GUEST: It's about my great-aunt and -uncle's ranch in Eastern Oregon, near Prineville. It was painted by Maynard Dixon, probably... 1913?

APPRAISER: Okay.

GUEST: He stayed with them at least once, that I know of. It was my aunt's property, great-aunt's property. And she willed it to my mother, who willed it to me.

APPRAISER: And as you say, it's by Maynard Dixon. (clears throat) Who is arguably one of the most important American Western painters. Born in 1875, died in 1946, and really, the first half of the 20th century, one of the leading painters who captured the West. Traveled extensively. He worked initially as an illustrator in San Francisco. He submitted some of his illustrations early on to the great Frederic Remington, who encouraged him.

GUEST: Ah.

APPRAISER: He moves on, mostly to painting, which is what we largely know him for today. We really think of his style as having simple lines, bold colors, strong forms, heavy impasto. You see the use of some of the heavy impasto here in the lower right, just above the inscription. The view is very interesting to me. We're looking down, almost like a topographical view, and one wonders what it looks like today. The inscription says, "Escondido. To Tom and Mrs. Tom. Maynard Dixon." And then it doesn't trail off, but the frame, which I believe is either original or certainly period, is covering just on the bottom what looks to be possibly part of the date, being 1913, as you said. An original oil on canvas on board. Was this painting a gift to your family or was it possibly a commissioned work?

GUEST: I don't think it was a commissioned work. Uh, I'm, I'm pretty sure it was a gift. He stayed with them at their ranch. At, at least that's the family legend.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: Tom was a rancher. He was out growing grain and, and alfalfa. Mrs. Tom, Margaret, was a, uh, a preacher's daughter. So there was really no money in the family.

APPRAISER: Dixon was also interesting because, as one reads about him, he was a little bit of a character. I understand that he liked to dress up sometimes like a cowboy. He was married, for a time, to the famous photographer Dorothea Lange. So, very well-known, very important artist. This is a little bit atypical in terms of the subject matter, in particular, being so specific, but one that's really near and dear to your family.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: Yeah?

GUEST: It's in my dining room, along with a photograph that I took from right where Dixon stood...

APPRAISER: Oh, mm-hmm.

GUEST: ...to see what kind of change there’d been. In this part of the, of the image, tremendous change.

APPRAISER: Okay.

GUEST: Uh, nothing looks like it, it was. These two rocks, pieces of basalt, are there just like that. And from right about, uh, this level up, it's all the same. Mount Jefferson is just the same.

APPRAISER: Is there any sense on your part as to what it might be worth here in 2022?

GUEST: It's never been appraised that I know of.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: If I had to guess, I'd say maybe $7,000, plus or minus $5,000?

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. $7,000, $12,000 is really under the money. It's worth a great deal more than that in 2022.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: Uh, talking with colleagues, we believe that if offered at auction, an auction estimate in 2022 would be $50,000 to $80,000.

GUEST: My goodness. (chuckling)

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: That, that's a surprise. It's worth that much sitting on my wall, I'll tell you that. That's amazing.