Involving the iconic american painter and illustrator. My name is don trachte jr. My siblings and i were supposed to inherit from our father one of Norman Rockwells bestknown paintings. What we got was a mystery. What the heck had dad done with it . Hi, don. Im jamie. Hi, jamie. So nice to meet you. So great to be in vermont. What is this place . This was my dads studio. Back in the 1950s, dons dad, Donald Trachte sr. , is a syndicated cartoonist working on the popular strip henry, which features a baldheaded boy, simply illustrated with clean lines and minimal backgrounds. Can you support a wife and four kids drawing henry . It was a good living. My dad had to come up with all the gags. Really . And he would have a sheet of paper next to his drawing board, and usually, hed come up with about three or four gags at a time. Were they gags about you kids . Well, sometimes they were. So life for the trachtes is pretty good here in arlington, a picturesque artists colony with a worldfamous resident Norman Rockwell. How did your dad meet Norman Rockwell . When we arrived in arlington, we met a realtor, and if you showed artistic ability, he probably dragged you down to Norman Rockwells house. Did rockwell come to your fathers studio to visit . He did make a couple visits but very short. You know, norman worked seven days a week, and he just was on high gear. Don sr. Even poses for rockwell, playing the principal in one of his famous saturday evening post covers. And don jr. Gets his shot as a rockwell model when his dad volunteers him to pose for this photo from which rockwell paints a child life magazine cover. Is that you . Thats me. Youre Holding Hands with the girl. Yes. Which you did not like yet. Well, i may have liked her. I was just embarrassed. Don sr. And rockwell develop a pretty close professional acquaintance. They share tricks of the trade and the same sense of humor. Heres the cartoonist with the great painter wearing matching bow ties and french berets. How close did he get to rockwell . Did he look over his shoulder while he was painting . My dad had a great sense of observation, and when he watched rockwell, he would look at his paints, his paintbrush, what kind of varnish. My dad just worshipped Norman Rockwell. They keep in touch after rockwell leaves vermont for stockbridge, massachusetts, in 1953, where he continues to paint some of the most Iconic Images of smalltown america. All the materials that you see here were actual rockwell tools. He was very neat. You can see how clean his brushes were. Oh, my. Stephanie plunkett is chief curator of the Rockwell Museum in stockbridge, which includes the painters barn studio. I see the chair. It would mean a lot to sit in Norman Rockwells. Please . Jamie, we would be honored to have you sit in rockwells chair. Oh, my gosh. This is amazing. Norman rockwell painted in this chair. Oh, my gosh. Its from this chair in 1954 that rockwell paints breaking home ties, which will become one of the most popular saturday evening post covers of all time. What is the story in this . What did he want people to know . His idea was, this is a young man from a very Rural Community in america, and he is leaving home for the first time to go to college. His father is a rancher, and he is slumped. Hes holding two hats. Oh. Which is such a beautiful memento. Hes holding his own and his sons. And the collie dog is feeling. Sad. And dad is, what, reflecting on the end of an era maybe . His son wont be a rancher with him . Very much so. Classic rockwell a single scene tells a poignant story of the joys and laments, worries and hopes, sweet and bittersweet rhythms in the life of every american family, like the trachtes. As the years go by, henry gives elizabeth and don sr. The wherewithal to acquire their own impressive little art collection. Its in 1962 when they see breaking home ties for sale at a vermont art gallery. They buy it for 900. Was there anything particular about the subject of this painting that you think your father became particularly attracted to . Well, two things. One is the character the old man sitting on the Running Board was our neighbor floyd, and my dad thought the world of floyd, as all of us did. I think also that the painting told a story. Its a separation of your children from home, so i think its that emotional connection that probably grabbed my dad. Do you think it could be you leaving . It could be. Perhaps at that time, my father was experiencing the separation of all of his kids, and maybe that was it. Did your dad know it was a good investment . You know, i dont think he bought it as an investment at all. He just thought it was such a wonderful piece of art. Why would you even sell anything like that . Of course, it is a good investment. Just 2 years after he purchased it, don sr. Receives an offer in 1964 for 35,000 bucks. Thats a lot of money then. It was an extraordinary amount of money. A lot of us wouldve just sold right then and there, wouldnt we . Yes. But not my dad, not interested. I actually have a letter right here. Take a look at that. From Norman Rockwell, stockbridge, mass. Dear don, you must be crazy not to sell it, but i adore your loyalty. As ever, norman. Ha thats it. Hes saying you shouldve sold. Thats right. Breaking home ties remains on display in the trachtes vermont home, but as more time passes, life for the trachtes resembles less and less a Norman Rockwell painting. When they divorced, i mean, how do you cut a rockwell in half . Thats a terrible thought, isnt it . Heres a strange inheritance quiz question. Why did Norman Rockwell keep a mirror in his studio to reflect sunlight onto his paintings, to watch himself while he worked or to look at his painting in reverse . The answer after the break. I switched to liberty mutual, because they let me customize my insurance. And as a fitness junkie, i customize everything, like my bike, and my