A guest on Antiques Roadshow was left so stunned by a painting valuation he hid behind the work of art. The unnamed guest said the painting had been in his family for 65 years.
He suspected it was by famous artist David Hockney. Hockney was a key contributor to the pop art movement in the 1960s, and at first glance art expert Rupert Maas wasn't convinced it was an original piece.
The guest brought the green-washed landscape painting on the BBC show and said he believed the artwork was painted when Hockney was very young, before he went on to develop his style. But after estimating its worth to be £10,000, the guest was left lost for words when its true value was revealed to be between £20,000 and £30,000.
Rupert began: “We are sitting here all day and people bring pictures and the thing they want to know is, is it or isn't it by the artist they say it's by. In this case, your picture says it's by David Hockney. This is not at all what I am used to seeing by David Hockney. David Hockney is one of Britain's leading modern painters, so you will have to tell me what your case is.”
The guest then explained: “My grandfather saw two young artists on the platform when he was a signalman on a tiny station in Trimley St Mary between Felixstowe and Ipswich. He noticed their equipment so he invited them into the signal box and gave them a cup of tea.
“He eventually invited them home for Sunday lunch because they were living in [difficult] circumstances. So they came to Sunday lunch and he said, 'Bring a painting', and Wallace brought a painting from each of them.
"A year later, he brandish a piece of paper saying one of these guys had won the gold medal at the Royal College of Art. So that is my case, that it is a Hockney.”
In response, Rupert said that “it's not what everyone would think of as a Hockney”, which the guest agreed with. The art expert pointed at the unique signature, and the fact that it had been roughly sawn, to which the guest replied that his mother had sawn it so it would fit into a frame she had.
Rupert then said: “Well I did do a bit of homework, having been initially incredulous. It turns out he was in the village near Felixstowe in 1957 as it was his last year at Bradford Art College and he was there with another artist called John Locker. So will that be the other chap who gave you a painting as well?”
The guest said he would have been the other artist, adding that he had the other painting at home. Rupert asked if it was in the same colours, to which the guest replied that it was.
Rupert then added: “I have this idea that they only had green and brown with them because they were broke! It turns out they loved John Constable and thought they were in Constable country, which of course Felixstowe is not quite.
“And they sort of made a pilgrimage. And also it turned out to be a wonderful place to paint and so they stayed there and hence this meeting with your grandfather, which is quite extraordinary.” Rupert then delighted his guest when he said: “So I think it is a Hockney. I've come round to your way of thinking.”
His guest believed the painting would be worth around £10,000, but Rupert left the man gobsmacked when he admitted it would likely be double or treble that figure. “£20,000 to £30,000?” the stunned guest asked before hiding behind the painting in shock. “Thank you for that information,” he added.
Speaking to the camera, Rupert added: “One of the things about Hockney is that he is so instantly recognisable to most people, that when you see one that isn't, you question it really hard. That's the problem with that picture. But it's widened my horizons greatly. I now know what an early Hockney looks like.”
Antiques Roadshow episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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