The energy in the room is electric when Sara Brown’s appraisal is finished. Everyone on set is murmuring about, “that painting.”
The painting is a 1979 Glennray Tutor piece, painted in his Oxford studio.
The appraisal takes even Brown off guard. According to an expert with Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s “Mississippi Roadshow,” it is worth $33,000, making it one of the highest-valued items appraised when the show stopped at Trotter Convention Center on Friday.
“That’s amazing,” Brown said. “I knew it was worth (some money). Glennray has looked at the painting and told me the history of it years ago and gave me an appraisal of $15,000. So I knew it was worth money, but I was not expecting that.”
The news made her trip down from Marshall County well worth it. It also might have increased her insurance rates.
“I need a new appraisal for my insurance company so I thought I’d come down here and get an appraisal today, and I am glad I did,” Brown said.
The event was held in conjunction with the Preservation Society of Columbus’ Pilgrimage Jubilee of Homes, which concludes Sunday.
“It was really an asset to have this during Pilgrimage because it allowed us to be a lot more present in a lot of other advertising and it helped both them and us,” PSC President Ralph Null said. “Of course what ‘Roadshow’ does is to show what wonderful items that we all have, which really become part of the fabric of a home, which is involved in the whole preservation effort.”
The stop was the second of three planned for “Mississippi Roadshow.” The first was in Jackson in October and the third will be this fall on the coast. About 300 bought tickets for the Columbus stop, most to have an item appraised but some just to watch it all happen.
“The turnout is actually better at this event than the one in Jackson,” MPB Chief Operations Officer Anna Neel said. “The one in Jackson was smaller because it was our first event, so it is getting better and better as we do it. But it has been a great event and people have come out.”
Some of the appraisals will appear on television in the fall when “Mississippi Roadshow” hits the airwaves.
“This will air in the fall,” Neel said. “We will let everybody know on our website and we’ll advertise it. We are going to take the event in Jackson, the one here in Columbus, and the event we are going to have down on the coast, and make a television series. … So this is our new sort of flagship show.”
Columbus’ Kathy Howell brought a vase she bought from a barn sale near Ithaca, New York. She paid $150 for the vase and had some chips repaired.
She left feeling good about her investment.
“He just appraised it and I am tickled with what I got,” Howell said. “(It was appraised at) $2,250.”
Scenes like this were happening throughout the event space.
Margaret Gay made her way up from Gulfport to have her art deco vase appraised and check out the city.
Her vase, a family heirloom passed down from her grandmother, was appraised at $1,500 to $2,000. That amount was set to increase once the experts tracked down the artist who signed it.
“It was wonderful,” she added, noting it made the trip worth it. “Well, that and (eating at) Huck’s.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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