The atmosphere on the drive down was tense. He had a plan that he knew his parents didn't fully support, but he also knew they wouldn't stand in the way of his dreams.He kept the painting close to his chest while he waited for the appraiser to come around.
He had no idea what he would say once he finished inspecting the piece.
Mark was quite a special kid. He was nothing like most kids his age.Most other boys his age were into sports or playing games. But he spent his time sitting in auctions and walking around thrift stores and garage sales to look for special treasures that were overlooked.
He loved The Antiques Roadshow. It was the show that inspired his unique passion.
Being a kid who was interested in antiques, Mark was different, and his peers knew it. Although he wasn't bullied, he was often left out of parties and other fun events.
He wasn’t considered cool, and it bothered him.Some kids his age found him hard to relate to, and others just weren't interested in being his friend. But they’d soon realize just how cool he really was.
Besides knowing everything about the guest appraisers, he had even gone as far as to watch the documentary that had inspired the renowned show. Mark was a hardcore antique historian buff and loved to learn about the origin of old jewelry, art, and ornaments.
But his parents had something else to say about it.
Mark was the youngest of two older brothers, so he was doted on by his parents. But the one thing they didn’t seem to understand was his love for antiques. So, when he spotted one particular painting in a stuffy New Jersey junk house, he had to beg his dad to stay long enough so he could buy it ...
for a mere $2.
For Mark, convincing his dad to buy the $2 painting was the easiest part. The worst was yet to come. Mark was now focused on manifesting a profit from his first investment. He traced the brushes of the paintbrush and analyzed the faded paint and wooden frame.
It was exactly as he thought. This painting had to be something special. But he had no idea what he just bought.
The next stage would take some serious finagling or straight-out pestering. Now, he had to convince his parents to take him to the nearest Roadshow airing ... in Virginia. After 2 weeks of pestering, his parents gave in.
He felt a rush of excitement when they finally buckled and loaded the family into the car. He needed to know what his painting was worth.
The entire place was abuzz with cameramen, hosts, and eager guests. Mark could smell the tinge of old wood, canvas, and metal. It was like heaven.
But when they finally navigated to someone who could help them, he couldn’t believe his eyes! He had seen this man before.
It was David Weiss, the senior vice president of Freeman Auction house. He ran up, shook the man’s hand, and gusted about the appraiser’s past appearances on the show. The man’s eyes went wide in shock.
Obviously, he was surprised that a preteen would have this reaction. But the best part was still to come.
David Weiss is one of the most respected appraisers in America. He has been making waves in the auction field since 1988 and is one of the show’s head appraisers for paintings and oriental rugs. He has a sharp eye and a well of knowledge that most could only dream of!
He was exactly what Mark wanted to be.
Mark sat tall and confident as Weiss set him up at the table and explained about the cameras.
Mark may have looked nervous, but inside he was jittering with excitement. It only got better when Weiss started asking questions – and Mark delivered totally unexpected answers that quickly changed the tone of the entire interview.
He asked what Mark liked to collect. He grinned and answered, “I like glass, sterling silver, and art.” He also tried to sell his finds online to make a little profit. But he knew he had to wait until September to assess anything sterling silver because of market fluctuation.
Weiss looked at Mark in amazement. But it was time to get to the main event.
Mark guessed it was a watercolor by someone named Albert, but he couldn’t find out anything else. Weiss grinned and confirmed Mark was right. The artist was Albert Neuhuys.
Albert Neuhuys was a well-known Dutch painter that liked to focus on rural family life in the 19th century. But was his work anything special?
Albert Neuhuys paintings were unique in how he specialized in the shine of satin clothes and his use of light. The watercolors he used became known for their sparkling transparency. But the question remained.
“How much do you think this is worth?” Weiss asked Mark.
“Hundred and fifty bucks,” Mark answered confidently. Making that much money off a 2-dollar investment would have been amazing. The appraiser’s grin changed, and it made Mark’s excitement skyrocket.
“It’s worth more than that,” Weiss said.
Mark sat up straight on the edge of his seat. His face was full of anticipation. His parents watched from the sidelines.
Their hearts pounded for their little boy. “How much do you think it’s worth?” Mark excitedly asked. He was barely able to stay seated. The crowd grew silent.
