BBC Antiques Roadshow expert refuses to value item and says 'I'm not going to'

A BBC Antiques Roadshow expert has issued a warning after she REFUSED to value an item brought onto the show. The BBC expert has issued a warning as she refused to value a WW1 painting during the Sunday night episode (April 28).

Antiques Roadshow expert Frances Christie refused to put a price on a painting on Sunday evening during an episode from the Ulset Folk Museum. "This is an incredibly striking portrait of a priest in watercolour and I love how the artist has captured the glint on his glasses. Can you tell us a bit more about the sitter? " Christie asked the guest.

The guest said: "The sitter is my uncle, Father Dan Cummings. And he was a Redemptorist priest. And when World War II broke out, Ireland was neutral. But then, they got a request for chaplains. So, Dan volunteered and joined the British Army. He was part of the liberation forces at Belsen."

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Christie went on to say: "And of course, as we now know, Belsen was one of the very large concentration camps in the north of Germany, and it was one of the first to be liberated by British troops." The expert added: "Once the liberation happened, he stayed on in the hospital for one year.

"And during that period, this was painted by one of the inmates, presumably as part of his recuperation and rehabilitation." Christine went on: "Well, it's signed at the top... 'Baumeister, Hans', and dated 1946. So the year after liberation.

"As you say, it must've been part of the period directly afterward when, you know, we all know the story now, (but) it was such a shocking discovery when they liberated Belsen. What I think is incredible about this portrait though is that it brings alive - and you're sharing with us - the experiences of clearly someone, from here, who devoted his services and clearly made a real difference."

"Clearly, I mean the fact that it's signed, 'Hans Baumeister', who is an artist that I've never come across before but looking at the portrait, it's really beautifully painted." She added: "I think the artist has really captured his likeness. And, of course, the trademark glasses."

She continued: "In this instance, art really is a symbol of two very different people coming together..." She added: "In terms of value, I mean, this is the Antiques Roadshow, so we usually do put a value on things but I'm not going to put a monetary value on it today because it is so much more important than that.

"Because of its connection with Belsen, because of your uncle being someone from Belfast who was there at the moment of liberation... it has so much more of an important social (and) historical content."