American Folk Art Portrait, ca. 1880 | St. Louis, Hour 3 | Preview

Scary portrait or conversation starter? Or both? Preview the all-new episode St. Louis, Hour 3 with this sneak peek appraisal by Ken Farmer of this American folk art portrait, ca. 1880.
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[@neconeconeco]

Aw, I don't think they're scary at all. I love their expressions - big sister so protective, little brother's not so sure about this stranger making them stay still for so long. Beautiful colours.

[@gybx4094]

I watch these episodes because the people are so interesting.

[@commonsense124]

Fantastic piece of American art.

[@mlr4524]

I would date it earlier than that, and if the gentleman had told us the name of his mother's family, a good genealogist could track down the ID and potentially the artist via Newport RI circles.

[@wolfgangk1]

Not the amount he was hoping for..

[@hd-xc2lz]

Value was wrong. And judging by the sophistication of technique, the painter shouldn't be difficult to identify by experts on the period and location.

[@xyzxyz-hi8lp]

I think by his initial reaction, he was not happy with the evaluation

[@englishrose4388]

You can see the resemblance in his face to those children in the painting.

[@heaven-is-real]

A similar painting not as good as this had an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

[@marklozano8388]

seems like a real low estimate

[@cloudsparrow7729]

Such a great picture. Saw the thumbnail and thought - oh no, creepy kids, but absolutely not.

[@evaldasibm]

Did he say its a brother in the red dress? :)

[@sarahs9228]

It was very common for little boys in middle or upper classes to wear dresses for centuries. When they reached a certain age, around 5 to 7, they would be "breeched," or start wearing breeches or trousers, as a somewhat ceremonious step toward entering manhood. A way to tell the difference between a boy or a girl is by looking at the parting of the hair. Girls traditionally parted down the middle and boys traditionally parted to the side.

[@SkinnyCow.]

look at JFK's son who wore what looked like a dress at the President's funeral and that was the 1960's.

[@rachelkoiks]

After hearing 1870’s, I’ll assume the girl is wearing a coral necklace since during that time, it was believed to be healing for children. Very interesting.

[@allisonle8596]

The appraisal was low. Should be higher

[@HunterShows]

This reminds me of that girls' portrait at the Asylum in Vampire the Masquerade.

[@kevinsmith5360]

That guy is dressed like a Nordstrom Rack threw up on him

[@Jackwagon]

Spot on! 😂😂

[@conscience-commenter]

Did he say she has her hand on her brother in the red dress holding a magicians wand ?

[@ronniecaron6827]

More often then not, a work of art like that one, had no value to the future generations . They wound up in the attic or barn, or were cut down so they could fit in a smaller home, with lower ceilings. Same thing has happened to large scale Rembrandt, Renoirs, Gainsboroughs and Pollock! I think the appraiser, valued this painting, far too low!

[@heaven-is-real]

Agreed, far too low

[@hd-xc2lz]

The owners just need to find someone to research who painted it. Name the artist (being so skilled it's likely he/she has other works in private or museum collections) and the value goes up markedly.

[@tracyroweauthor]

I can see why they call it the scary portrait. My initial response was god that's horrifying. The proportions are off so the heads are way too big and that gives the image that frightening look. It obviously needs some cleaning and restretching but it's an interesting piece.

[@hd-xc2lz]

Not folk art. The painter is looking to (quoting) folk art for the pose of the children as well as contours of face and limbs, but the interior modeling of bodies and rendering of floor shows the skill of a academically trained and experienced painter. Shouldn't be difficult for a specialist to identify the artist, and then the value would increase tenfold.

[@galatians22122]

What in the Sam Are you WEARING!

[@123benny4]

He's just as scary as the painting.

[@SkinnyCow.]

It looks like their heads are too big for their bodies

[@tracyroweauthor]

they are. The proportions are off.

[@tinoj9661]

horror movie prop for sure. if that thing is not haunted...

[@confucius2616]

Brother? Not buying it. That’s two girls there