“I think your watercolor was probably done in the last quarter of the 19th century,” Weiss said. “That means it’s already much more valuable than other modern paintings. And you see here?” he said as he pointed to an area on the painting.
“We can tell this painting is original by these imperfections”. Mark's mind began to race.
“Are you ready to find out?” Weiss asked teasingly. “Yes!” Mark replied. “Today, if your Albert Neuhuys watercolor came to an auction, it would probably sell for about $1000 to $1500.” It was Mark’s turn for his jaw to hit the floor.
Out of the corner of his eye, he also saw his parents’ reaction.
His parents stared at Mark in shock. Their jaws hanging open. Once the surprise passed, they looked at their son in complete amazement and admiration.They didn’t teach him any of this.
He learned how to spot a treasure all by himself. And not only that, but he also had to fight hard to persuade them to trust him.
It was a mixture of shock and pride.
It wasn’t the first time Mark’s persistence had turned a profit, and they were already so happy he had such a unique hobby, but this was the biggest dollar amount he had made so far. It was the win Mark needed for them to really trust that he knew what he was doing.
As with all investments, it can be a risky business, especially if that investor is not even a teenager yet. But Mark didn’t feel too young.
He was smart and did a lot of research. This was all he needed to encourage his parents to take him more seriously. And it wasn’t only his parents that had a change of heart.
Once Mark’s unique talent and success story hit the tv, he instantly became the coolest kid in town. Although Mark didn’t really care too much what other kids thought of him, it was nice to know that now, they understood him.Suddenly, making money and being smart was cool.
But Weiss also had a number of compliments for Mark that would turn his face red.
Weiss thought even though Mark still had lots to learn if he wanted to become a professional, he was already leaps and bounds ahead of any other dealer when they were that young. He was also impressed that Mark had made such a wonderful find on instinct alone.
The muted image of a farm wife and her child took on an entirely different light.
So did his parents’ attitude about the entire trip. He felt a new, intense itch to get online and learn more so he could hone his skills and hopefully visit some auction houses soon.
The entire experience was amazing! Mark sat in the car with his original Neuhuys with a huge smile plastered across his face. He loved his unusual hobby more than anything, but now he knew he could make a career of it.
And, who knows, maybe be rich one day! Across the country, a woman named Helen was about to discover something equally as life-changing in a painting that sat in her house.
Helen Davis had never expected anything like this. Her husband had given her a painting in the 70s that he made himself.
It was a lovely piece. But this turned out to be not just any old piece of art. When the old woman found out the secret her husband had hidden in the painting, she went from surprised to shocked.
Helen and Paul Davis met in high school. They were each other's first loves and had never been in a relationship with anyone else. Because they met at a young age, they knew everything about each other.At least, that's what Helen thought.
It later turned out that Paul had kept a few private affairs from her. But it would be years before these secrets came to light.
Soon after they married, Paul worked as a businessman and often ate out all week. He would have lunch with business partners and clients, and Helen didn't have an issue with this. She was used to it. What upset her was that Paul seemed to be going out to lunch with one person more and more.
Her husband had often been going out to lunch with a beautiful blonde woman for the past few weeks and hadn't said anything to Hellen. How did she find out? One of her best friends worked in Paul's favorite restaurant, and nothing got past her.
Helen decided to confront him. One day when Paul got home from work, the woman was waiting for him. She got straight to the point and demanded that he tell her about this mysterious blonde woman.Paul denied everything. He said the blonde woman was an important client at his company.
The lunches were purely business related. Helen's friend also said there was nothing romantic about the meals the two shared together. In any case, they had kept their hands off each other whenever she was around. All Helen could do was believe what her husband said, but something was still bugging her.
Shortly after that came Valentine's Day. Neither Helen nor Paul had ever shown much interest in the holiday.
It was more important to them to be loving to each other every day and not just once a year.Helen had no idea that this Valentine's Day would be different than the rest. Paul prepared for her something unexpected.
When Paul came home that day, Helen was shocked. In his hands, he had five enormous balloons in the shape of a heart. He also had a huge bouquet of roses which he gave to his wife. Helen didn't know what to say. Why was he doing all this? The man apologized for being so busy lately and not having enough time for his wife.
Things had been going really well at work for the past few months. This was a good thing, but it also led to lots of stress and fatigue. Helen gave her husband a firm hug and a loving kiss. She understood it completely. And the bouquet and balloons weren't the only surprises.
