Pawn Stars: Top 7 EXTRA EXPENSIVE Fine Art Pieces (From Picasso to Keith Haring!)

a closer look. I just want to see, perhaps, if it is a printed bass that he embellished or if it is a completely unique work. Many times the image of the Statue of Liberty would be a lithograph and then I would add drops of acrylic on top. I don't think that's the case with this one. I believe the face was applied with a stencil. But I don't think it's a print. OK. BRETT MALY: And then he added the acrylic, all the different colors and the embellishments on the sides. It is definitely original and certainly one of a kind.

OK. So, I mean, what is the market for this thing? I just... because I know there are a lot of them out there. BRETT MALY: Sure, sure. Yes, the good news is that this is a pretty iconic image. The Statue of Liberty is identified by that. So that's a good thing. The bad thing is that he has done many. He has probably made more than a thousand images of this type throughout his career. The other thing is that he is still a living and working artist, so he produces more of these as time goes on. In a gallery, you might see this same work for $50,000.

But they are so common that you may find the same work selling for $10,000 on the Internet. So that's the enigma. So I think an appropriate value for a work like this would probably be in the $25,000 range. RICK: Okay. Well, thanks, man. Rick, hey, it's my pleasure. RICK: I appreciate that. - Willie, that's good work. - Thank you. Nice to meet you. - Alright. Thank you. Pleased to meet you. If the store can negotiate, Peter Max is a living icon. So I think they will have an audience here in the store. RICK: I mean, what would be the best price you would accept?

WILLIE: I'm pretty firm on my $35,000 price tag. I mean, I... it's hard. MMM. RICK: I mean, I'll give you $10,000. I mean, he said it's worth $25,000. Can you pay $15,000? I'm going to pay $12,000. WILLIE: RICK: That's cash and you can get it out of here. I'm stuck with it, I hang it on my wall. If it doesn't sell, that's my problem. And you leave with cash. Alright, you've got a deal. RICK: Sweet, man. Follow me and we will do some paperwork. Sounds good. RICK: Over here. WILLIE: I accept the offer of $12,000 because I believe that, with those funds, I could do some real things for my business that I want to do.

RICK: Hey, how's it going? I am doing it right. And you? - I don't know, I... I'm afraid of clowns, so maybe it's not so good. It is an original painting by Red Skelton. OK. The only one he did for Frank Sinatra. RICK: Red Skelton. It was in everything. I was on "Laugh In." Every time there was a Dean Martin roast, he was there. Yes. Unfortunately, most guys younger than me don't know who he is. If you get to the generation under 30, they wouldn't recognize it. I'm thinking under 40 or under 50, yes. JOHN: This painting was taken from a Sinatra character, Joe E.

Lewis, who he did dressed as a clown. Because they both performed here for so long, they were good friends, I really feel that he is worthy of a good Las Vegas antique collector. RICK: That's really cool. Red Skelton, he was an interesting guy. He started in vaudeville very young, right? JOHN: Correct. RICK: He ended up doing a lot in radio and television. He made movies. And from time to time he would dress up as a clown. But in general he was just an actor and he always painted a little from the side. Red Skelton lived a long life.

On top of all that, he was a talented artist. And if this Frank Sinatra clown painting is real, it could be worth a pretty penny. Where did you get this from? I found out about it at his 80th birthday party, because I opened for Red for seven years. It must have been really great to work with him. Because like I said, he's seen it all. Yes. You opened for him, so what did you do? JOHN: I was his comedian. And backstage, he was telling us about how he made "Ocean's 11" with Frank and how he lived next to him in Palm Springs.

And then he said, you know, I made a painting of him. It was called "Old Blue Eyes and Bow Ties." This was. After he died, I searched for that painting for probably 12 years. I finally found the collector who had it. RICK: Okay. I'm pretty sure Frank Sinatra opened for Skelton a few times, such as in vaudeville acts and live performances. So before Sinatra got big, Sinatra got big in what? In the late 30s? JUAN: I think so. Or the 1940s? Yes, and Red Skelton had already made a name for himself as a stand-up man. And they had a relationship for years and years.

JOHN: Actually, this is the photo that did it for him. And the reason he called it "Blue Eyes and Bow Ties" is because he started with the bow tie, the angle of the head, the deep blue eyes, you see there, the high forehead. And they just turned him into a clown. And he was authenticated as "Ole Blue Eyes." This is the certificate of authenticity. RICK: Okay. JUAN: Yes. RICK: And how much were you looking for? I would like to receive $20,000. RICK: Okay. At the peak of his popularity, I know that some of his paintings sold for close to $100,000.

Right now I don't know exactly what they're going for. Remember, art is kind of like the stock market, it's everywhere. Then I have to calculate the price. And I just have to make sure it's real. JOHN: Okay. If you look at this, you can see that... it wouldn't be that hard to maybe do it yourself. JUAN: Yes. A talented forger could come up with this. All right, I'll call someone to look at this. This is... I'm intrigued. JOHN: Okay. OK? He's... he doesn't look like Frank Sinatra. I'll be right back, okay? JOHN: Okay. I'd love to see what an expert has to say about this.

Hopefully, it's not too low a price. BRETT MALY: I mean, Red Skelton, I actually used to watch him quite a bit. And I loved it. Like other vaudevillians, he could do it all. I mean, he was a bit of a Renaissance man in addition to being a clown and comedian. He really he's kind of the last of a generation. Red Skelton's artwork really reflects the character, the man. He is not perfect, he is naive in many ways. But it gives you a good, positive feeling, which is what Red Skelton did throughout his career. Rick, I know you had me here for a reason.

Were you worried about authenticity? RICK: Oh, yeah. I have a million things. First of all, it's unlike anything a Red Skelton has ever done. Because they're usually like a dark background and it doesn't look like Frank Sinatra. And is it false? And do you have a notebook? Yes. I mean, let's be honest. I mean, Red Skelton was a primitive artist, you know, so many of the portraits of him probably wouldn't look like the spitting image of who he was trying to create. But anyone interested in this will want him to look a lot more like Frank Sinatra than he actually does.

Now, from an authenticity standpoint, I know that Red Skelton made a lot of pastels on linen. In fact, he preferred to work with linen because he felt the pastel and colors would look a little better on top. So from an authenticity standpoint, I mean, I can see it. RICK: How much do you think it's worth? I think if you could present this to the right collector, someone who thinks it could be an image from one of Frank Sinatra's quintessential movies, I think it could be a $10,000 or $15,000 painting. - OK. - Thanks man. BRETT MALY: Hi Rick, it was a pleasure.

Alright. It's what I would classify as a niche market because you combine the subject, clowns, with an artist who, for those under 40, there is no real knowledge or idea for it. Well, I think if Rick can present it to the right collector, he may have a real winner. RICK: Pff! I mean, what is your minimum price? I'm going to pay $12,000. I'll give you $7,500 for it. Remember, the population of the world that knows who he is is rapidly disappearing. There's really no other way to say it. But the real collectors are there. RICK: I know they're there.

JUAN: Yes. Would you spend $8,500? RICK: No. People who have that kind of money can choose from 20,000 different styles. JUAN: True, true. RICK: Okay? So it's a calculated risk on my part, and that's the maximum my calculator goes to: $7,500. I think it's okay. Alright. We have a deal! Thank you so much. - Thank you. Let's shake it up again, in fact, we'll meet there and do some paperwork. JOHN: Okay. I really had a personal connection with Red Skelton and know the value of these

pieces

. Someone will see this piece and immediately want to buy it.