Old Oil Painting

[Lulu]

Hello everyone!
I bought a really interesting old oil painting on canvas awhile ago.
The artists name is unreadable and I can only make out a few letters. I
have researched and have come up with nothing. I know that it might
just be a local artist, but just this week I went to get it appraised
at an Antique Dealer. He wanted to buy the painting from me for $100,
which I thought odd, because he told me it probably had no value, but
he would take it off my hands. I politely declined and am still
researching. If there is anyway that I could possibly send a picture or
post a picture so someone could help that would be great. I am new to
this group so I don't know if this is possible.

Thank you for your time,

Laura

[PaulinSF]

One thought: You might take it to a local historical society to see if
they recognize the artist. A college or university might take a quick
look at it if you're considerate of their schedule, and ask in the
spirit of gaining knowledge rather than attempting to determine value.

If you can get a good photo of it, I believe there are online appraisal
services offered by auction houses for a fee. I tried that a few years
ago with a pen & brush painting (incredibly detailed) of an English
country church that my British friend had casually given to me as a
little gift. It turned out to be a known British artist, the work was
from approx. the year 1800, and the value of the "little gift" around
$1200! Go to Google to find online appraisers.

OR wait for Antiques Road Shoiw to come around.

[intuitiveart]

Hi Laura:

I had a problem with a gallery once which asserted that a drawing of my
great Uncle's was actually a print. They claimed that they could tell
by looking through the glass. The problem was that I was in Denver and
they and the art were in NY and so they were going to reduce the
insurance from $10k to $100. I needed help - so here's where I was
directed:

The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
1717 K Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036-5346
202-452-9545
202-452-9328 (fax)
in...@aic-faic.org

The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
(AIC) is the national membership organization of conservation
professionals dedicated to preserving the art and historic artifacts of
our cultural heritage for future generations.

Their website is: http://aic.stanford.edu/about/index.html

Also, Sotheby's and Christie's both give auction estimates - they have
one way thru which are free and another where they charge by the hour.
I remember sending them photos for free...

Hope this helps.

Joanna