Additional Coverage:
- ‘Antiques Roadshow’ guest gets a whopping 6-figure appraisal for his childhood birthday gift (marketrealist.com)
A treasured childhood birthday gift turned out to be worth a small fortune for one lucky guest on “Antiques Roadshow.” The guest, who received the gift for his 15th birthday, brought a handmade sculpture by none other than Alexander Calder, one of the 20th century’s most significant sculptors. Appraiser Eric Silver was stunned by the piece, estimating its value at a staggering $250,000.
The guest recounted the remarkable story of how he acquired the sculpture. At age 14, while visiting a family friend in France, he stumbled upon Calder’s studio and watched the artist at work. Calder, who had Parkinson’s disease at the time, gifted the young man the sculpture on his 15th birthday in July 1969.
The sculpture, smaller than Calder’s typical works, is believed to be a maquette, a preliminary model for larger pieces. Silver noted Calder’s background in engineering and his time spent among American expatriate artists in Paris during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
He emphasized the sculpture’s unique balance and movement, a blend of mobile and stabile elements. The handmade piece, crafted from tin and meticulously painted, bears Calder’s signature monogram.
While authentication by the Alexander Calder Foundation is still pending, Silver believes the sculpture could fetch $250,000 in a gallery setting. Though astounded by the appraisal, the guest affirmed that the sculpture’s sentimental value, tied to a cherished childhood memory, remains priceless.