Oil Paintings Worth Millions On Antiques Roadshow!

In, golly, I guess it was 1963, I did my junior year in Madrid, Spain, and I lived right close to the Joaquin Sorolla Museum in Madrid. Later, I moved to Cambridge with my first husband, whom I met in Spain. It was about 1965, 1966, and we found some of Jane Peterson's work. In a quiet moment of introspection, Jane Peterson captured something more than just color on canvas. She captured a story, titled The Answer. Peterson, originally from Elgin, Illinois, trained in New York before expanding her artistic horizons across Europe. Her time in Spain, studying under Joaquin Sorolla, profoundly influenced her palette. While friendships with artistic giants like Picasso and Matisse nudged her toward expressionism, she traveled widely, defying the conventions of her time, and infused her experiences into her art. This vibrant oil painting from around 1925 reflects Peterson's signature style. Bold brushwork, rich emotion, and radiant light. The woman in the painting sits poised, possibly penning a heartfelt letter, her necklace broken. An intentional detail that deepens the mystery. There is a label that indicates that this was exhibited with the Allied Artists of America in New York, and the exhibition was held in 1929. Once bought for just $150, today its brilliance and provenance have driven its estimated gallery value. Her work is very popular. It's also a very period piece, and it's very colorful and brilliant. And so for all those reasons, I think it's very desirable in the marketplace. And I think that a gallery in New York would be asking $300,000. Where's the chair? Now I need that chair. Oh, I'm so excited. Well, I just have always loved it. I mean, it really spoke to me. Few artists have captured the heart of a nation quite like Fernando Amorsolo. Known as the Grand Old Man of Philippine Art, Amorsolo immortalized his homeland soul through sun-drenched landscapes and idyllic scenes of everyday life. The two works appraised here, one of a solitary laundress and the other a bustling rice harvest, are classic examples of his beloved genre subjects. Painted in 1955, they reflect his signature use of light, a style that romanticized rural Filipino life and made his work iconic. I got them through my father-in-law. My wife and I inherited them. When he was eight years old, he went to the Philippines with his family. They were mining engineers. And approximately when would that have been? This would have been mid-30s. Some of the family decided to go back eventually, to come back to the United States. And his mother stayed on in the Philippines for a number of years. When she felt it was time to come back, apparently she collected pieces that made her feel like what she saw. She enjoyed living there. It's my understanding. Amorsolo's art was long cherished by foreign collectors, especially American soldiers who brought his paintings home. But in recent years, the market has shifted. Filipinos now fiercely reclaim their cultural icons, and Amorsolo's status as the first national artist of the Philippines has only amplified demand. These canvases are no longer just beautiful, they're national treasures. Nowadays, his work is very sought after. Do you know how much she paid for the works? I have not a clue. How many paintings did she collect? I think at least 10 pieces. Were they distributed among family members, or just did most of them pass to you? Most of them passed to us. Okay. For both of the paintings together, I would suggest a conservative auction estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. Hmm. That's a bit more than I was expecting. So I brought a painting that belonged to my grandparents. It hung in their home, it hung in my mother's, my parents' home, and it's been hanging in my living room for the past 20 years. I know it's Fern Coppage, and Lehigh Valley, Delaware Gap area is the scenes that inspired it. The painting had been purchased by my grandparents, my father's father. We believe they purchased it at a auction or fundraiser for Lafayette College, which is also in Eastern Pennsylvania. I did notice a price tag with a title that says December Mist, $100. Fern Coppage's December Mist is a stunning glimpse into the quiet poetry of winter in rural Pennsylvania. Coppage, one of the foremost Pennsylvania Impressionists, brought a bold, Fauvist-inspired palette to the American landscape tradition. Having studied under masters like William Merritt Chase and Daniel Garber, she found her voice not in academic halls, but out in the open air, painting on plein air, often wrapped in a bearskin coat during frigid winters. She was part of the Philadelphia Ten, a pioneering group of female artists who defied the male-dominated art scene of the time. Painted around 1920, this oil on canvas glows with a soft, atmospheric haze, subdued now by time and surface grime, yet still pulsing with the artist's vibrant touch. Snow-covered hills and shadowed rooftops reflect her gift for seeing unexpected color in the mundane, with blues and purples that shimmer beneath the surface. A thorough cleaning would reveal even more brilliance. Her