♪ >> the ultimate man cave... >> underground, this was his home. >> ...dug with shovel and pick. >> he came at a time in america where if you could dream it, you could do it. >> it's a unique architectural creation. >> you can't go anywhere else in the united states to see something like this. >> but will his legacy be buried forever? >> he called my great-uncle the human mole, and that infuriated the family. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]

♪ >> jamie colby here in the san joaquin valley near fresno in central california. i'm on my way to meet two sisters who tell me the only way to understand their strange is to dig in and get below the surface of it. >> our great-uncle baldasare dug a subterranean world that hearkens back to his sicilian boyhood. >> it's been left to us to preserve it. >> ladies, hi. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. i'm valery. this is my sister, lyn. >> the sisters lead me through a grapevine arch and into an underground courtyard. >> this is part of a chapel garden. like most affluent families back in sicily, they always had their own private family chapel. >> truly incredible. as kids, i must imagine you said, "someday, i'm going to be in charge of all of this."

was this your dream? >> [ laughing ] oh, no. >> no? >> no, not at all. that's another whole long story. >> that long story goes back to the old country of sicily, and lyn and valery's great-uncle baldasare forestiere, the second son of a wealthy farmer who grows olives, citrus fruits and grapes. >> baldasare really was involved with citrus, and that's what he really enjoyed doing. >> only one problem -- young baldy is not the firstborn son. >> he went to his dad and said, "hey, pop, i'd like to take over this part of this businesses," and his father said, "absolutely not." >> not? >> not, because back in sicily, the oldest son inherits everything, so baldasare knew that he could work his whole life anything of his own. >> at the age of 21, he got on the ship, landed in the port of boston, and got a job as a subway digger.

>> baldasare learns a lot about excavation, but he still dreams of starting a citrus empire. so in 1904, he sees an ad offering cheap farmland in fresno, california. >> "go west, young man." you'll make a fortune. come up to the valley, where the land is really cheap. >> he cobbles together his savings and heads out west. >> he put down $10 gold coin down payment, for about 80 acres. >> they must have seen him coming because they sold him 80 acres of hardpan. >> hardpan is what they call the fields of silt, sand and clay, 5 feet thick, tough as concrete, no good for citrus farming. >> he was pretty devastated, realizing, "what did i just buy?" >> in the middle of his 80 acres, he builds himself a shack to live in. months pass. all he manages to coax out

of his land are a few seedlings. then comes his first fresno summer. >> fresno gets 105, 110, 115 degrees. >> looking out over his sunbaked plot of dirt, baldy figures he at least knows how to turn it into a place where he can escape the heat. >> he remembered how cool the subways were back east. if you went below ground, it was very cool, the wine cellars back in sicily. >> mm. so he grabs his shovel and starts digging and digging -- tunnels, rooms. >> the hardpan made it really, really easy for him to do all this tunneling and room-creating. >> architect bob theis has baldasare's underground creation. >> it's a natural slab that he could carve rooms

out from underneath. down here in fresno, 6 feet below the surface, is an even 65 degrees year round. >> jamie, let me introduce you to the heart of baldasare's work, his underground home, starting with the kitchen. this is an icebox. this is original. >> amazing. >> and right over here is a wood stove, where he did his cooking. >> so he would cook here. where would he eat? >> let me show you... >> okay. >> ...a very special place. now watch this. >> that's handy. and there's a cozy bedroom. >> he brought a little bit of his homeland with him. if you look at the frescoes on the walls, you can see these are fruit trees on a hillside. >> in the adjoining courtyard, a shower and bath. it's a sweet spot right here. how did he get water? >> there were irrigation ditches that ran along his property line. there was a tank up on the

surface. then he would connect a hose to the tank and let it hang down here for a shower. >> pretty ingenious for the son of a farmer, with an 8th grade education. >> he's not an engineer. how the heck did he do this? >> he grew up with it. in sicily, there are catacombs covering acres, where they tunneled through the rock to create subterranean caverns. he could create usable spaces underneath. >> as baldy tunnels deeper and deeper, he hits soil hospitable to all those fruit trees he wanted to plant -- oranges, lemons, kumquats and pomegranates. >> we're about 12 feet below ground level here, and that hardpan is about halfway down. are mostly left open, to allow the sunlight for the fruit to grow. >> by now, baldy's underground world has snaked across at least 5 acres

and is attracting attention. >> suddenly friends and family would come visit him in the hot part of the day. >> so he's popular? >> he's popular. >> meantime, baldy's siblings come to america, including his younger brother, giuseppe, valery and lyn's grandfather. baldy shares with them a new, grander vision for his property. >> he got the idea of having this underground resort. i think it just came to him -- "i can do something different." giuseppe, for one, is intrigued, so he helps his big brother baldy carve more acres of hardpan into a vast grotto, with ballrooms and an aquarium, all underground. eventually, their subterranean handiwork comprises about 20 acres. how long did it take for him to build this? >> about 40 years. he dug it with a pick,

