Would you go on national television to have your nudes valued?
Well, one old woman did.
The lady in question appeared on Antiques Roadshow with a really fascinating 1970s portrait (before OnlyFans).
Painted almost 45 years ago, the happy owner stated that the artwork was created by a neighbour while she resided in Bethnal Green, London.
It shows her standing out in the street, stroking her baby bulge while wearing a totally open robe that reveals her naked body.
The painting’s backdrop includes her cats, a pram for the baby when he arrives, and a hilarious picture of her husband staring over the balcony at her.
She told the antiques expert: ‘My neighbour was Nerissa Garnett, the great-niece of Virginia Woolf.
‘The portrait is of me and that was about, more than 45 years ago!’
She insisted that she wasn’t, in fact, standing naked in the street for the art session, but instead they ‘took pictures indoors in her flat’.
The lady’s son, with whom she was pregnant in the picture, accompanied her to the Roadshow, adding to the meta nature of the situation.
‘I’m the bump!’, he declared.
‘He was the baby who was born the next year.’
The valuer went on to describe how the portrait was created by an artist from a’very influential creative family’.
‘Her grandmother was Vanessa Bell. I think her style is very, very distinct. I love these dark lines,’ she noted. ‘Every single brick is a different colour, it’s astonishing.’
Asked about her relationship with the artist, the lady shared: ‘We were good friends, she was also a good friend of my husband as well.’
‘Isn’t it great to have a portrait by a female artist of a female nude?’, praised the expert.
‘She’s not hugely well-known at auction in terms of estimates, but she does come from this really great family.
‘And she’s a female artist and we like to see those.’
So, what was it worth?
‘At auction, I think you’re probably talking maybe £1,500, £2,000.’
‘Ok! Alright…’, the owner smiled.
‘A really, really brilliant story,’ complimented the valuer.
We’ve never heard of nudes being valued so much.
Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays on BBC One and iPlayer.
Source My Celebrity Life.