calves. Liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Dear tech, youve been making headlines. Smart tech is everywhere. But is that enough . I need tech that understands my business. I need tech that works at scale. Dear tech, dear tech, dear tech, were using ibm blockchain to help make sure food stays fresh. Were exploring quantum to develop next generation energy. Were using ai to help create more Accessible Health care. Were using iot to create new kinds of digital wallets. Lets see some more headlines about that. Lets expect more from technology. Lets put smart to work. So why did Norman Rockwell keep a mirror in his studio . It was to look at his paintings in reverse. He believed that if the picture was also engaging when looked at backwards, it was sure to be a winner. After purchasing the Norman Rockwell painting called breaking home ties for 900 in 1962, don and Elizabeth Trachte display it in their vermont home. Don sr. Continues drawing the comic henry but spends more and more time painting, too. He did a lot of painting later in his life. He did western art. He did what i call cape cod art. Hes pretty good. He was pretty good. But hes increasingly withdrawn and estranged from elizabeth. At some point, do you get an inkling that your parents might divorce . I think it was just time for them to part ways. And they do in 1973 after 32 years of marriage. So what to do with the art they collected together . They have seven relatively valuable paintings from lesserknown artists in addition to that famous rockwell. When they divorced, was there an issue about. I mean, how do you cut a rockwell in half . Well, thats a terrible thought, isnt it . The couple agree to give the eight paintings to their children their inheritance to be received upon their parents deaths. Until then, elizabeth keeps five and don three, including the rockwell. By the way, it jumps in value when rockwell dies in 1978 at age 84. Don sr. Builds this home and art studio in the woods. He draws the sunday edition of henry until its canceled in 1994. By 2001, now in his 80s, Health Problems force don sr. To lay down his pencils and brushes altogether, and he begins splitting his time living with his children. We just wanted him kind of with us and safe. With their Fathers House empty and cold, don jr. And his siblings worry about their strange inheritance the famous painting on the wall thats now possibly worth millions. Looking for a safer place, they call the Norman Rockwell museum and chief curator stephanie plunkett. They say, would you like to exhibit it . And we, of course, were thrilled because this is actually an icon in rockwells career. Did you tell dad . Yes, and he never said anything. He just nodded. Ever take dad to see it . Oh, no. Withing a year or two, he went into assisted living. I just thought it was a lot for him to absorb, so i never took him down to the museum. I said, why put him through that . Don trachte sr. Passes away in 2005 at age 89, but just as his four children formally inherit breaking home ties, they start hearing whispers that the famous painting just might be a fake. One art expert walked in and said, its a thirdrate replica, and i thought, what . I was concerned, like, what is going on . Heres another quiz question. To model the girls black eye in this painting, did rockwell put a wanted ad in the paper for a kid with a shiner, visit a boxing gym or paint his own black eye . The answer when we return. Hey, who are you . Oh, hey jeff, im a car thief. What . im here to steal your car because, well, thats my job. What . What . . What . laughing what . . What . what . [crash] what . haha, it happens. And if youve got cutrate car insurance, paying for this could feel like getting robbed twice. So get allstate. And be better protected from mayhem. Like me. Its a revolution in sleep. The sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now during our lowest prices of the season. It senses your movement, and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. It even helps with this. So you wake up ready to hit the ground running. Dont miss our 4th of july special with the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed now 1299. Plus, free premium delivery when you add a base. Ends sunday. Sleep number. Proven, quality sleep. So how did rockwell model the girls black eye in this painting . Its a. He placed a wanted ad offering 5 bucks for a kid with a black eye. He found this little guy, tommy forestburg, of worcester, mass, whod taken a tumble down the stairs. Don trachte jr. And his siblings face a multimilliondollar mystery. Theyve loaned this painting, Norman Rockwells breaking home ties, to the Rockwell Museum in stockbridge, massachusetts, but now theyre hearing questions about the authenticity of their strange inheritance. There were some doubts. In fact, one art expert walked in and said, this is a fake. Even don jr. Sees subtle differences between his painting and the 1954 saturday evening post cover. Look in the area of the boys face, and look at those two side by side. Well, his face is much fuller. Yeah. Theres some differences, arent there . And thats primarily. Eyes are different. The eyes are different. Mmhmm. And the mouth is different. Mmhmm. But there must be an innocent explanation. The museum believes the painting was probably subjected to a subpar touchup job. Thats why, when don and his siblings decide it might be time to sell breaking home ties, their comfortable reaching out to sothebys in new york. Sothebys appraiser Peter Rathbone visits the Rockwell Museum to see it. Like some other experts, hes perplexed. It just wasnt as well painted as one had sort of become accustomed to seeing in rockwells work. But here you are in the Norman Rockwell museum, where the painting has been on public display for, you know, several years. Rathbone believes the painting could bring between 3 and 5 million at auction. In 2002, we sold the iconic