A little boy’s mind was blown when an appraiser revealed the true value of his $2 item he picked up at a yard sale.
On the PBS reality tv show, Antiques Roadshow, where antique collectors learn what trash they can turn into treasure, a young boy showed a painting he bought at a yard sale he went to with his father.
‘You must be the youngest collector I’ve ever seen,’ the appraiser David Weiss told the boy admiringly.
‘I guess so,’ he replied.
The young collector told the appraiser he specialized in collecting glass, sterling silver, and art, and sold them online for a profit.
He then showed Weiss a painting he had brought to the show for an appraisal.
The piece was found at an auction down in South Jersey, which the young boy dragged his father to despite the unbearably hot weather.
He and his father waited more than an hour for the piece to be offered up, and he scored the unassuming painting for $2.
‘I thought it was a water color but we couldn’t tell because of the UV glass,’ he told the appraiser.
Weiss confirmed what he found was in fact a water color painting, and then pointed out that there was a signature in the bottom right hand corner.
The boy could only make out the first name of the signature, ‘Albert.’
That’s when Weiss revealed that the painting was signed by the artist Albert Neuhuys, a Dutch painter who was born in 1844 and died in 1914. He also said the watercolor was most likely done in the last quarter of the 19th century.
‘Today, if your Albert Neuhuys watercolor came to an auction, it would probably sell for between $1,000 and $1,500.’
The young boy’s eyes lit up and his mouth was agape. The only words he could muster were, ‘whoa.’
‘It’s a lot of money. Not bad for two bucks,’ the appraiser said. ‘I think you’ve got a great career going as an art dealer if you keep at it.’
‘I think I’m gonna be rich,’ the boy said without missing a beat.
‘Well if you keep buying things like this I think you got a good chance at being rich – you got a head start,’ Weiss said.