market has been doing very well recently. I would insure this for no less than $120,000. Oh, really? Wow. Wow. OK, that's that's worth insuring. I was not expecting that. Thank you, Grandpa. We have a very small family, and our family has collected Western art for a very long time. This was in the attic, and I hadn't even really seen it before. And my brother's fiancee went wandering around. She found it in the attic, brought it down and said, this should not be in the attic. And it's probably been in the attic of our farm home since 1970s, maybe. There's quite a pile of art up there. I'm guessing that our great grandparents purchased it on their travels. Discovered after decades in an attic, this thrilling Western oil painting by Elling William Bill Gollings captures the grit and drama of frontier life. Painted in 1907, it shows riders in full flight across the sagebrush, chased by unseen enemies, a classic narrative moment frozen in motion. Gollings, known for signing with a pony hoof alongside his name, infused his canvases with the authenticity of a man who lived the life he depicted. Born in Idaho and trained briefly in Chicago, Gollings spent much of his early life wrangling cattle and working alongside real cowboys in South Dakota and Wyoming. His firsthand experience on the range gave his art a muscular realism that appealed to tourists eager for a taste of the vanishing American West. This particular scene, though grimy with age, remains vivid and powerfully composed and would only brighten further with careful cleaning. It's part of the vanishing American West. Gollings is really sort of a third wave of artists. Okay. You had people like George Catlin who came out and really experienced the West and Native Americans and saw it for real. Then you have people coming in another generation, Remington, Russell, and that was sort of the second wave. Gollings is sort of the third wave. I would say at auction, you probably put a conservative estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. Oh, that's wonderful. That's fantastic. It's beautiful. And no, it doesn't belong in the attic. So my great aunt was an artist and she studied under Hans Hoffman and wound up becoming friends with several of the other artists that studied along with him. And one of them was a woman named Lynn Drexler. Lynn wound up leaving a number of pieces with my aunt. And when my aunt passed in 2009, I inherited them. And so I've always loved them. About a year and a half ago, I saw a New York Times article that talked about Lynn Drexler and how this artist who had been in obscurity for decades was all of a sudden getting interest. So I thought I would bring these and see if I could learn more about them. Lynn Drexler's bold and rhythmic brushwork once lingered in obscurity. But today, her vibrant canvases are making a triumphant return to the spotlight. These two abstract expressionist oil paintings, created in 1959 and 1961, are intimate yet powerful examples of her early work. Precisely the era now drawing the attention of collectors and major galleries worldwide. A protege of Hans Hoffman, Drexler developed a unique voice through color-led compositions, channeling energy and emotion into layered hues rather than defined forms. She was part of a generation of women whose contributions to abstract expressionism were long overshadowed by their male peers. But times have changed. Drexler's reputation is rapidly rising, with recent exhibitions and publications re-evaluating her as a key figure in mid-century American art. These paintings, inherited through a family friendship, were once considered just cherished decorations. If the smaller painting were to come to auction, I believe that value would be $50,000 to $70,000. Wow. And the larger painting, I believe if this painting were at auction, it would sell for between $300,000 and $500,000. Oh, my goodness. I'm speechless. Wow. I mean, I've always just liked them, but I would never have imagined. That's fantastic. Ernie Barnes was a former NFL player. He played for the Jets. But after football, he found art as being, I guess, part of his livelihood. And we all are familiar with Sugar Shack and there's some other well-known pieces. But my father and Ernie made friends and he was able to purchase this piece. And this actually sat on top of our fire mantle in our home in Santa Barbara, California. Ernie Barnes, once a professional NFL player, transformed his life and legacy through the power of art. His 1971 painting, Fourth and One, is a striking oil on canvas that captures the electric intensity of football. Not just as sport, but as culture. With his signature elongated figures and dynamic composition, Barnes infuses motion, grit and emotion into a single suspended moment on the field. What seemed like a sentimental family possession has now been recognized as a museum-worthy treasure, though not as globally recognized as Sugar Shack, his most famous work featured on Good Times and a Marvin Gaye album cover. Fourth and One still packs a serious punch. Ernie Barnes is no longer just a former athlete who painted. He's now widely regarded as a master of