Antiques Roadshow guest left stunned after learning shocking truth behind wife’s painting

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked after learning the truth behind his wife's inherited artwork.

In case you've somehow never seen it, Antiques Roadshow invites collectors and local antiques owners to bring their unique artefacts to various convention centers to have their items assessed.

The appraisers know an awful lot about some of the rare items that have been dug out of the dust from garages, lofts and basements as these pros are skilled enough to unearth the provenance, history and even the value of items - no matter how rare.

As a result of seeing so many guests leave with a humongous grin on their face for all the riches they could cash in, the show has been a hit ever since it aired in the US in 1997.

And there have been countless jaw-dropping moments, like the time a man in Arizona was told an old blanket he had draped over his chair was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Now, another guest has been left lost for words after discovering the real value of an old piece of an artwork he had.

The painting was brought on to Antiques Roadshow (PBS)

Attending the show at Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in June, the man said his family came into the possession of the piece after his wife's aunt passed away in 2019.

He explained: "She was a collector of all kinds of art, but particularly African American artists. And my wife inherited, a number of pieces from her, and that's how we got this."

Appraiser Myrtis Bedolla, the proprietor and founder of Galerie Myrtis which specializes in works by African-American artists, then asked if he knew the name of the artist.

"Yeah, it's Ed Clark," he replied.

What made the piece all the more interesting to Bedolla was the fact the couple found a handwritten inscription on the back, which revealed the art had been completed in April 1976.

Scrawled on the back also hinted at locations - Yucatan, Mexico in the City of Merida at the Hotel American. Bedolla instantly recognized the treasured piece before her and wasted no time in reeling off the facts about the artist.

It has inscriptions on the back to mark its authenticity (PBS)

"Ed Clark was a very important African American artist," she explained. "He reached a level of prominence later in his career."

The New Orleans artist was born in 1926 and began as a figurative painter while studying at the Art Institute in Chicago.

"He later moved to Paris and his style changed dramatically," Bedolla continued. "He synthesized the European and American post-war abstraction to form his own style."

When he returned home to the US, he broke into the prominent New York art scene where he produced more works for 70 years and grew even more successful up until his death in 2019.

"Something that is indicative of his work are the bands of color, that is signature to his style," Bedolla said while pointing out Clark's distinctive pieces hang in the likes of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture and the Studio Museum of Harlem.

"In recent years, his work has become highly sought after," she added.

Bedolla then stunned the owner with her verdict that the painting could bag between $50,000 to $65,000.

"You have a really beautiful piece here by Clark, and it's quite a gem," she said, clearly impressed by the find.

"Wow, thank you. Yes, we like it very much," the stunned owner responded.