GUEST: So my great-aunt was an artist, and she studied under Hans Hofmann and wound up becoming friends, uh, with several of the other artists that, that studied along with him. And one of them was a woman named Lynne Drexler. Lynne wound up leaving a, a number of pieces, uh, with my aunt, and when my aunt passed in 2009, uh, I inherited them. And so I've always loved them. About a year and a half ago, I saw a "New York Times" article that talked about Lynne Drexler, and how this artist, who had been in obscurity for decades, was all of a sudden getting interest. So I thought I would bring these and see if I could learn more about them.

APPRAISER: Sure-- where did your, uh, great-aunt live?

GUEST: Provincetown.

APPRAISER: So these are works by Lynne Drexler. Lynne Drexler was born in 1928 in Virginia, and then moved to New York in the, the mid-'50s to study with Hans Hofmann. Hans Hofmann was a very famous painter. He'd come from Germany, and he had an art school in New York City. He was a teacher, and also, later, he had a school in Provincetown, Massachusetts. And many, many important artists from the second half of the 20th century studied with Hans Hofmann.

GUEST: Mm.

APPRAISER: So he's considered one of the great teachers and abstract artists of the 20th century. Lynne Drexler passed away in 1999 on Monhegan Island in Maine, where she had moved for the last years of her life. Lynne Drexler was considered an Abstract Expressionist. These are great examples of her work. This piece is from 1959, and this piece, uh, is from 1961. Both of these paintings are oils paintings on canvas. Both paintings are signed and dated on the back. The smaller one's also titled "Redwood Time." The larger painting is dated 1961, but is not titled. And it was typical for her to sign her paintings on the back-- that way, it didn't disturb the, uh, composition. She was a, really, a brilliant colorist. Like Hofmann, sort of led her compositions with color more than form. A lot of these artists were really overlooked. The, the macho men of that movement were, are the ones that have really been celebrated. But in recent years, there have been several books written and there have been several exhibitions really focusing on the women abstract artists of that period. So your great-aunt was friends with the artist...

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: ...and got these directly from the artist?

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: So, she-- so, what did she pay for them?

GUEST: Uh, nothing. A lot of the artists that would stay with her and up in Provincetown would, you know, trade art, or they would work in each other's studios and leave things behind.

APPRAISER: Sure. The works from the '50s and the early '60s are the most desirable. These are small- and medium-sized paintings for her. The market has really shifted in the last few years. There have been a couple of major galleries in New York and in London and overseas that have done major shows. And so they've started moving into major collections. And they've also done very well at auction. If the smaller painting were to come to auction, I believe that value would be $50,000 to $70,000.

GUEST: Wow, wow. (stammering) Who would have known? I, just a small little painting that I've had on my wall for 15 years. That's amazing.

APPRAISER: And the larger painting, I believe if this painting were at auction, it would sell for between $300,000 and $500,000.

GUEST: Oh, my goodness. I... I'm spee, I'm speechless. Wow, I... I mean, I, I've always just liked them, but I would never have imagined. That's fantastic.