He has a keen eye for valuable things. His name is Stephen Padlo of Upper Pittsgrove, New Jersey.
Heโs probably one of the youngest piece collectors weโve ever seen.
In fact, thatโs what David Weiss, an appraiser of Freemanโs in Philadelphia, PA told him when they met at an episode of the Antiques Roadshow.
If you are quite familiar with the show, itโs definitely something thatโs pretty much not for kids. However, young Stephen seemed to be born with a different spirit and set of likes.
At 11 years old, Stephen already has the talent for picking good finds.
Despite the age gap, Weiss still treated the young boy with the utmost respect, just like what he would normally do to an adult client. Stephen was equally cordial to the expert in front of him.
Before going straight to the piece the young boy brought, the two had a friendly conversation first.
โYou must be the youngest collector Iโve seen,โ Weiss says at one point.
To which the preteen replies, โI must be.โ
Weiss: โYou like buying and selling things?โ
Stephen: โBig time.โ
The young fella is definitely a collector in the making, wouldnโt you agree. He also told Weiss heโs fond of collecting glass, sterling silver, and art pieces.
A piece of art or a piece of crap?
Stephen told Weiss a short story about how he ended up taking home the piece that he brought at the auction.
โThis piece was found at an auction down in South Jersey,โ he explained. โIt was so hot there my dad didnโt want to stay to get it, but I wanted to so we waited an hour or so and I got it for two bucks.โ
This pre-teenโs way of thinking is definitely beyond his young age. Whatโs even more astonishing is his desire in collecting art pieces, particularly vintages just like this one.
Weiss told his young client that the piece that he brought was likely done in the late 19th century.
As the painting shows, it looks like pretty much a mother and a child sitting. The mother looks like sheโs sewing or knitting something while cooking. Her daughter, on the other hand, is holding a toy and is patiently waiting for her.
Itโs pretty much a household scene if I may say.
The young boy pointed out a signature.
Who knows? The signature might lead to the artโs origins or creator and Stephen was so eager to know. He told Weiss he can only read the first name which was โAlbertโ. The expert told him the last name reads as โNeuhuysโ.
Itโs a watercolor painting of Albert Neuhuys, a Dutch painter who lived from 1844 to 1914.
During his time, Albert Neuhuys painted interior scenes with peasants as his main art subjects. Heโd often sketch families portraying the lives of local farmers and weavers. The expert appraisal even commended the young boy from New Jersey and told him he might have a career as an art collector.
โI think youโve got a great career going as an art dealer. You ought to keep at it.โ
Time to reveal its real worth.
Albert Neuhuys made copies of his watercolor paintings, thus resulting in very few of them being โone of a kindโ.
Young Stephen also seemed to have done his homework about the piece.
Whatever he discovered in his research convinced him itโs still worth something, possibly around $150.
But Weiss told him itโs worth more than that amount. You too wouldnโt believe how much this artwork is worth. The kidโs reaction was priceless upon hearing the amount.
You donโt like spoilers? Me either.
Watch the video below and hear it straight from Weiss!
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