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CNN Live Event/Special
Interview With Teri Horton
Aired July 17, 2003 - 19:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You know how they say you have to buy a lottery ticket first in order to win? Well, apparently not always. Teri Horton bought a $5 painting at a thrift store 11 years ago. Now it turns out it might be an unknown work by one of the 20th century's most famous abstract expressionist painters, or, in layman's term, ka-ching.
Teri Horton joins us now from San Bernadino.
Teri, thanks for being with us.
You bought this painting, you saw it at a thrift store, you bought it as a joke for a friend, and they didn't even want it. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) you didn't like it?
TERI HORTON, BOUGHT POSSIBLE POLLOCK ORIGINAL: Well, she lived in a little motor home, a travel trailer, and you couldn't even get it through the door, let alone put it on the wall. And I bought it to cheer her up because...
COOPER: Well, I...
HORTON: ... she was kind of down on her luck.
COOPER: I notice you have it behind you now. I understand it's been in a closet for quite a while now. Do -- what do you -- when you see it, what do you think? Do you like it?
HORTON: Honest answer, no.
COOPER: Well, there you go. That's an honest answer. Now, I know there's been some talk (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- it's not clear yet whether or not it is a Jackson Pollock. You had one appraiser said he believes it is, a forensic expert. Another appraisal said they don't believe it is, because it doesn't have a provenance. If it is, how much do you think it might be worth? How much have they told you it might be worth?
HORTON: I'm not quite sure. Probably the last one that sold was 11-point-something million, and this one probably, since it's the only one that's ever been authenticated since Pollock died, probably around 20, something like that. But I'm not sure.
COOPER: What do you plan on doing with that money? I mean, I know you're looking to sell this. If you could get that kind of money, that's -- for a $5 investment, that's not bad. What do you plan to do with it all?
HORTON: There's a lot of people that I want to help. After I quit driving a truck, why, I was down on my luck also, and had a lot of people help me, and I just want to share it.
COOPER: Well, Teri Horton, good luck to you. I hope things work out for you. And we'd love to touch base with you a little bit and hear how this thing ends up. Teri Horton, thanks for joining us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 17, 2003 - 19:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You know how they say you have to buy a lottery ticket first in order to win? Well, apparently not always. Teri Horton bought a $5 painting at a thrift store 11 years ago. Now it turns out it might be an unknown work by one of the 20th century's most famous abstract expressionist painters, or, in layman's term, ka-ching.
Teri Horton joins us now from San Bernadino.
Teri, thanks for being with us.
You bought this painting, you saw it at a thrift store, you bought it as a joke for a friend, and they didn't even want it. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) you didn't like it?
TERI HORTON, BOUGHT POSSIBLE POLLOCK ORIGINAL: Well, she lived in a little motor home, a travel trailer, and you couldn't even get it through the door, let alone put it on the wall. And I bought it to cheer her up because...
COOPER: Well, I...
HORTON: ... she was kind of down on her luck.
COOPER: I notice you have it behind you now. I understand it's been in a closet for quite a while now. Do -- what do you -- when you see it, what do you think? Do you like it?
HORTON: Honest answer, no.
COOPER: Well, there you go. That's an honest answer. Now, I know there's been some talk (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- it's not clear yet whether or not it is a Jackson Pollock. You had one appraiser said he believes it is, a forensic expert. Another appraisal said they don't believe it is, because it doesn't have a provenance. If it is, how much do you think it might be worth? How much have they told you it might be worth?
HORTON: I'm not quite sure. Probably the last one that sold was 11-point-something million, and this one probably, since it's the only one that's ever been authenticated since Pollock died, probably around 20, something like that. But I'm not sure.
COOPER: What do you plan on doing with that money? I mean, I know you're looking to sell this. If you could get that kind of money, that's -- for a $5 investment, that's not bad. What do you plan to do with it all?
HORTON: There's a lot of people that I want to help. After I quit driving a truck, why, I was down on my luck also, and had a lot of people help me, and I just want to share it.
COOPER: Well, Teri Horton, good luck to you. I hope things work out for you. And we'd love to touch base with you a little bit and hear how this thing ends up. Teri Horton, thanks for joining us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
