WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.
An Antiques Roadshow guest looked far from impressed upon hearing that a drawing he owned was worth a staggering six-figure sum.
The PBS series travelled to Newport to meet thousands of visitors hoping that their beloved items would be worth something and one guest had an appraisal unlike any other.
He began explaining that he got his hands on a piece of art by iconic artist Jean-Michel Basquiat when he was living in New York in the late 1970s to mid-1980s when he went to art school.
“One of my friends that I worked with, Chris Sedlmayr, Jean-Michel Basquiat used to work for him as a helper”, he said.
“Chris and I, and another gentleman, were business partners and one Christmas, he gave me this as a Christmas present.”
He also presented a letter which further proved its provenance, explaining when and where it was drawn, and that it was later signed by Jean-Michel himself.
Read more: Antiques Roadshow guest speechless as art pieces amount to eye-watering value
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1960, Basquiat quickly rose to fame for his work as part of the Neo-expressionism movement and according to expert David Weiss, a piece of his art was the most expensive ever sold at auction at just more $110 million.
As well as proving popular in the art circles, he also found himself making headlines in the world of pop culture as he dated icon Madonna, having met at a party in New York.
The famous pair only dated for a matter of months and after numerous attempts at sobriety, Basquiat tragically died of a heroin overdose aged 27 in 1988.
Weiss elaborated: “We know that he is an artist who was largely self-taught, had artistic predilections as a young man, ran away from home, had parents who were of Puerto Rican and Haitian descent.
“He was somebody who, by the early 1980s, had a career that really took off.
“He was in the circles of artists such as Julian Schnabel, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol.
“His brief associate with Madonna made him quite famous as well.
“Basquiat’s work is fraught with signs and symbols and depending on the works, undertones that speak of class, race, social upheaval.
“Often figural, not always, often accompanied by words that can take on many different meanings.
“The crown that we see there on the upper right appears in many of his works.”
Weiss continued: “The committee for Basquiat disbanded. We believe that this is a genuine work by Basquiat.
“That’s the committee that makes the official pronouncements, or did, has disbanded, makes it somewhat problematic relative to being 100per cent certain that it’s an authentic oil stick drawing on paper.
“We think today, in 2017, on the supposition that the work is genuine, I would insure the work for $400,000.”
While this appraisal would have left a lot of people floored, the guest had little to no reaction to the news.
He simply said: “Ooh that’s good. But it’s not – we won’t sell it, we’ll keep it.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on PBS.
