Antiques Roadshow expert taken aback by ‘unique’ painting with staggering value

Antiques Roadshow: Basil Blackshaw painting valued

An Antiques Roadshow expert was left blown away by a one-of-a-kind, pricey art piece by painter Basil Blackshaw.

Expert Grant Ford kicked off the BBC episode by assessing the artwork for its owner and giving a brief history of the acclaimed artist.

“One of my favourite Northern Irish painters is Basil Blackshaw and you have very kindly brought in this very charming oil painting by him of a collie,” he told the owner.

“But it’s not actually what we normally see by Basil Blackshaw in terms of his colourist expressionist pictures. “This appears to be an early picture by him of a collie,” he continued. “So was it a commission?” To which the owner replied: “Sort of, yes.”

“My father bred collies and judged collies [in competitions] and this was Oscar. My dad knew Basil Blackshaw. They used to go for a drink together.

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“My dad had a bet with Basil that if he made international champion, Basil would make a painting of him. Oscar became an international champion over a series of shows.”

The man then presented a photo of his father with the prize-winning pup and the award. “This is my dad with Oscar.” “So this is evidence Of the great win,” exclaimed Grant. “Yes, this is from 1972 when he painted the collie,” the owner replied. “It hung in my father’s house, pride of place.”

After explaining Blackshaw’s love of animals and his unique interpretation of them on canvas, Grant also shared that this was an early painting, which was unique because the artist changed his style of art to that of Expressionism soon after.

“It’s worth £3-5000,” he said to load gasps from onlookers. The man replied: “Well, fantastic. Great. My dad would be very shocked… it’s still going to hang on the wall.”

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“Well, that’s what I like to hear,” replied Grant. In October, Grant also left a guest stunned by the valuation of a painting bought for £25.

During the episode, the guest brought in a painting of a Scottish scene that she had picked up in a charity shop. The expert admitted that the oil-on-canvas painting was a “confident colourist” style, “clearly signed lower-right Cunningham”.

The Scottish artist, John Cunningham, “taught a great deal and then when he retired from the Glasgow School of Art as a teacher and a senior lecturer, he became a sort of professional artist in 1985″.

When asked what the guest paid, she remarked: “£25 10 years ago,” to which Grant responded: “I just think that’s an amazing piece of luck because this is a very sought after painting. And actually, it holds quite a lot of value.”

In terms of that value, Grant determined: “I can confidently say that it’s worth £4000 to £6000.”

Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays from 8pm on BBC One.

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