AN ANTIQUES Roadshow guest was left struggling for breath after being told the value of a painting that originally cost £100.
Her father bought the artwork in the 70s, and left it to her in his will.
The print by artist Gustave Bauman featured a countryside vista with beautiful rolling hills as a backdrop.
She brought it on the show to be checked out by antiques expert Todd Weyman, and was left in shock after hearing how much it could fetch at auction.
She told the appraiser: “My dad bought this from Gustave Baumann’s widow when she had come to Colorado State University.
“She was selling some of his work to raise money, selling from the estate and this one always stopped him.”
Todd was impressed by the artwork, explaining that it has appreciated in value since it was made in the 50s.
Calling Gustave “super hot now”, he added: “This is the smallest edition but there are all these intense colours.
“And what’s great about this too is the way that the rain is coming down.
“That’s just such a great talent, to pull that off by cutting a wood block. And then he mixed all the colours himself, signed it himself, titled it and this is his hand in heart ink stamp which he used on his colour woodcuts, just his sort of monogram symbol.
“The appreciation for these, like I said, over the past couple of decades has just increased exponentially.”
The woman waited anxiously to hear how much the item would sell for now, admitting to being “really nervous”.
With a flourish, Todd went on to reveal: “This is a great image, the more evocative you get with his imagery of the Southwest, the better.
“It’s also one of the larger colour woodcuts. So it’s got everything going for it.
“The colours are also perfect, like the day they were printed. That’s tough to find.
“I would put a replacement value or insurance value on this at $50,000 (£39,669.50).”
The shocked guest was left gasping for breath after hearing the potential price tag.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed, “That is so much more than I thought! That is so much more than I thought.”
“Okay I’m going to have to do something about that. Thank you for letting me know.
“That’s really, really amazing. It’s always been of value to me and now I’m going to go to an insurance agent and make sure that I’ve got it covered.
Clutching her chest, she added: “I feel like I’m having trouble breathing a little bit. Oh my God, you’re kidding.”
