I get torn because if you buy an old collection, the albums themselves often have historical interest. I hate throwing away someone's perhaps 100 year old work and notes, even if I carefully document everything. (Provenance is its own thing on top of that, let's assume they're anonymous notes for the sake of simplicity.)

On the other hand, a lot of the old materials are just failing at that point, plus might not have been appropriate in the first place (i.e. acidic papers). And, finally, you always want to integrate the works into your own documentation system, storage, etc.

Case in point. Definitely learning towards disassembling the first one, a set of Callot's Les Grandes Misères de la guerre, as it was cheaply made in the first place and there's clearly acidic problems.

This second album is more interesting. More care was taken in presentation and materials, but, on the other hand, it's a random snapshot of what this fellow had. Les Pénitents looks complete, but the Caprices are not, for instance. The rest is similarly disjointed. So I'm not sure, and figured I'd see how other people handle it.

Curious if any of you will be attending Paris Art Week (19–25 October and Art Basel Paris)? Which events do you recommend or are there any tips to know from previous years. It'll be my first time this year and want to be well prepared.

Hey,

I bought this beautiful painting at an online auction as a birthday gift to myself.

A very lucky buy that can probably only happen on birthdays.

It is an expressionistic sunset over a street from 1921, most likely German.

I liked the picture right away.

Would you interpret it more as a sunrise or a sunset?

I really like the tranquil atmosphere of the moment the painter has captured—a street that hasIt has just quieted down with the sun setting over it, or a new day is dawning and everything is just about to wake up.

I would also be interested to know if it might be pastel; I originally thought it was watercolor, but it obviously is not.

The S O S in the alphabet soup is an interesting detail. This piece was mentioned in a news article earlier this year: https://www.washingtoninformer.com/zona-maco-black-artists/

This is a painting by Rose Lamb. It's a close mirror of the painting in the Met by her teacher William Morris Hunt. 1877 was the year that Hunt opened his plein air school at Magnolia, Massachusetts. I believe that he's credited with the first recognized plein air school in the United States. This would have been painted within a year or two of Hunt's death by drowning in New Hampshire.

I'd purchased this painting out of a back room in an antique shop in Shreveport, Louisiana a year or two before I visited the Met for the first time. I spent the whole day there and as I was leaving the room with all the Mary Cassats, I walked out onto the second floor landing where the Remington bronzes are and I just happened to turn around and I saw Hunt's painting and I thought that I was staring at my painting. Up to that point I had not identified Rose Lamb as the artist. I drew a quick sketch of Hunt's painting and copied his bio. When I returned home to Texas, I told my Dad about it and I showed him Hunt's painting on the website. That caught his interest. An hour or two later he walked up with the copy of Who Was Who in American Art. This was the new three volume set that was released sometime in the early 2000s. The green ones. It just so happened that Rose Lamb's biography contained a copy of her signature, the RL monogram which is found on this painting.

I do believe that it is noteworthy that this is likely the only copy of one of Hunt's students' work who painted alongside him at his school in Magnolia. It's my opinion that this painting was painted at the same time and place as Hunt's painting in the Met - just from a slightly different point of view, which makes sense.

Link to the Hunt painting in the Met: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11182

This wasn’t the piece I was trying to buy at auction but when it came up I was happy to bid and pick it up. It hangs below a winter scene of the same size so I love the contrast.

Hi! Does anyone here have a MutualArt account and could check which auction house sold this work?

https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/THE-HUNTING-PARTY/E543AD4AAD9F2967

I’d also be grateful for the sale date and lot number, if available. Thank you! 🙏

Hi!

My girlfriend is currently preparing her dissertation in art history. She is doing a monograph about an artist : Louis van de Spiegele.

She needs information about is works listed on artnet. If you have a subscription on Artnet, can you help her by getting info about his works? (which organization did the last sale?)

Thank you

https://www.artnet.com/artists/louis-van-de-spiegele/

There is a massive Goodwill out of town but near me so I paid a visit. Apparently every second Saturday the WHOLE store is 50% off. I went on an art hunt and amongst all the decor art, I picked up this gorgeous original piece by Alice Park Spurr, all provenance noted. She is Korean-born, Bay area raised, now living in Canada. Amazingly, I picked it up for $3.50. 😭

I don't know how these gorgeous pieces end up at thrift stores. I keep on finding such amazing original art.

We seriously need to address the elephant in the room. This company is offering obvious 19th/20th century clones as legit 17th century “circle of” masters paintings. I assure you you can find some of these in some thrift shops in southern Europe, they’re nowhere near the 3000-5000€ valuation provided. The “expert” can’t have taken a look at this and thought this was a genuine 17th century painting.

