An Antiques Roadshow expert was on hand to discuss a painting that had a very personal connection to its owner.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.
An Antiques Roadshow guest didn’t quite know what to say when he discovered just how much his artwork was worth.
The BBC team had set up shop at Arley Hall in Cheshire, where expert Amin Jaffer was presented with an artwork that held more than met the eye.
Upon seeing the portrait of a woman, Jaffer noted: «You might think you’re looking at a portrait by a European artist of the 1930s. In actual fact, this painting was done by an Indian artist in the 1950s.»
He then asked the guest about the subject of the portrait, to which the guest replied: «Yes, the sitter’s my mother. It was painted in India. The artist worked for Grindlays bank which was where my father worked.»
Jaffer revealed that the artist was none other than Krishen Khanna, an Indian painter who had maintained contact with the guest’s mother after painting her portrait.
He shared: «And the story of Grindlays Bank is fascinating because Krishen Khanna, his family originally came from Lahore.
«With the separation of India and Pakistan, they moved to Shimla where he worked in Grindlays Bank. Well the artist gives up banking in 1960 and becomes a professional painter.
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«He takes the leap, although he had very little money and took that big step to become a professional artist and of course, most of the works we know of his, date from that later period, from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, etc.
«It’s extremely rare to find a picture from Krishen Khanna from 1954, from this experimental phase.»
The specialist revealed that, following a handful of evening art classes, Khanna became «a really important figure» frequently regarded as «one of the great modern painters of India».
He added: «It’s a fascinating picture, it’s very, very much rooted in European painting of the 1930s. It has a very, very luminous effect with this very thick painting.
«Krishen Khanna has become a big name and what’s happened is the whole market for modern Indian painting has gone through the roof.
«Partly with the birth of private museums in India, with the Indian diaspora, Indians in Britain and America, in south east Asia, who want to reclaim some of this modern heritage and have started to collect.»
When asked whether he had any notion of the artwork’s potential value, the visitor honestly responded: «None. None whatsoever. It’s never been valued.
«I’ve mentioned to my mother that I might bring it here today and she said ‘Go ahead. See what happens.’ But no idea whatsoever.»
Jaffer then gave his official valuation, stating: «Well I think she would be happy to know that were it to be offered at auction, it would probably be within the estimate of something like £30,000 to £50,000 today.»
The crowd, including the guest’s wife, gasped in surprise at the staggering figures, but the owner himself remained stoic.
After a moment, he simply said: «Crikey.»
He then turned to his wife, who asked: «Are you shocked or am I?.
Jaffer remarked: «I think you’re going to make her a very happy lady today», to which the guest responded: «Thank you very much indeed. She will be.»
The audience erupted into applause as the guest gazed at the painting in wonder.
Antiques Roadshow can be viewed on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
