Antiques Roadshow guest gets record-breaking sum | TV Shows

Back in 2014, Antiques Roadshow revealed a Seventeenth-century portrait as the masterpiece of celebrated Flemish artist Van Dyck, with the specialist disclosing it may fetch up to $540,263, marking one of the program’s most worthwhile assessments ever.

Yet there was subsequently a crushing development when the paintings went under the hammer.

The canvas had been bought for $540 by Catholic priest Father Jamie MacLeod when he unwittingly stumbled upon it in a Cheshire antiques store 12 years prior.

Presenter Richard Osman later mentioned the extraordinary discover on his podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, where he disclosed that the astounding appraisal was among the show’s most stunning moments.

He acknowledged: “The most expensive item I could find that was actually somebody who had just bought something in a shop and turned up with it was a painting they bought for £400 ($540) in a thrift shop. And it turned out to be a £400,000 ($540,263) Van Dyck.”

During the episode, Father MacLeod was amazed when host Fiona Bruce proposed it was created by Baroque grasp Sir Anthony Van Dyck during his phase on the cherished BBC show.

Fiona requested him to examine it, and after a complete restoration process, the paintings was verified by Dr Christopher Brown, who ranks among the globe’s foremost specialists on Van Dyck.

Father MacLeod commented, “It has been a blessing to own this magnificent portrait, which has given me great pleasure over the years.

“I will probably be unhappy to half with it, though the proceeds will probably be put to wonderful use, going in direction of the acquisition of new church bells for Whaley Hall Ecumenical Retreat House in Derbyshire to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World in 2018.”

Sir Anthony Van Dyck was born in present-day Belgium but rose to become England’s premier court artist following an invitation from King Charles I.

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Apart from his reputation for revolutionary artwork, Van Dyck also gave his name to a distinctive facial hair style.

The short pointed beard that appeared on countless subjects in his portraits led to the creation of the term “van dyke” beard.

The piece, valued between £300,000 to £500,000, was believed to be a preliminary sketch for a work called the Magistrates Of Brussels that embellished the town’s Town Hall before being destroyed during a French bombardment in 1695.

Nevertheless, there was a disappointing flip of occasions when the portray failed to appeal to any consumers at Christie’s public sale home in London.

The public sale home confirmed the piece remained unsold during the Old Master and British Paintings sale.