“Antiques Roadshow” Appraises Compo

Posted on June 28, 2019 | 16 Comments

Stevan Dohanos designed 40 US postage stamps. His works hang in the Whitney, and many other prestigious museums.

But perhaps his greatest fame came from over 100 Saturday Evening Post covers. Many depict scenes from Westport, where he lived starting in the 1940s. He  used many local models.

Some of those folks may still be around. If so, they probably remember frolicking at Compo Beach, for Dohanos’ July 31, 1954 cover.

If so, they should find out when “Antiques Roadshow” airs on their local PBS station. (It’s already been on Channel 13 in New York.) The current episode includes Peter M. Fairbanks’ appraisal of the original painting.

His verdict: It should be insured for $40,000.

PS: No, Dohanos did not make that raft up. Back in the day, several were anchored off Compo. They were popular spots for diving, tanning and hanging out.

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16 responses to ““Antiques Roadshow” Appraises Compo”

  1. Robert Grodman | June 28, 2019 at 10:14 am |

    Those rafts look like a ton of fun. Has anyone ever suggested putting them
    back?

  2. Peter Barlow | June 28, 2019 at 10:28 am |

    They were known as “floats.”

  3. Charles Taylor | June 28, 2019 at 10:35 am |

    I believe Fred Meyers (RIP) and I modeled for a baseball painting depicting two players arguing probably 1960. For some magazine cover.

  4. Dick Alley | June 28, 2019 at 10:55 am |

    Those rafts were a blast as was the juke box in the restaurant. Brings back some great memories.
    Dick Alley – Staples 53

  5. Mary Cookman Schmerker | June 28, 2019 at 10:56 am |

    I remember the rafts! Yes, we called them floats! They were a lot of fun.
    There was one off Owenoke as well. Putting them back….probably would be considered to dangerous today.

  6. Elaine Marino | June 28, 2019 at 11:01 am |

    The $40,000 appraisal was from a 2004 episode of Antiques Roadshow. In the recent Antiques Roadshow episode, the appraisal has doubled to $80,000. Are there any Steven Donahos paintings hanging in Town Hall?

  7. Tiffany Davidson | June 28, 2019 at 11:07 am |

    😍

  8. Caryl Beatus | June 28, 2019 at 11:13 am |

    I REMEMBER SWIMMING OUT TO THE RAFT IN 1956 WITH A LITTLE GIRL NAMED SUSAN GUNN HANGING ON TO MY NECK

  9. Jay Gangi | June 28, 2019 at 11:41 am |

    Yep, that raft was still out there when we moved to town in 1973. Nice share, thanks Dan. Happy 4th of July to you!

  10. Eric William Buchroeder SHS ‘70 | June 28, 2019 at 2:45 pm |

    I remember the floats. They were popular but taken out because they could obscure lifeguard’s clear view. I vaguely recall that there was an associated drowning where someone dived off the float, came up underneath it and was trapped.

  11. Judith Richmond | June 28, 2019 at 2:50 pm |

    There were floats at Longshore too.

  12. Michael Calise | June 28, 2019 at 6:05 pm |

    and watermelon races!

  13. Bonnie Scott Connolly | June 28, 2019 at 6:51 pm |

    I totally remember swimming out to the floats in the 50s and diving off and swimming back in. Somewhere I have a picture of them.

  14. Tara Carlson | June 28, 2019 at 10:50 pm |

    There was a raft in Saugatuck Shores along Harbor Rd well before the bridge. When you hauled yourself up you had to be careful not to scrape your stomach or legs on the barnacles that were on the bottom of the raft!

  15. Christopher W. Cavanagh | June 30, 2019 at 8:20 am |

    We have has rafts at Saugatuck Shores Beach Club at Seymour Point since I was a child in the ’50s and there has been one there every year since. To this day. The first one was Navy life raft. Then there was one with large (50 gallon?) barrels to keep it afloat. Having someplace to swim to enhances the pleasure of swimming on the shore, exponentially.