a shovel and a wheelbarrow. think what he could have done with a jackhammer. >> uncle baldy dies in 1946 at the age of 67. >> he came at a time in america where if you could dream it, you could do it. >> never married, he leaves behind five siblings, who were well aware that this part of california is growing rapidly and that uncle baldy's patch of hardpan is worth a lot more than it used to be. >> he didn't have a will, and so it was decided that they would just sell everything and then divide up the proceeds. >> like that, 3/4 of uncle baldy's land is sold off, including a huge chunk of his underground creation, and lost forever. only one sibling believes in baldy's dream. >> my grandfather giuseppe understood what his brother was trying to do here.

>> giuseppe holds on to his share, about 20 acres. that preserves baldasare's living quarters and the heart of the gardens. but what happens next makes the forestieres mad as hell. >> the developer promised that he would get the resort going, but instead, he made it weird. >> how? >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question. where are the world's largest catacombs? the answer after the break.

♪there's a me no one knows ♪waiting to be set free so, what's the empty suitcase for? the grand prize trophy ♪i was born to be somebody

>> so where are the world's largest catacombs? it's b. the odessa catacombs in ukraine stretch over 1,500 miles. ♪ >> when baldasare forestiere dies in 1946, he leaves his life's work to his siblings, a vast subterranean world in fresno, california, that he dug by hand, plus the lush citrus gardens he spent a lifetime cultivating. >> you can't go anywhere else in the united states to see something like this. >> but most of baldy's siblings don't appreciate that. first chance they get, they sell off their strange inheritance to developers. >> you always have part of

the family that isn't tied closely to the gardens, so they don't have the same emotional attachment. as something becomes more valuable, its like, "oh, let's just sell it and split it up." >> sixty acres of baldy's land are sold off, including much of his subterranean paradise. only baldasare's brother giuseppe keeps his 20 acres. he's still hoping to fulfill baldy's dream of an underground resort, but giuseppe needs help. >> my grandfather was 64. to take on a whole business, he just wasn't prepared to do that, so he leased it out. he thought this would be a great business venture. >> a business venture that would celebrate the craftsmanship of the sicilian immigrant and his vast underground gardens. >> the developer promised that he would get the resort going, but instead, he made it weird. >> what did they call it? >> oh, they call... yeah, well, okay, here it is. i know my family hates this, but it was called the human mole. come see the home

of the human mole. >> the human mole? oh, my. >> and that infuriated giuseppe and the rest of the family. >> there it is, in print, even, "the secret world of the human mole." what an insult to a man of baldasare's vision. how sad. >> yes, it was. this beautiful accomplishment that he'd spent 40 years doing. somebody was trying to make it something weird. >> after the 10-year lease is up in 1960, giuseppe recovers the land, but he's forever mortified by the "mole man" moniker. the gardens are shuttered for almost a decade, until one of giuseppe's sons and baldy's grandsons makes a go of it. his name is rick, and he's lyn and valery's dad. rick reopens the gardens for tours in 1971, with a big assist from his wife, lorraine. >> my mom really took it from that whole derogatory,

caveman type of thing into, like, "wow, look at what he created here." did they charge admission? >> yes. it was like $3 or something. >> was it a profit-making business? >> you know,it sustained itself. >> when giuseppe dies in 1973, rick inherits the land with his brother, joe. they keep the gardens open to the public. lyn and valery, now teens, guide tours. the sisters leave home after high school, while over the years, urban sprawl encroaches on the area. what was once farmland has become packed with gas stations and strip malls. to build roads, more of the gardens are gobbled up by the government. >> through eminent domain, they took out a beautiful entrance, and the highway 99 was built. they had to fill in, in order to build the freeway through there. >> worried the gardens might just disappear, rick and joseph get the remaining 10 acres

designated a state landmark. but fresno continues to boom, and sadly, like the generation of forestieres before them, rick and joseph will part ways over the gardens. >> my father and my uncle ended up in court. >> what happened? >> oh, boy. >> here's another quiz question. which country created an underground bomb shelter with room for a million people during the cold war? the answer when we return.

