Appraisal: Simon Sparrow Mixed-media Art, ca. 1980
Clip: Season 28 Episode 20 | 2m 50sVideo has Closed Captions
Appraisal: Simon Sparrow Mixed-media Art, ca. 1980
See Ken Farmer appraise a Simon Sparrow mixed-media art, ca. 1980, in Vintage Madison 2024, Hour 1.
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Appraisal: Simon Sparrow Mixed-media Art, ca. 1980
Clip: Season 28 Episode 20 | 2m 50sVideo has Closed Captions
See Ken Farmer appraise a Simon Sparrow mixed-media art, ca. 1980, in Vintage Madison 2024, Hour 1.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGUEST: Well, I know that this piece of artwork was created by a local Madison artist named Simon Sparrow.
He was a street preacher in Madison.
And that's actually what I remember him from as a child.
He used to stand in Library Mall in a big, blue robe and preach, um, outside, on the campus.
He was a customer of my father-in-law's service station on Park Street in Madison.
And one day, in the winter, his car had broken down and he had walked to the service station to ask my father-in-law to help him, and so he did.
My father-in-law didn't charge him anything, and he made this as a thank-you present.
APPRAISER: Do you have any idea when he made this?
GUEST: I think that it was probably made in the late '70s, maybe early '80s at the latest.
APPRAISER: So, what do you think your father-in-law thought when he gave it to him?
GUEST: Well, I'm sure he appreciated the gesture.
I know that it hung for a while in my in-laws' basement.
And when my husband and I bought our first house, it was sent over to our home.
Wasn't very thrilled about having it in the house.
We eventually did hang it in my son's bedroom when he was a baby, and it was over his crib.
But he was scared of it, so we took it down.
(both laughing) APPRAISER: One of the things that makes this kind of folk art so interesting is that it affects everybody in different ways.
And most people in the business would refer to this as outsider art.
It's made from found objects.
And Simon Sparrow thought that he was a spiritual vessel that God talked through.
And he thought that his art and his spiritual message were one and the same, that this type of creation was sort of the essence of the human spirituality.
He was West African, and so a lot of the symbolism is African spirituality mixed up with Christianity and iconic images.
There's quite a bit of his work out there.
He worked in different mediums.
He worked in pastels, he worked in pencil and charcoal.
He's got all kinds of stuff on here.
He's got beads, and shells, and put stuff on it to make it shiny.
Mr. Sparrow died in 2000, and there's some of his work in the Minnesota Museum of Art.
And he was represented by a major gallery down in Chicago.
I would say a good auction estimate on this would be $6,000 to $8,000.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: And then I would just kind of stand back and let 'em fight over it.
GUEST: That's great.
APPRAISER: Are you guys gonna hang it in the house?
GUEST: (sighs): Yeah, I don't know.
(both laughing) We might have to now.
Appraisal: 1655 Ortelius Theatro Del Mondo Atlas
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 12s | Appraisal: 1655 Ortelius Theatro Del Mondo Atlas (3m 12s)
Appraisal: 1856 Jacquard Coverlet
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 30s | Appraisal: 1856 Jacquard Coverlet (30s)
Appraisal: 1870 Folk Art Watercolor Painting
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 25s | Appraisal: 1870 Folk Art Watercolor Painting (25s)
Appraisal: 1893 Tiffany & Co. World’s Fair Exhibition Vase
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 4s | Appraisal: 1893 Tiffany & Co. World’s Fair Exhibition Vase (3m 4s)
Appraisal: 1910 Bertha Schrader Oil Painting
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 47s | Appraisal: 1910 Bertha Schrader Oil Painting (2m 47s)
Appraisal: 1922 Serge Férat Gouache
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 38s | Appraisal: 1922 Serge Férat Gouache (38s)
Appraisal: 1938 Martin D-18 Guitar
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 53s | Appraisal: 1938 Martin D-18 Guitar (2m 53s)
Appraisal: 1947 Albin Polasek Portrait Bust
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 3s | Appraisal: 1947 Albin Polasek Portrait Bust (1m 3s)
Appraisal: 1957 Henry Varnum Poor Charger
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 43s | Appraisal: 1957 Henry Varnum Poor Charger (2m 43s)
Appraisal: Alfred de Bréanski Jr. Oil, ca. 1930
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 13s | Appraisal: Alfred de Bréanski Jr. Oil, ca. 1930 (1m 13s)
Appraisal: Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington Bronze, ca. 1910
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 39s | Appraisal: Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington Bronze, ca. 1910 (2m 39s)
Appraisal: Art Deco Charm Bracelet, ca. 1935
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 54s | Appraisal: Art Deco Charm Bracelet, ca. 1935 (1m 54s)
Appraisal: Ault & Wiborg Salesman’s Sample Case, ca. 1900
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 11s | Appraisal: Ault & Wiborg Salesman’s Sample Case, ca. 1900 (2m 11s)
Appraisal: Big Bird Figure, ca. 1975
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 25s | Appraisal: Big Bird Figure, ca. 1975 (25s)
Appraisal: Buddy "L" Steam Shovel on Treads, ca. 1925
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 55s | Appraisal: Buddy L Steam Shovel on Treads, ca. 1925 (2m 55s)
Appraisal: Chinese Bamboo Mountain Carving, ca. 1890
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 17s | Appraisal: Chinese Bamboo Mountain Carving, ca. 1890 (2m 17s)
Appraisal: Handel Chipped Ice Lamp Shade, ca. 1920
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 36s | Appraisal: Handel Chipped Ice Lamp Shade, ca. 1920 (36s)
Appraisal: Hank Aaron-signed Game-used Bat, ca. 1965
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 34s | Appraisal: Hank Aaron-signed Game-used Bat, ca. 1965 (1m 34s)
Appraisal: Keystone Watch Co. Pocket Watch, ca. 1890
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 29s | Appraisal: Keystone Watch Co. Pocket Watch, ca. 1890 (29s)
Appraisal: Lenticular Advertising Sign, ca. 1920
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 48s | Appraisal: Lenticular Advertising Sign, ca. 1920 (1m 48s)
Appraisal: Rivir Studios China-painted Vase, ca. 1925
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 30s | Appraisal: Rivir Studios China-painted Vase, ca. 1925 (30s)
Appraisal: Stickpin Collection, ca. 1900
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 9s | Appraisal: Stickpin Collection, ca. 1900 (2m 9s)
Appraisal: Tiffany Brown Diamond Ring, ca. 1920
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 35s | Appraisal: Tiffany Brown Diamond Ring, ca. 1920 (35s)
Appraisal: Tillman Parker Goodan Oil Painting, ca. 1925
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 54s | Appraisal: Tillman Parker Goodan Oil Painting, ca. 1925 (54s)
Appraisal: Walnut Reclining Chair, ca. 1876
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 3s | Appraisal: Walnut Reclining Chair, ca. 1876 (3m 3s)
Appraisal: Weller Hudson Blue & Decorated Vase, ca. 1925
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 33s | Appraisal: Weller Hudson Blue & Decorated Vase, ca. 1925 (33s)
Appraisal: Zdeněk Burian Illustrations, ca. 1930
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 41s | Appraisal: Zdeněk Burian Illustrations, ca. 1930 (3m 41s)
Appraisal: 1915 Ingersoll Military Wrist Watch & Box
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Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 11s | Appraisal: 1915 Ingersoll Military Wrist Watch & Box (3m 11s)
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Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.