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An Antiques Roadshow expert was on hand to give owners a “special” appraisal of two paintings but the couple barely reactd to the news.
Antiques Roadshow: Expert values paintings
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.
Antiques Roadshow guests candidly told an expert that the whopping sum for two paintings didn’t “change anything” for them.
Antiques Roadshow‘s expert Charlotte Riordan was filming at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh when she was shown two simple yet striking paintings by Kim Tschang-yeul.
The BBC expert began: “So I know that most of our production team has been praying that raindrops stay away today but I was delighted to see these two paintings of droplets of water.
“So thank you very much for bringing them. Can you tell me how you came by the paintings?”
The owner revealed: “My brother-in-law is French and his first cousin was married to Kim, the artist. We met them when we were first married back in 1974.
“My sister said, ‘You really want to see his paintings. They’re pretty special.’ I think we probably had no money at the time but we bought two because we loved them.”
Riordan then shared extensive background details about the artist, explaining: “Kim Tschang-yeul is Korean originally and was from unified Korea, as it was at the time.
“In the north was where he was born. Sadly, he had to flee Korea during the Communist regime taking hold.
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“He actually served in the military during the Korean War. Went to New York and then eventually settled in Paris which is where he began painting his raindrops.”
She did point out there was a “little bit of water damage” to one of the canvases but shared that it was actually a wet canvas in his studio which inspired him to paint droplets.
Riordan went on to comment: “I believe that’s also not uncommon for the school of Korean artists that he came from.
“A lot of them went in for this kind of very repetitious, obsessive kind of mark making, and it’s seen as being a kind of result of the trauma of the war that they experienced, that this was a therapy.
“This was something they used to get out of themselves, to erase traumatic memories. As we can see, the works are both signed and dated. We think 1974 in both cases which is just a couple of years after he discovered the raindrop.
“So already by this stage, he was a complete virtuoso at creating this amazing three-dimensional effect.”
Tschang-yuel primarily created his art using oils on “Hessian-like canvases” alongside wood and sand which he had stuck to one of the two paintings to produce a “sharp relief”.
Riordan then delivered some tragic news, revealing that Tschang-yuel had passed away earlier that year at the age of 91.
She remarked: “He had Parkinson’s and was having to hold his hands steady by the end to paint these drops that he never stopped painting.
“He’s a very, very well-regarded artist in Korea, he’s considered one of their pre-eminent artists and his career has thrived in America and France as well.”
When asked about the original cost of the paintings, the wife revealed: “We’ve talked about it and I can’t imagine we paid more than £150 each at the time.”
The couple were in for a shock when the expert began her appraisal, stating: “This is exactly the kind of period that gets people particularly excited about his work.”
She then dropped the bombshell: “And I can say that individually, possibly the piece with the sand would be worth a bit more but they’re probably worth at auction around £80,000 to £120,000 each in the current market.
“Potentially even more for the sand piece,” she added.
The woman was visibly taken aback, exclaiming: “Wow.”
Her husband, grinning, confessed: “We actually thought you was going to say £2,000.
“Nope. Bit more than that”, Riordan responded, adding: “I’m so delighted to see them and it’s been really special having this conversation with you.”
Despite the staggering valuation, the owner insisted that the value wouldn’t change their feelings towards the paintings.
“I love them and that’s why we have them and the value doesn’t actually change anything,” the owner mused.
“The only problem is that we have four children and I’m not sure we can cut them in half.”
Antiques Roadshow can be viewed on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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