GUEST: Well, I know it's a Raymond Jonson painting. I went to an estate sale about six months ago, and I saw this on the wall, and I just, I loved it. So I asked the lady what she wanted for it, and she said she'd like $40 for it. So I went ahead and paid the $40.
APPRAISER: What, uh, what drew you to the painting?
GUEST: Well, I'm a native New Mexican, and I, uh, just recently moved away from New Mexico, and wanted to purchase it so I'd have something to remind me of New Mexico.
APPRAISER: As you say, the artist is Raymond Jonson, who's an important American artist. Born in 1891, died in 1982. What do you know about Raymond Jonson?
GUEST: I know that he was a UNM art professor, but other than that, I, I don't know much.
APPRAISER: He's an interesting artist. There are, like with many artists, different periods within his career. Later on in his career, in the 1930s, he was part of a group called the Transcendental Painting Group. He was a founder of this group, actually, and this group was concerned with art and spirituality. Earlier in his career, in 1922, he first visits Santa Fe, and he has a liking for Santa Fe. So much so that two years later, he moves here. What's the title of this painting? Do we know?
GUEST: On the back, it says "Arroyo Number Three."
APPRAISER: And the painting has the artist's device at lower left, almost a shape, which is used by the artist rather than the spelling out of the full name. And it's also dated 1922. It's an oil on board. We believe that the frame is probably original. We also believe that the inscriptions on the back showing the title, also probably in the artist's hand. Another painting, also from 1922, depicting arroyo, is in the collection of the Smithsonian. What can you tell a guy from the East Coast about arroyo?
GUEST: Well, arroyo is, is kind of a piece of land in between two high areas, and when it rains, the, the rain just flows through the arroyo. And, uh, in a desert...
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: ...it's, it's a sight to see.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. I love the colors. I love the depiction of the work. I'm fascinated by the fact that you were able to acquire the work for $40. Do you often find other paintings or, or things that you like to collect at, at...
GUEST: I've been going to garage sales since a little kid.
APPRAISER: Ah.
GUEST: A little kid. And I've been buying things that I like.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: And that I can afford.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. It's a great example of an early work by Raymond Jonson. Great because it's a New Mexico theme. Do you have any sense what this painting might be worth, and is the painting currently insured?
GUEST: It's not insured. We had no idea until we took it home and I looked at the back and it had the title. We saw that there was one in the Smithsonian.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: So we assume that there's some value to it.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. I think today, conservatively, for auction purposes, $30,000 to $50,000.
GUEST: Wow. Wow. That's amazing. That's amazing, that's a pretty good investment for, for $40. Yeah, yeah.
APPRAISER: No, I think it's, it's terrific, and...
GUEST: I love it.
APPRAISER: I would insure this painting for $80,000.
GUEST: That's amazing, wow. (laughs) That's... That's... I've, I've had to stop working, and, um... (voice trembling): It's really hard when you can't work anymore. And, uh... To buy something that's worth something that I can contribute back, um, means a lot to me.
APPRAISER: I, I completely understand that.
GUEST: Yeah. Yeah, so, thank you. Yeah, well... Thank you, and, uh... I, I'm going to really cherish it.