rosie the riveter that brought just under 5 million, so we were obviously looking at a very bullish market for rockwells work. But before they test the market, the family decides to test the painting. They send it to the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in 2006 for a detailed analysis. The family faces three possible outcomes. Its the original rockwell thats been touched up, or a second version of the painting by rockwell himself, or it could be a forgery. Having them take a look could take the millions that you and your siblings are entitled to and throwing it out the window if it doesnt go your way. It could, but we were so adamant that we had to understand what is wrong with this painting . Now, my best hope was that wed actually find that this was the original painting, but someone had repainted or painted over parts of the painting. No dice. It turns out the painting is a completely original and pretty wellexecuted fake thats when, you know, the air was going out of the balloon. Disheartened, confused and a lot poorer than they were days before, don jr. And his brother david go to their late fathers studio in hopes of finding anything that could solve the mystery. What happened . When dave walked over here, he noticed this little crack. Push against that. Oh. Uhoh. Wait a minute. It moves. It moves. We said, what the heck is going on here . Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. And. Thats your basic threepoint turn. [ scoffs ] if you say so. Im sorry . What teach here isnt telling you is that snapshot rewards safe drivers with discounts on car insurance. What . Or maybe he didnt know. [ chuckles ] im done with this class. Youre not even enrolled in this class. I know. Im supposed to be in ceramics. Do you know room 303. Oh. Thank you. Yeah. Good luck, everybody. And is the Fastest Growing place to buy a car in the nation. Carvana is six years old this year its because we have thousands of people working hard to make our customers experiences the best. Its because we have tens of thousands of cars ready to be delivered to your doorstep. And its why hundreds of thousands of happy customers have ditched the dealership and bought their car online, earning us an average 4. 7 stars in the process. So if you didnt know about us before, you do now. Were carvana, and we want to give you the car buying experience you deserve. Play it cool and escape heartburn fast with new tums chewy bites cooling sensation. Tum tum tum tums now back to strange inheritance. Don trachte jr. Is in the middle of a strange inheritance enigma. This Norman Rockwell painting, breaking home ties, has been in his family for more than 40 years, but now its revealed that theyre holding on to a fake. What gives . Don and his brother david search their late fathers vermont art studio. My brother walked over to this space right here. He noticed this little crack, and he pushed against the wall. Push against that, and you see . Oh. Uhoh. Wait a minute. It moves. It moves, and we said, what the heck is going on here . Don and his brother snap these pictures as they begin to dismantle pieces of their fathers bookcase. Now, i want you to come over here. I want you to put your hands like this, and were going to pull it toward me. Ah there you go. Oh, my goodness. Keep going. Behind this secret sliding wall, don and his brother discover what they didnt even know they were looking for the original rockwell painting, breaking home ties. Did you scream, cry, hug each other . We didnt say a word. But they must Say Something to the curator at the Rockwell Museum. I received a call from don jr. , and he said, i have good news, and i have bad news. The good news is i know where the original is, and the bad news is that its not at the museum. Did word get out that the museum had a forgery . Yes. As a matter of fact, it was a challenging moment for sure. The strange inheritance story makes headlines, which is actually good news to Peter Rathbone at sothebys. We adjusted our estimate slightly from 3 to 5 million up to 4 to 6 million. This is the rockwell property of the trachte family collection. Breaking home ties goes up for auction in new york city in november 2006. You remember the first bid . I do. It was, lets start the auction process at 4 million. I have 4 million, 4,100,000. So the bidding then continues. Now were at 6 million, 7,800,000, 8 million, 9 million. Oh, my gosh. And then it started to go faster. Ten million. I have 11 million. Twelve million dollars. And then, all of a sudden, it stopped. All done . Sold for 13,750,000. Add to that the buyers premium and the grand total hits 15. 4 million at the time, a new world record for a rockwell painting. Its a happy ending for the trachte kids, even if the mystery is never to be completely solved. Don can only deduce that sometime before his parents divorce, his father was the one who copied the rockwell. Accepted by a museum that just has Norman Rockwells. Thats right. Did you know he was that good . No, i didnt. Don is unsure of the answer to the bigger question. Why did dad do this . I think he just wanted to protect this, and people would come up to me and they came up with all the what ifs. What if the house burned down . What if it got bulldozed . What if we sold it . But i didnt have ready answers. All don is certain of is that his father wasnt trying to defraud anyone, much less his mother. He didnt have a war with my mom like a lot of people suspect. You had to let mom know. How did she react . She put her hands on her face like this and listened, and she said, this doesnt surprise me. Really . Yeah. She was 89 at the time. She took it well. She took it well. By the way, remember those other pricey paintings . Don sr. Kept those originals hidden behind his secret wall, too. So he painted duplicates. He painted eight duplicates. I decide to bounce off don my own theory about his cartoonist father. Di