figurative expressionism. If I were to put a value on it for insurance purposes, I would make this around $650,000. Wow. Amazing. Awesome piece. Amazing. It's been in my husband's family for a very long time. It was passed down to his parents, and then after his parents passed away, it was passed on to us, and we've just had it hanging up in the house. Cornelius Krieghoff's name might not be instantly familiar to everyone, but to art historians and collectors of Canadian heritage, it represents a cornerstone of 19th century storytelling through paint. His works didn't just depict life, they narrated it, and this particular painting is a prime example. Painted around 1870, the scene bursts with life. A snowy Canadian landscape, a mother and child bundled tight, a sled in motion. It's a vivid, almost cinematic slice of Quebec's history. Though the art world is rife with Krieghoff forgeries due to his popularity, this piece checks all the boxes. Quality, technique, provenance, and even the original frame. We believe it to be a lovely example of Krieghoff's work. Given that, I would estimate the piece at auction between $200,000 and $300,000. Oh my God! It's a wonderful example of his work. For insurance and retail purposes, in excess of $350,000. I can't believe it, Colleen. I just can't believe it. Believe it, and insure it right away. I will. I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. My husband was a student at Washington State University, and he had an art professor by the name of Clifford Still. Then as the years went by, he went on and got his doctorate and came back to Washington State. And the chairman of his department, they owned the painting. They gave it to us as a housewarming. That's very generous of them. Yes, it was. Very nice indeed. Created in 1937 by Clifford Still, long before his meteoric rise as a pioneer of abstract expressionism, this canvas captures a rugged scene from the Grand Coulee Dam project, offering a rare glimpse into Still's figurative period. The painting bears both his signature and a personal dedication on the reverse, connecting it to a specific moment in his early life and teaching career. Though known later for bold, abstract forms, this piece hints at his evolving visual language, already teeming with thick textures and expressive brushwork. Still would go on to influence giants like Rothko and Pollock, but here we see him rooted in the real world, documenting the transformation of the American West. Unaltered since it was received decades ago, the painting still rests on its original humble stretchers, reinforcing its authenticity. Now, have you had this appraised before? No. And you need to have it appraised for what purpose? Insurance purposes. I believe that this shouldn't be insured for anything less than half a million dollars. Really? Yeah. We have to put that in context. Bear in mind that a painting painted 10 years later than this in 1947, sold a few years ago for twenty one million dollars. Oh, really? That painting that made twenty one million was it was a new benchmark for. Yes. So, in fact, it may turn out that I'm being rather conservative when I say half a million. I have to say, in all my years on the road show, it's probably the most exciting find I've had. Oh, really? I'm absolutely thrilled that you brought it in today. Well, thank you. Thank you. I brought an Erna Rosenstein painting. I know that Erna Rosenstein was a Holocaust survivor. It's painted in nineteen fifty five. I've had it for thirty seven years. It was from an auction house where they were auctioning stuff for a charity. At first glance, this nineteen fifty five oil painting might seem like an abstract swirl of color and texture. But behind the brushstrokes lies a story of unspeakable survival and artistic defiance. The piece stands as a haunting expression of memory, trauma and resilience. Born in 1913 in Lviv, Rosenstein was already immersed in the European avant garde when World War Two began. Her life took a harrowing turn when her parents were murdered during a failed escape from Nazi occupied Poland. She survived by adopting false identities, spending years evading capture while witnessing the darkest corners of human cruelty. This painting was completed during a pivotal moment in her life. After years of silence under oppressive Soviet censorship, Rosenstein was slowly re-emerging into the art world. Though much of her early work had been destroyed or lost, the canvases she created after 1945 became visual testimonies. Coated, surreal, emotionally raw. The 1955 piece is part of a body of work bridging her private grief and public voice made just before she co-founded the Krakow Group and helped revive Polish modernism. It's sustained a little bit of damage, but all things considered, it's not too bad. Have you had this appraised? Do you have any idea what it's worth? If you had to guess what you paid for it thirty seven or so years ago, what do you think that might have been? I was thinking seven hundred. If this were to come up to auction today, we would estimate this painting at fifty thousand to seventy thousand dollars. Wow. Wow. Wow. Thank you.