Recently, I was at my parents’ house, and my father pointed to a smallish watercolor on the wall. He said that it had been a wedding present for my grandmother during the Great Depression, and that it could possibly be the most valuable thing in their house. That certainly piqued my interest.
Frankly, the painting seemed pretty pedestrian to me, but I am admittedly no expert. So, I googled the artist’s name on my phone, and found there to be no shortage of their work available for sale for about the cost of an oil change. Apparently, these had been somewhat mass produced back in the day, and popular with young homeowners and newlyweds.
When I showed him the results and suggested the real value of the painting was sentimental, the old man wasn’t thrilled. However, I wasn’t trying to be difficult. I simply had access to pertinent information in the palm of my hand with very little effort. At a yard sale, I would put a $25 price tag on the thing, but I would never do that. (Read the full article as previously published in the Montgomery Advertiser on May 16th, 2017)