Antiques Roadshow guest freezes in shock after hearing five-figure price of painting left by her great-grandfather

A guest on Antiques Roadshow was speechless as she was told her family-owned painting was worth around $25,000.

She was handed a landscape painting of mountains and a stream which used to belong to her great-grandfather and she went on to the show to have it valued.

Her relative was former Utah governor Charles Rendell Mabey who was a part of the Republican party and he served between 1921 and 1925.

The item was painted by artist John Ferry and the host of the PBS show Debra Force provided some information about him.

Force told the guest the painting could sell for as much as $25,000 in a gallery and she froze awkwardly for a few seconds as she processed the information.

A guest on Antiques Roadshow became speechless as she was told her family-owned painting was worth around $25,000

She was handed a landscape painting of mountains and a stream which used to belong to her great-grandfather and she went on to the show to have it valued

‘The artist John Ferrie was born of Hungarian parents in Austria and started his early life there, studying in Vienna and Munich,’ Force told the guest.

‘And he comes to the United States in 1883. He is best known for painting views of the west, he absolutely embraced the whole landscape so he would go to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park and ultimately Utah.

‘He was also known for being the artist for the Great Northern Railway and he painted hundreds of paintings for them.

‘They were used as advertisements to get people to ride the rails to go west and go visit the west.’

The host pointed to the inscription on the back of the painting which showed it is from July 1920 when the artist was living in Utah.

Her relative was former Utah governor Charles Rendell Mabey who was a part of the Republican party and he served between 1921 and 1925

Force told the guest the painting could sell for as much as $25,000 in a gallery and she froze awkwardly for a few seconds as she processed the information

It was titled The Three Patriarchs Zion Canyon Utah and the three patriarchs were the three cliffs.

Force asked the guest if she knew how much the piece could be worth and she replied: ‘I have not and neither has anyone in my family, to my knowledge.’

The host said: ‘If this were being sold in a gallery, the painting would sell in the range of $25,000.’

But the guest was left speechless and she did not say anything for a few seconds until she said ‘okay’ and grinned.

‘His work is highly coveted and desired. He is best known for his views of Montana but it really is a very special piece,’ Force said.

The guest remained silent again before saying: ‘That’s cool. I’m going to have to go online and look for some of his other work to see what they look like.’