- The guest froze after being told the painting was worth $25,000
A guest on Antiques Roadshow was left speechless when she was told her family painting was worth about $25,000.
She was presented with a landscape painting of mountains and a stream that used to belong to her great-grandfather and she went to the exhibition to have it appreciated.
Her relative was former Utah Governor Charles Rendell Mabey, who was part of the Republican party and served between 1921 and 1925.
The item was painted by artist John Ferry and the host of the PBS show Debra Force provided some information about him.
Force told the guest that the painting could sell for as much as $25,000 in a gallery and she froze uncomfortably for a few seconds as she processed the information.
A guest on Antiques Roadshow was left speechless when she was told her family painting was worth about $25,000
She was presented with a landscape painting of mountains and a stream that used to belong to her great-grandfather and she went to the exhibition to have it appreciated
“The artist John Ferrie was born to Hungarian parents in Austria and began his early life there, studying in Vienna and Munich,” Force told the guest.
“And he comes to the United States in 1883. Best known for painting western views, he absolutely embraced the entire landscape, so he would go to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park and eventually to Utah.
‘He was also known as an artist for the Great Northern Railway and he painted hundreds of paintings for them.
“They were used as advertisements to get people to ride the rails to go west and visit the west.”
The host pointed to the inscription on the back of the painting that showed it was from July 1920, when the artist lived in Utah.
Her relative was former Utah Governor Charles Rendell Mabey, who was part of the Republican party and served between 1921 and 1925.
Force told the guest that the painting could sell for as much as $25,000 at a gallery and she froze uncomfortably for a few seconds as she processed the information.
It was called The Three Patriarchs Zion Canyon Utah and the three patriarchs were the three cliffs.
Force asked the guest if she knew how much the piece might be worth and she replied, “I don’t, and as far as I know, neither does anyone in my family.”
The host said, “If this were sold in a gallery, the painting would sell for about $25,000.”
But the guest was speechless and she didn’t say anything for a few seconds until she said “okay” and grinned.
‘His work is highly coveted and desired. He is best known for his take on Montana, but it is truly a very special piece,” Force said.
The guest paused again before saying, “That’s cool. I’m going to look for some of his other work online to see what it looks like.’