Elyse Luray is an American
art historian
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
and
appraiser
An appraiser (from Latin ''appretiare'', "to value"), is a person that develops an opinion of the market value or other value of a product, most notably real estate.
The current definition of "appraiser" according to the Uniform Standards of Pro ...
of historical objects who has become a television personality as a result of her appearances on a number of shows, most particularly as a member, since its premiere in 2003, of
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
's investigation-of-the-past series ''
History Detectives
''History Detectives'' is a documentary television series on Public Broadcasting Service, PBS. It features investigations made by members of a small team of researchers to identify and/or authenticate items which may have historical significance or ...
''.
Early life and career
A native of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Elyse Luray attended
Newcomb College
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. ...
, the women's college of
'
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
, graduating in 1989 with a degree in art history. During a career of more than a decade as an expert appraiser and auctioneer for
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
Auction House, she was also displaying her expertise on select episodes of PBS's popular object-appraisal show ''
Antiques Roadshow
''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...
'' and subsequently became one of PBS' ''
History Detectives
''History Detectives'' is a documentary television series on Public Broadcasting Service, PBS. It features investigations made by members of a small team of researchers to identify and/or authenticate items which may have historical significance or ...
''.
"History Detectives: Chicago Clock, Universal Friends, War Dog Letter" (KPBS, September 3, 2010)
/ref>
In addition to the PBS shows, she has also participated in "Cash in the Attic 2021" HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
/TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
's historical-home program '' If Walls Could Talk'' as well as co-hosting '' Endless Yard Sale'' for many years. She also hosted''Treasure Seekers'', a cable/satellite program which follows her travels to antiques shows around the country in order to display and evaluate objects of historical significance and/or interest. She was also a regular contributor to the magazine ''Antique Trader
''Antique Trader'' is a full-color American magazine about antiques and collectibles, including a classifieds section, published twice monthly, including six double issues. Headquartered in Stevens Point, Wis., the highly designed and illustrate ...
'' and website ''Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''. Luray appeared regularly on ''The Nate Berkus Show
''The Nate Berkus Show'', also known as ''The Nate Show'', is an American talk show that premiered on September 13, 2010, hosted by interior designer Nate Berkus. The series aired on syndication during its original run from September 13, 2010, to ...
'' as his appraiser. She is also an appraiser on the Style Network's ''Clean House New York''. In 2012, she began hosting Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
's ''Collection Intervention'', which premiered August 14, 2012.
Luray is the author of the book ''Great Wines Under $20''.
She is an appraiser and member of the Appraisers Association of America and is a New York State licensed auctioneer.
Luray is a member of Tulane University's Deans Council. and Nassau County Museum of Arts Women's Council.
She is part of the team of Trust and Estates at Heritage Auctions
Heritage Auctions is an American multi-national auction house based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1976, Heritage is an auctioneer of numismatic collections, comics, fine art, books, luxury accessories, real estate, and memorabilia from film, mu ...
the New York City.
References
External links
Heritage Auctions
Elyse Luray biographical sketch at ''History Detectives'' website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luray, Elyse
American antiques experts
American television personalities
American women television personalities
Tulane University alumni
Writers from Baltimore
1967 births
Living people