APPRAISER: This man came up to the desk and he had
this painting and a cardboard box. And he kept pulling it up and down, and I
noticed that there was a foam core in front of it and every time he pulled it
up I would see more and more of that magnificent sky. Finally I said, "get the
painting out of that box and stop putting it back in and out of that box
before you get it damaged," and he did and it was more than I could have dreamed up.
It was a fabulous late 19th-century Remington portrait. You're the first for me,
I've never reprimanded a guest for manhandling a painting before. GUEST: I'm glad
you're taking care of my painting. APPRAISER: (laughs) I'm trying to. So what could you tell me about this
lovely Frederick Remington portrait. GUEST: Well, Lea Febiger was my great-grandfather. APPRAISER: That is this is this gentleman? GUEST: This is this gentleman, and he was a friend of Frederick Remington who in
1896 painted his portrait as part of a military series in El Paso. APPRAISER: And he was
captain in the infantry. As you know Frederick Remington is one of the most
important Western artists of the turn of the century. He didn't have a tremendous
amount of training but a natural instinct for the vitality and the style
of the west and this portrait is a terrific example of that. It also comes
with this letter from Remington to your great-grandfather. The letter was Remington speaking to the sitter and how much he enjoyed their time together and
there was a lot of meat in it, which is, which is really what you want.
There was no anonymity to it at all, it was personal for Remington and it was
personal for the sitter. When Remington died and I think people will be
surprised that he died in his mid-forties from a appendix operation
that didn't go well. When he died this painting was in his home in upstate New
York. His home and studio in upstate New York became the Frederick Remington
Museum. And the family of the sitter tracked down the painting to be there.
And they went to the museum and said, you
know, "hey this is our, this is our folk we would really love to have this painting."
The family came into negotiations with the group and in the late 1940s were
able to get the painting. Now you had this appraised a while ago correct? GUEST: I did. APPRAISER:
And what was the value at that point? GUEST: It was in 1960s and the value was $7,500. APPRAISER: Well the years have been kind to you and Frederic Remington. The
letter itself is worth probably about $2,000. GUEST: Really? APPRAISER: Yeah, he really is an
iconic figure in American painting and this piece with the very dashing figure,
the beautiful shadow, the abstracted landscape behind, it's really a wonderful
example of Remington's work at the turn of the century. And this piece together
with the letter would be something that I would value at auction between
$600,000 — GUEST: Oh my goodness! APPRAISER: — and 800,000. GUEST: I was hoping I would be
wildly exuberant, I am! (laughs) APPRAISER: And certainly for insurance at in excess of $800,000. GUEST: My goodness. APPRAISER: I think he knew it was valuable. I think he may have been thinking around
30,000, 25, $30,000 but not got that level. I can
only speculate that he came home told his family what it's worth and they said,
"get it out of here," because something like that is subject to any sort of
mayhem in a private home and it's much safer in a museum.
He had the painting restored, professionally restored, and it's now in
the Birmingham Alabama Museum for everyone to see. The market has gone up
for Western art and the market is still very strong for Remington and in today's
market in 2019 I would value the painting between 800,000
and 1.2 million dollars.
