Antiques Roadshow guests left stunned by expert's 'surprise'
What did you miss?
Antiques Roadshow guests were left stunned as they shared artwork with Charlotte Riordan: only for the artist’s brother to show up.
Helming all the way from Canada, the guests shared their collection of Richard Wawro’s early artwork. The late Scottish artist’s creations featured colourful depictions of everything from the moon landings, to hockey games and birthday parties.
But as Charlotte Riordan examined his artwork, she brought on someone who knows best: his brother, Michael.
What, how, and why?
Drawn and layered entirely from wax crayon, the guests said they inherited Wawro’s pictures from their grandfather, who worked at the occupational school Wawro attended.
“I think my grandfather realized that he was getting, you know, somewhat famous in the 70s, and then they got rolled up in a tube,” the guest explained. “And so they have lived in a tube, and they came across to Canada after my grandparents died."
As they pored over Wawro’s vibrant wax crayon creations, Riordan added: “I’ve got a little bit of a surprise here today, we’ve actually got Richard’s brother Michael here.”
Michael then proceeded to give further insight into the mindset of Wawro, who was born legally blind and autistic.
“He's essentially communicating through his art,” Michael explained. “He had very poor speech, and he found it difficult to kind of express himself verbally. But you can see he was obviously expressing himself through his art.” Cumulatively, the paintings were valued at £1,000.
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What else happened on Antiques Roadshow?
It was a busy night on Antiques Roadshow, which was based in Thirlestane Castle in Scotland. As usual, guests from all walks of life provided their weird and wonderful trinkets. Examples include a dagger from the Massacre of Glencoe, tribal weaponry, and a travelling clock worth £4,500.
But another dark horse of the evening was a Louis Vuitton trunk, which had slipped through the net for generations. The guest revealed how her father had previously used the trunk to stand on for painting. “Nobody knew that it had any value,” she noted.
But the craftsmanship — and label — was unmistakable. As Ronnie Archer Morgan explained, Louis Vuitton had originally started making trunks. To prove that they’re unbreakable. LV invited Harry Houdini to try and break into them, which he declined. The trunk brought for evaluation was one of these early trunks, and while it never got to face off against Houdini, it arguably faced an even bigger challenge: a dad’s DIY.
Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One at 8pm on Sundays.
This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/antiques-roadshow-richard-wawro-214947992.html
