BBC Antiques Roadshow guest 'genuinely gobsmacked' over massive value of paintings

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left utterly "gobsmacked" after discovering the five-figure value of her artwork during filming at Cromford Mills, Derbyshire. Expert Frances Christie couldn't hide her excitement upon seeing the pieces by Richard Eurich, an artist she personally admires.

"So we're in the middle of Derbyshire but these two paintings really transport us miles away," she remarked. "You can see they're both signed Richard Eurich who is one of my favourite artists so I'm really excited that these showed up today."

She noted Eurich's unique place in art history: "He's quite singular, he didn't really belong to any other group of artists and he had this sort of vision of the world that you see in both these pictures, it's so timeless."

The owner of the paintings shared their backstory: "My great-aunt and her husband I think were early friends and patrons of Richard's and bought these quite early on in his career, I imagine to support him as an artist.", reports the Mirror.

Christie went on to detail Eurich's academic journey, highlighting his time at Bradford College Of Art and the Slade School Of Art in the 1920s, despite his own belief that he "wasn't actually that good at life drawing", yet he strived to "become the most incredible draughtsman".

The expert remarked: "Apparently it was a chance meeting with another one of my favourite artists Christopher Wood and Kit Wood apparently said to him 'just paint what you love' and what Eurich loved was boats."

Discussing the first painting, she noted: "It's a wonderful three-masted sailing ship and when you look closely, the detail is absolutely phenomenal."

She continued to praise the meticulous attention to detail, saying, "He spent so much time making sure all the rigging, the way the mast has been put together, the way the sails are shaped."

She also pointed out the intricacies in the foreground, "If you look along the foreground, there's a sort of fishing net pinned to the quayside and how he's done the title and the signature, as if it's a poster on the side of that shed."

Moving on to the second painting, Christie observed that it was created just three years later and mentioned a change in style: "his brushwork had 'slightly loosened'."

She revealed an interesting fact about the piece, "I don't know whether you know but this was from his very first exhibition of oil paintings," to which the guest excitedly responded, acknowledging their recent discovery: "I only discovered that reading up about him and it's very exciting to think that they bought it from the exhibition as you would, knowing a friend at the beginning of his art career."

The guest reflected on the investment made by the original buyers, "It's a lovely idea that they invested quite a lot of money I think, I believe this one sold for 18 guineas which is quite a lot for a friend who you think has a bit of talent."

They clarified the cost of the artworks, noting that one was purchased for 18 guineas and the other for £5 at the time.

The expert commenced the appraisal: "Well were these to come up at auction today, I'd probably suggest the valuation of the boat picture at £10,000 to £15,000..." which led to the guest's wide-eyed response, exclaiming "Wow". Christie then went on to say: "But on this one, I think an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000. So for both of them together, you're looking at around £25,000 to £35,000."

The guest was clearly thrilled by this revelation, remarking, "I am really genuinely gobsmacked by that. I shall treat them with care! " Later in a separate chat, she reflected: "My feeling's that I'd quite like them to end up in a gallery where everyone can enjoy them but I might hang onto them for a little while."