Antiques Roadshow star in tears after huge mistake with priceless painting

An Antiques Roadshow star broke down in tears after realising that a huge mistake had been made over an expensive painting. The young woman appeared on the show to find out how much a painting left to her by her grandmother was worth. The painting depicts Native Americans heading along a mountain path on horseback.

The guest explained to the appraiser: “So this is a painting that I was given when my grandmother passed away, it always hung right above her bed.” She said the painting was most likely given to her grandmother in the 1940s after she spent the summer at a dude ranch. She continued on to say: “I’m not sure if it’s a print or a painting but when I got it there was a mosquito under the glass so I took it out to the front yard and I opened it up to get the mosquito out so I could take it to college.”

However, upon opening the frame she realised it looked as though it could be real, so closed it back up. In 1998, the painting was appraised as a print for $200, and in 2004, she was told it was worth $250.

On Antiques Roadshow, the appraiser explained that the painting was by Henry Francois Farny, a French-born artist who moved to Pennsylvania as a child. He had been fascinated by different tribes and was later adopted by the Sioux who gave him the name ‘Longboots’.

The appraiser said the painting was interesting because it featured a dense group of figures which was “very desirable” in Farny’s work. The date, 1892, was the painter’s “most prolific time”, she added.

The woman was then told in a shocking moment that the previous appraisers had made a serious mistake - and the painting was, in fact, worth between $200,000 and $300,000. It is at this point when the painting’s owner starts to break down in tears, saying: “That’s so much, I don’t even know what to say… oh jeez, oh goodness.”

The clip, from an episode that aired several years ago, was posted by the Antiques Roadshow’s Instagram account this week. The comments were flooded with viewers reacting to the heart-warming clip. One viewer wrote: “Can tell her and her grandma were very close. First thing she said so I can't hang it up. She likely thinks of her when she sees it. Very hard to part with.”

Another said: “Absolutely beautiful. Love it and that she's treasured it before she knew the actual appraisal!!!” A third wrote: “I’d love to know the story of where her grandmother got the painting. That’s a whole other story that is extremely fascinating!”