Antiques Roadshow guests said very little when the staggering valuation of an artwork they had snagged for a mere £5 some twenty years ago was shared. The BBC show's expert Frances Christie couldn't hide her excitement upon encountering a painting by local artist Dorothy Steel, who she believes deserves far greater recognition. During the episode filmed at Pollok Country Park in Glasgow, Christie was thrilled to examine a painting that held special significance due to its connection to the area.
She exclaimed: "Now, this is a really exciting picture to find on Antiques Roadshow because it's by an artist who grew up around here, Dorothy Steel, who really should be so much more well known than she is." The owners revealed their lucky find to Christie, with the man explaining: "Found it in a charity shop not far from here about 20 years ago, and I could see straight away it was a quality painting and certainly worth the £5 they charged me for it." When asked what attracted him to the piece, he described: "Well it's a typical west of Scotland scene there, you can see the docks with shipyard cranes in the background.
I'm guessing it's either in Port Glasgow or Greenock where Dorothy Steel was from. "It just appealed to me, the colours, it's got that impressionist softness, the light [and] the subject matter most of all." His partner enthused: "It has that mid-century look which is really nice and nice kind of flatness when I think about the painting as well, that's really attrac.