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for one million people? it's a, china. the bunker below beijing included a skating rink and a movie theater. >> by 1990, what's left of the vast underground gardens in fresno, california, built with the eccentric vision of baldasare forestiere amounts to about 10 acres. his nephews joe and rick have held on to the last slice of his dream while watching fresno expand. >> now we've got the highway 99 and all kinds of shopping malls. >> lyn is one of rick's daughters. another is valery. >> my dad had promised his father, my grandpa, that he would try to preserve what had been done so that people could come and visit. >> rick, a schoolteacher, does keep the gardens open, but as real estate prices soar, he and brother joe lock horns over the future of the underground marvel.

what were they fighting over? >> my uncle just said, "you know what? i want my share. just sell the property, divide it," and my dad did not want to let go. >> the brothers take their battle to court. joe argues to have the entire property sold off and the proceeds divided. >> it was a very emotional time. >> was he successful? >> the courts divided the property, so the 10-acre landmark was then split into two parcels. >> rick's brother, joe, acreage, leaving rick with that last remaining section of the underground gardens. >> luckily, my father got the part that had the heart of the gardens, which was baldasare's living quarters, most of the features that he wanted in his mediterranean resort. >> how big is this? >> we have about 5 acres on ground level, and another, like, 4 1/2 acres of tunnels. >> then in 2012, lyn and valery's mom, lorraine, passes away.

their dad, rick, in his 80s, is no longer able to run this strange inheritance, and although his daughters would love to keep the gardens open, valery has made a life in denver, and lyn is 3 hours away in sacramento. so what's the forestiere family to do? they may have no choice but to further carve up the gardens or even sell them. if you had to go to your dad after four generations and say, "dad, we can't do it," how would he feel? >> you know, i think he'd feel hurt. he just sees it ongoing forever, you know. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. boy: once there was a boy who did the same thing

again and again. one day, he was told he had autism. he got help and slowly learned how to live with it better. announcer: early intervention can make a lifetime of difference. learn the signs at autismspeaks.org.

>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> an underground grotto that once extended through 20 acres in fresno, california, dug by hand a century ago

by sicilian immigrant baldasare forestiere. but each time the architectural wonder passes to the next generation, it's carved up and partially filled in. only a slice of the underground gardens are left, maintained by rick forestiere, an 88-year-old widower. >> my father owns about the last 5-acre parcel, and about 2 1/2 of the acre tunnels are open to the public. >> now the fate of this strange inheritance falls to his daughters, lyn and valery. >> i have a love for the gardens, and i don't want to see it demolished. >> mm-hmm. so valery, who works as a bookkeeper in denver, volunteers to run the gardens' business side remotely. lyn lives a mere 3 hours away in sacramento. she agrees to be an on-site presence. >> my sister, lyn, and i were the only ones who were ready to really take on an active role with the business. >> have the two sisters

dug themselves into a hole? wouldn't you rather be shopping at the mall? >> sometimes, yes. [ laughs ] >> it's not just the 6-hour round-trip commute. the gardens have caused family feuds in the past, and some of those grudge matches continue today. >> sicilian families kind of tend to hold grievances and grudges. you know, like, aunt rosa didn't return your lasagna pan 30 years ago. you know, the fight is on. >> you and your sister get along? you make the decisions together? >> we do. there's a little pushing and shoving from time to time. >> but now the sisters say they're standing united to keep the gardens open as long as they can. has this place ever been a moneymaker? >> no, you make enough to cover your costs. >> there you go. >> excellent. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> but we like to make it affordable for tourists to come in and see it. >> this is a fabulous place. it's another world.

>> i was really inspired. to make something out of money, it's easy. but to make something out of nothing, now that's something. >> if you have millions of dollars, you can hire all of the artisans in the world and create, like, a hearst castle. but if you have nothing but your own vision and just your own work ethic, you can create an underground gardens. >> valery and lyn are working with architect bob theis to find ways of keeping these gardens intact for another 100 years. >> they recognize this as an artistic creation, and they've dedicated themselves to preserving it and making it available to other people. as an architect, you know, that's something that i respect. >> for now, lyn and valery, along with their father, rick, run the forestiere underground gardens as a team, but they know it will be up to the next generation to keep uncle baldy's legacy alive.

>> what happens when you and your sister can't do this anymore? >> well, we're hoping that our children will step up to the plate. some are interested. some are not right now. >> do you worry about that, the future? >> no, i don't, actually, too much because even though i went away, i came back. i don't know what it is about the magnetism of this place. ♪ >> remember how uncle baldy came to america because his dad wouldn't cut him into the business in sicily, and that all of his brothers also immigrated to the u.s.? well, a few years ago, valery traveled back to the old country. she found the family farming empire gone because there was no one left to inherit it. all the more reason she and her sister are determined to preserve this family enterprise for the next generation.

