I bought 2 paintings on whim 10yrs ago when manager made me a deal – Antiques Roadshow said now they’re worth $40k each

A MAN has been shocked to discover that two paintings he bought on a whim 10 years ago turned out to be worth thousands.

The lucky collector paid $15,000 for the two paintings after an artist’s manager made him a deal – and the artwork turned out to be worth over five times that amount.

PBS

PBS

PBS

The buyer found the paintings after he attended a charity auction in New York in 2015.

He said that he was standing by some pieces and became curious about the artist, Saudi Arabian painter Abdullah Qandeel, because he had never heard of him before.

When he asked about the young painter, it turned out that he was speaking to Qandeel’s manager – who invited him to attend another show with him.

The buyer recounted the story to Sotheby’s appraiser Dunham Townend at an event in Virginia Beach, Virginia , on Antiques Roadshow .

“Little did I know, they had pieces of his work that were going to come out on exhibit in a separate show within a couple of days,” he said.

“They took me behind the scenes and we started looking at pieces and he said, ‘Would you consider taking one home?’ and these two really stood out to me.

One of the paintings, Red, is primarily red with yellow drawings on the piece.

The piece called Love is green and yellow, with a heart-shaped golden splatter of paint in the middle of the canvas.

Qandeel’s manager told the buyer that he wanted to “make his night” by helping him acquire the paintings.

He said there was a “little bit” of back-and-forth negotiating for the pieces.

However, the manager felt passionate about him taking home the art because one of the pieces reminded him of the shopper’s tragic backstory.

“I had told him, unfortunately, I had lost my wife to breast cancer about three years ago and the story, I guess, connected with him,” the collector said.

The manager said that the painting called Love fit his story.

“I said, ‘Look, I’m a person of modest means. I appreciate art, but I don’t have much of a collection,” the buyer told Townend.

Antiques Roadshow best finds

Antiques Roadshow has helped people put a price on their treasures since 1979. Here are some of the most interesting finds

• A hand-me-down ring that had been in the family for generations was valued at $595,000
• A silver coin found on a farm is worth $30,000
• A Rolex that cost just $120 is now worth $45,000
• The portrait of a woman’s mother at four years old and its frame was worth $32,000
• A book of hymns that was kept in a basement was worth $50,000
• A rare sculpture bought at a flea market in 1961 was worth $100,000
• An antique floor lamp from an estate sale was worth $15,000
• A mobile from the 1940s was worth a whopping $2 million
• A tablecloth drawn on by a baseball legend was worth $1,500
• A Picasso plate that hung above an oven was worth $15,000

“I’d love to take something home, but I don’t know what I can afford.”

Luckily, the manager gave both of the paintings to the art-lover for just $15,000.

Townend revealed that the paintings are worth a lot more than what he paid for them – each one is estimated to be worth from $25,000 to $40,000.

She revealed that the artist is an “international character” who was known for painting over hotel art and replacing it – or even painting the actual walls of a hotel.

She revealed that in 2015, the artist got in trouble for vandalism for that very reason.

GROWING MARKET

The expert went on to say that Middle Eastern and Saudi Arabian art collectors are eager to buy pieces from Saudi Arabian artists.

“The market for Saudi Arabian art and Middle Eastern art in general is a market that is growing,” Townend explained.

“There’s a demand for it that there has not been before.

“There are lot of Middle Eastern and Saudi Arabian collectors who are looking for art of their own national origin and are putting a lot of their resources and finances into that.

“A number of his pieces have been selling far beyond their estimates at auction recently.”

She added that the pieces might even be worth more than the estimated $40,000.

“So I think you got a good deal when that man made your night,” she concluded.