GUEST: We got this picture back in the '30s.

My father was studying forestry, and he would take the young, underprivileged kids in the western part of the state all over the natural historical sites, Indian locations, and the likes.

It would be all over Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming.

So it would, they would be about two-week treks, and, uh, they'd pile everybody in the back of a pickup truck... APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST:...and then drive 'em around and camp in each of these locations.

As a result, they gave him this picture as a gift.

APPRAISER: It's painted by a Native American artist, and he was a Navajo artist by the name of Narciso Abeyta.

His Indian name was Ha So De.

He was born in 1918, and in 1939, he was one of the first classes at the Santa Fe Indian School to be taught by Dorothy Dunn.

When they were sent to Indian schools to anglicize them, Dorothy Dunn encouraged all the children there who were taken from their tribal lands to remember their Native ways.

And there were many famous American Indian painters from that class.

But the interesting twist in Abeyta's life was in the early '40s.

He was the code talker in the Pacific Theater.

Navajos, the code talkers that helped the Marines.

And these people were sent home, sworn to secrecy, all the Navajos, and they were not allowed to talk until it was declassified in 1968.

If you can imagine, being taken from the tranquil grounds that he grew up on and be thrown into the Pacific Theater with all the danger and the change of climate, the jungles.

Unfortunately, he was shell-shocked, and his painting suffered for it.

So you acquired a painting that was done in his prime, and it's really quite wonderful.

He and the other code talkers were, weren't recognized till 1981 for their service to this country, and Abeyta died in the late '90s.

He actually has a son, Tony Abeyta, who follows his, his father's tradition and works in the contemporary vein, too.

I'm sure this is a gift of great affection, but when they purchased this for him, they probably paid as little as $15 for it.

On today's auction market, it would fetch in the $4,000 to $6,000 range.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: But it's a great painting by a man who lived a very rich, colorful life.

He was also a Golden Gloves boxer and a silversmith.

GUEST: Oh, I'm impressed.

APPRAISER: So I'm glad to see this painting here today.

GUEST: Wow.