i'm jamie colby. thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. ♪ >> a "strange inheritance" mystery... >> i thought, "what? what is going on?" >> ...a norman rockwell shocker. >> is it a fake? >> well, this was the question that was in everyone's mind. >> oh, if these walls could talk. >> i want you to put your hands like this, and we're going to pull it toward me. >> aah! >> there you go. >> oh, my goodness. >> keep going. ♪ [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby in arlington, vermont, once home to norman rockwell. it was also home to a man who left his children

a multimillion-dollar conundrum 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 rockwell's best-known paintings. what we got was a mystery. what the heck had dad done with it? >> hi, don. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. >> so nice to meet you. so great to be in vermont. what is this place? >> this was my dad's studio. >> back in the 1950s, don's dad, donald trachte sr., is a syndicated cartoonist working on the popular strip "henry," which features a bald-headed 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, he'd 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 artist's colony with a world-famous 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 rockwell's house. >> did rockwell come to your father's 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? >> that's me. >> you're 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. here's 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 small-town 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 painter's barn studio. i see the chair. it would mean a lot to sit in norman rockwell's. please? >> jamie, we would be honored to have you sit in rockwell's chair. >> oh, my gosh. this is amazing. norman rockwell painted in this chair. oh, my gosh. it's 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. he's holding two hats... >> oh. >> ...which is such a beautiful memento. he's holding his own and his son's. and the collie dog is feeling... >> sad. and dad is, what, reflecting on the end of an era maybe? his son won't 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. it's 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. it's a separation of your children from home, so i think it's 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 don't 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.

that's a lot of money then. >> it was an extraordinary amount of money. a lot of us would've just sold right then and there, wouldn't 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! >> that's it. >> he's saying you should've sold. >> that's 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? >> that's a terrible thought, isn't it? >> here's 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. ♪lig)

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>> 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. >> he's pretty good. >> he was pretty good. >> but he's 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 lesser-known 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, that's a terrible thought, isn't 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 it's 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 father's house empty and cold, don jr. and his siblings worry about their strange inheritance -- the famous painting on the wall that's 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 rockwell's 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, "it's a third-rate replica," and i thought, "what?" i was concerned, like, what is going on? >> here's another quiz question. to model the girl's 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.

♪ >> so how did rockwell model the girl's black eye in this painting? it's 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, who'd taken a tumble down the stairs. >> don trachte jr. and his siblings face a multimillion-dollar mystery. they've loaned this painting, norman rockwell's "breaking home ties," to the rockwell museum in stockbridge, massachusetts, but now they're 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 boy's face, and look at those two side by side. >> well, his face is much fuller. >> yeah. there's some differences, aren't there? and that's primarily...

>> eyes are different. >> the eyes are different. >> mm-hmm. >> and the mouth is different. >> mm-hmm. but there must be an innocent explanation. the museum believes the painting was probably subjected to a subpar touch-up job. that's why, when don and his siblings decide it might be time to sell "breaking home ties," their comfortable reaching out to sotheby's in new york. sotheby's appraiser peter rathbone visits the rockwell museum to see it. like some other experts, he's perplexed. >> it just wasn't as well painted as one had sort of become accustomed to seeing in rockwell's 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 rockwell's 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. it's the original rockwell that's 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 doesn't 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 we'd 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 well-executed fake! >> that's 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 father's 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. uh-oh. >> wait a minute. it moves. >> it moves. we said, "what the heck is going on here?" >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com.

♪ >> 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 it's revealed that they're holding on to a fake. what gives? don and his brother david search their late father's 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. uh-oh. >> 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 father's bookcase. >> now, i want you to come over here. i want you to put your hands like this, and we're 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 didn't even know they were looking for -- the original rockwell painting,

"breaking home ties." did you scream, cry, hug each other? >> we didn't 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 it's 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 sotheby's. >> 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, "let's start the auction process at $4 million." >> i have $4 million, $4,100,000. >> so the bidding then continues. now we're 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 buyer's premium and the grand total hits $15.4 million -- at the time, a new world record for a rockwell painting. it's 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 parent's divorce, his father was the one who copied the rockwell. accepted by a museum that just has norman rockwells. >> that's right.

>> did you know he was that good? >> no, i didn't. >> 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 didn't have ready answers. >> all don is certain of is that his father wasn't trying to defraud anyone, much less his mother. he didn't 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 doesn't 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. did your dad want to be norman rockwell? >> i don't think he wanted to be norman rockwell. i think he just wanted to absorb and be as, perhaps, as great as norman rockwell in his own right. >> and in a way, don is now helping make that happen. you're surely asking, "where is the fake rockwell now?" well, it's on its own museum tour. that's right. don jr. is showcasing his father's amazing rockwell duplicate along with the seven other paintings he copied, all nearly indistinguishable from the originals. the exhibit places the real and the duplicate painting side by side. imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. i'm jamie colby.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance," and remember -- you can't take it with you.