings, ca. 1945 and a stunning Marcus & Co. boulder opal & gold ring, ca. 1900.

Antiques Roadshows airs Mondays at Mondays at 8/7c and 9/8c PM on PBS.