BBC Antiques Roadshow guest left lost for words after £30 painting valued for six-figure value

Antiques Roadshow expert Frances Christie left one guest gobsmacked when she revealed the staggering history and monetary value of the painting which he bought for just £20.

During Sunday’s episode, Ronnie Archer-Morgan found beautiful jewellery made by the Navajo people from the arid southwest of the United States, while Fuchsia Voremberg heard the story of one man’s life-changing journey to the icy wastes of Antarctica.

Alexandra Gill heard how renowned Malaysian artist Ibrahim Hussein gifted works to his London landlady, with Robert Tilney elsewhere coming across a rare civilian war medal and discovering the extraordinary tale of bravery behind it.

However, it was Christie who was left stunned when she came across the guest’s painting and immediately noted: “This is such a striking portrait of a young boy and you can see it signed here FD Oerder, who was a Dutch artist called Frans David Oerder.

“Born in Holland but ended up painting in South Africa. It was probably painted in the late 19th, early 20th century, but I think it feels exceptionally fresh.

“It could have been painted yesterday and I think that shows how good Oerder was. So, it’s a long way from home – and I’m wondering how you came to have it?”

The guest explained: “Well, I was brought up in South Africa, born in Cape Town, and came to the UK in the mid-80s, but always went back to visit family, and I saw it in a bric-a-brac shop, probably in 1988, I should think.

“As soon as I saw him, I thought, ‘I have to have that’, and so I bought him and brought him back to the UK and he’s been here ever since.”

Christie began delving into the history and added: “Wow, what an amazing find. I mean, in the late 19th century in South Africa at least, he was actually really well known.

“He was very classically trained at art school in Rotterdam and in about 1890 he came to South Africa and he was one of the very few artists at the time who had professional training and I think you can see that in this portrait, he has managed to capture the very subtle facial features and thoughtfulness of this boy beautifully.

“It’s painted in oil and actually as a medium oil is actually quite hard to get across that it’s smooth and easy to use because it is quite viscous actually but he’s made this portrait look effortless and I wonder if it is that that sort of captured you. It’s such a sort of spontaneous image.”

The guest admitted: “Yes, that’s what… I think it was the simplicity and I think also the person there, and for me, it was a real capturing of the essence of a person, which was so important, the colours are also lovely and it’s just such a simple painting in a way.”

Christie revealed: “This is actually not what Oerder is known for, he is now much more well known as a still life artist, but what I think this shows is actually, from a more personal point of view – this wouldn’t have been a commission.

“This was clearly, you know, a young boy that he came across that he asked to sit for him and I think you get that in the sort of impromptu nature of his stance.

“What did you pay for it in the bric-a-brac store?”

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“Do you know I can’t remember, I think it was probably between £20 and £30, equivalent,” the guest noted before Christie added: “I think if this was to come to auction today, I mean I can’t see an estimate of less than about £12,000 to £18,000.”

Stunned and left unable to speak, the guest soon expressed: “Really? Gosh, that’s amazing. I had no idea.”

“No, I mean, it’s a beautiful portrait,” Christie added before the guest ended: “Thank you so much.”