GUEST: I like to yard-sale,
but I get a lot of grief from
my sons all the time, so I've
been trying to, like, not
do it as often, but I saw a
sign, and I stopped, and I saw
these, and I liked them.
APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: And the price was right.
APPRAISER: Can I ask
what you paid for them?
GUEST: For all of them, $25.
APPRAISER: How long ago?
GUEST: Just a few months ago.
APPRAISER: Really? When
you came in, you had
these all in a folder.
GUEST: That I bought last night.
APPRAISER: That you bought
last night. Probably for
almost the same amount.
GUEST: Yeah, yeah, it was
$20 for the folder, yeah.
APPRAISER: And the top
one was this one up here.
GUEST: Yes. I really
liked it, and I'm familiar
with the artist, but I
wasn't sure if it was
real or not.
APPRAISER: And it's signed
"Edward Hopper" underneath.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: So then, I flipped
the page in the book, and
this piece showed up. This is
by Kenneth Hayes Miller, who
is, was, in his day, a very
important artist and instructor,
but isn't somebody who's really
withstood the test of time.
But what's interesting about
seeing these two together is,
the Hopper was in a portfolio
called "Six American Etchings:
The 'New Republic' Portfolio."
That was published in 1924. This
was also in that same portfolio.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: So just by having
found the two together, that
strengthens the provenance
even more.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: To tell me, "This
looks very good." Also in that
same portfolio of six prints
was a John Marin print,
an Ernest Haskell print...
GUEST: Ah!
APPRAISER: And a
Peggy Bacon print.
GUEST: And I left one behind.
APPRAISER: And that
was by John Sloan?
GUEST: I don't know. Because
I didn't have enough money--
I only had, like, $25, so I
left one behind.
APPRAISER: Oh, no!
GUEST: (laughing) And
I just took the one
that I didn't-- yeah.
APPRAISER: So that was
probably a print by John Sloan
called "The Bandits Cave."
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: So the fact
that you have all these
together is wonderful
proof that this is indeed
what it purports to
be. The Hayes Miller,
also pencil-signed,
also an etching, lovely
print, not in terrific
condition. Realistically,
were you to sell this
at auction, you might
expect it to bring
about $80 to $120.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Not a
tremendous amount.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: The Ernest Haskell,
also signed, called "Sentinels
of North Creek," another
lovely etching, but again, not
very important. $200, $300.
Peggy Bacon, a fairly unusual
female artist. This is a
more important print. It's
called "Promenade Deck."
At auction currently,
you're probably looking
about $500 to $700 for it.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: The John Marin is
interesting. When the portfolio
first came out, it included
this John Marin print,
which is called "Brooklyn
Bridge Six Swaying."
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: After just a few
of the edition was published,
he changed out that print for
another print called "Downtown,
The El." This is the more
rare and desirable print.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: So this is
a fantastic etching,
and it's in lovely
condition. So at auction,
for the John Marin,
you're looking about
$15,000 to $25,000.
GUEST: Oh, my God. Oh, my
God! I'm glad I didn't leave
that one behind. (laughs)
APPRAISER: The Hopper is
possibly one of his best-known
prints. And at auction, you're
looking $30,000 to $50,000.
GUEST: Crazy. Absolutely crazy.
APPRAISER: Are your kids going
to give you grief after this?
GUEST: No, they better not.
(both laugh) They better not.
No, not at all, they better not.
APPRAISER: The one you left
behind, the John Sloan,
$500 to $700 at auction.