APPRAISER: What can you tell me about the painting?

GUEST: Well, it was purchased by my father, uh, shortly after World, World War II.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: And, uh, it's been in the family ever since then.

It, uh, hung in my grandmother's house and then in my father's house, and it's just always been in the family.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: The, the folklore behind the painting, and I-I don't know if there's any truth to it, is that it once hung in Windsor Castle.

APPRAISER: Huh.

This is an example of Orientalist painting.

And basically what the Orientalist movement was about was 19th century armchair adventurism.

Uh, you know, we sometimes think of that as a 20th century idea.

But even back in the 19th century in Europe and in the United States as well, um.

The people back home were just fascinated with what was going on in the Orient.

Uh, sometimes the artists actually traveled to Egypt or to the Middle East, but other times they would do fanciful ideas, very romanticized, with beautiful people in beautiful situations, with richly detailed animals and figures that really spoke to the high drama of what people's imagination that the Middle East was about during that time.

Uh, the, the painting is by Carl Haag-- H-A-A-G, who was a Swedish artist.

Uh, he was born in the 19th century and died in 1915.

Uh, you can see that the painting, uh, the, the watercolor is signed and dated lower right.

"Carl Haag, 1867."

So we're looking at a piece that really speaks to the top, top, uh... period for him.

When he was at the full, uh, flower of his Orientalist style.

And I think you can see this very well in, in the beautiful watercolor 0 handling of this figure.

Uh, we see that the piece is called Happiness in the Desert, which is a pretty romantic title for the piece.

GUEST: (chuckles) APPRAISER: It's a wonderful watercolor, a great example of Orientalist style, a great example of the artist's work, and something that, uh, is also a large format example of his work.

I would value it between $50,000 and $75,000.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: Yes.

GUEST: Wow, I didn't expect that.

APPRAISER: You got it.

GUEST: Uh... uh... Well, thank you very much.

APPRAISER: Well, you're welcome.

GUEST: Uh, I appreciate it.