Paul asked Helen to turn around while he went to get something out of the shed in the yard. He spent a lot of his free time there. It was his domain, so Helen hadn't been there for a long time.
She was more than curious to find out what surprise awaited her. When she was finally allowed to turn around, Paul stood in the living room with a beautiful painting - a self-painted masterpiece. On the canvas was a painted version of their most beautiful wedding photo. Helen knew that Paul was a good painter, but the fact that he had done this painting himself proved he had clearly put lots of work and love into it.
The years flew by. Paul and Helen were incredibly happy in their marriage.
Their two sons grew up, moved out, and started their own families. Helen was more than content with her life, even though nothing exciting ever happened.
Paul fell ill, and things went downhill quickly. Before they knew it, Paul could no longer get out of bed. The doctor said that, unfortunately, there was nothing he could do for the now senior citizen. Paul didn't have much time left. He ended up in the ICU. While doctors did their best to get the man feeling better, nothing worked.
Helen's husband had no more than a few days to live.Would the secret of the painting disappear with him? Helen contacted both her sons and gave them the sad news. It was a very emotional day for the family. Helen and her two sons loved Paul with all their hearts. None knew that Paul had been holding on to a secret all these years. And it had something to do with the painting he gave Helen five decades earlier.
Helen held her husband's hand until the very end. But before he could let go, Paul confessed that he had been holding on to a secret all these years. Helen was shocked. After living with someone all this time and thinking you know them through and through, you discover that the person has been hiding something from you. The woman looked at her husband in shock.
He told her that she needed to take a good look at the painting. Helen didn't get any further explanation. The man passed away soon after.
Once Helen got home with tears still in her eyes, she took the painting off the wall. She blew off the dust collected on the top of the frame and turned the painting around a few times. She didn't see anything odd.But with his last breath, her husband had told her to take a good look at it.
The old woman decided to call in the help of an art historian from the local museum. She told the woman her story, and the expert immediately came to pick up the painting for further research.
One day, the phone rang. The historian had finally uncovered the painting's secret. Helen rushed to her car and drove to the museum. Once she got there, she saw the painting was already set up. All around, there were numerous tools and products that were unknown to Helen. Then the historian revealed the secret behind the painting. The art historian took Helen over to the painting and cleared her throat.
Then she told her that she had found the secret. It was hidden under the layer of paint all this time. According to the expert, Paul hid something 50 years ago by painting over it. She said there was only one way to uncover the secret by taking the paint off. The expert scraped off the color, and Helen saw something unbelievable.
Underneath the paint on the canvas was something written in her beloved's handwriting. But it was not a love letter, confession, or other text. Numbers were scribbled onto the canvas.Helen looked at the art historian, surprised. She was now also hunched over to see what was written there.
"Are those coordinates?" The expert asked. Helen took another good look. Indeed they looked like coordinates, but why would her husband cover up the coordinates?
Helen took the painting home and decided to inspect this mystery from top to bottom. With the help of the internet, Helen discovered that the coordinates led to a spot in a park close to her house. The woman decided to go there and took a shovel with her just in case. Helen's imagination ran wild. What was she going to find in the spot the coordinates hidden under the layer of paint led to?
Why hadn't he said anything to her while he was still alive? Did he have a dark secret, or was it something to do with the blonde woman she was so jealous of all those years ago? She hadn't thought about the woman for years. Helen would soon find out what her husband had kept a secret all those years.
Underneath a large oak tree, Helen stuck the shovel into the ground. After digging for a while, at around half a meter down, the old woman ran into something hard. Helen slowly dug around the hard object. She could see the contours of a red metal chest. The woman tried to open the chest but to no avail. Eventually, she figured out that the combination to the padlock was the date of their anniversary. Inside there was a letter. On the paper, it read in Paul's handwriting the following: "Dear Helen, if you're reading this, I'm already gone. While I always want to be with you, there will come a day when one of us has to leave the other.
Maybe someday I'll be forced to dig up this chest, and you'll never read this letter. That blonde woman from the past was not an important client. She was a representative at our bank. My mother left me a large sum of money which I have put in a special safe. In this chest, you will find a key. Show this key to an employee at the bank, and he'll give you access to the safe. Love you, Paul."