in the lower left-hand corner, a signature -- victor higgins. >> victor higgins.ow much did you know? >> i never heard of him before. >> turns out, the guy's work sells for big bucks. >> one of his paintings sold at sotheby's for over $400,000. >> he appeals to the modern aesthetics, not only back then, but specifically today. >> mark sublette, an authority on western painting, knows all about victor higgins. born on a farm in indiana in 1884, the artist leaves home as a teenager and studies painting at the art institute of chicago. in 1913, he's one of many american artists blown away by an international exhibition of modern art called the armory show. >> you had all these cubist and impressionistic paintings coming from europe. and it really shook up the entire art world. >> the staggered american artists, including higgins, resolve to develop their own modern styles. so several artists from around the country converge in taos, new mexico -- at the time, a sleepy southwestern pueblo. >> we have crystal-clear, blue skies with wonderful light penetration. it's a p