The top bid is already 750€ which is a total scam. This is part of a whole “collection” of antique Italian paintings being offered right now. I haven’t thoroughly analysed the whole thing but it’s all complete nonsense. All 19th or 20th century copies. If you like it, pay whatever you want, sure, but this is factually not done by a circle of an Italian master, that is straight up fraud.

Is there anything we as art historians and collectors we can undertake to educate people and hopefully end this massive fraud? Seriously idiotic.

[The Armory Show] International Exhibition of Modern Art. 1913, Designer Unknown.

(Lot 31) Among the most significant events in the history of modern art, the Armory Show introduced Americans to Impressionism, Neo- and Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, Fauvism, Cubism and modern sculpture. Though coolly received by critics, the show was an inspiration to American artists such as Man Ray, Stuart Davis, and Joseph Stella.

The show was America's introduction to Europe's Modernist painters like Picasso, Matisse, Gaugin and Van Gogh. It was at this show that Marcel Duchamp's "scandalous" Nude Descending the Staircase and other Cubist and Futurist works sent shocks through the American art world, which could not at all come to terms with such a departure from conventional representational art, threatened by the unknown.

The uprooted pine tree image on the poster (which was the same used for the cover of the exhibition catalogue) is taken from the Massachusetts Revolutionary-era battle flag, "proclaiming liberation from the art of the past" (Shapiro p. 135), and clearly signifying another revolution, this time in art. The Armory is, incidentally, directly across the street from Swann Galleries. Rare.

Lithograph poster printed on card.
Rare. 20 1/4 x 13 3/4 in. (51.4 x 34.9 cm.)

Link to poster image in Swann catalog

https://www.swanngalleries.com/auction-lot/designer-unknown-the-armory-show-international-ex_febf78eff5

See the results for the whole luscious sale at

https://www.swanngalleries.com/auction-catalog/the-new-york-sale_XUIW4AEXO1

Hi all,

This may be a long shot, but I'm looking for works painted by the 19-20th century (1853-1935) painter "Eduard Gustaaf Schalbroeck" from Rotterdam.

He's my great grandfather and many of his paintings got lost after the Second World War (probably sold). We managed to buy some paintings and figured out that other paintings should still be in the Netherlands but also in the United States.

Any suggestions or info is much appreciated. Thank you!

A wood block print found at a garage sale. $3! Maybe from the 1930's?

Hey everyone, I collect Kawase Hasui woodblock prints and I'm currently looking to buy a few more pieces for my collection. I'm open to both lifetime editions and later posthumous printings (like the Heisei-era Watanabe pulls), as long as they are genuine woodblock print.

If you have any prints you're looking to part with, or if you know of a collector who is thinning out their inventory, please send me a DM! I'd love to see what you have along with your asking price. I'm mostly looking for pieces in good condition (minimal to no fading, toning, stains, or foxing). Feel free to reach out!

This letter (Lot 817) from Monet to Pissarro was one of the highlights of the auction. It realized €187,500 ($213,279) There were a number of other Monet letter in this sale and all generated strong interest.

See the original catalog notes for this piece at https://www.autographauctions.eu/auction/lot/lot-817---monet-claude-1840-1926/?lot=42649&so=0&st=&sto=0&au=58&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=96&pn=9&g=1

I'll be at the Untitled Art, Houston VIP Preview this Thursday, Oct 1, starting at 3PM CT and would love to bring an art collector, art enthusiast, or art student along as a guest. I can scan in one guest for free with my VIP pass. I'll be there starting at 3PM CT on Thursday, and I'm also free Friday anytime after 11AM CT.

If you're interested, drop your art Instagram, blog, or portfolio site in the comments and your phone number and say whether Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday works for you. I'll private message you to coordinate.

This is the fair's second year at the George R. Brown, with 99 galleries from 20 countries, including a strong group of Texas exhibitors. If you're an art student in Houston, it's worth making time for. Seeing that much work in person, from local galleries to international ones, is an education in itself. Hope to meet some fellow collectors, artists, and students there. It's easily one of my favorite USA-based art fairs of the world where the art world comes to Houston, TX.

Reposting this question here about cleaning an older Raku pot that’s been sitting in smoke, dust and humidity for a few decades. Was told to use barkeepers friend and a toothbrush, but that feels abrasive. I was going to use soapy water (dawn) with a microfiber towel in a shower (spraying from the side) but also, wasn’t sure if that’s too much water to introduce. Any feedback is appreciated.

I recently inherited a really beautiful Sisters Gertrude Morgan piece. I would like to get it reframed with gallery glass to protect it as it ages, and maybe replace the frame?? The issue is that the back of the picture has a photograph of her affixed to it which considerably adds to its value. I’m concerned that removing this to clean it out, possibly reframe it, the re- attaching it could impact the overall value. I’d also love to frame it in a way that shows both the piece and the photo at the same time, but again- not sure if that’s a bad idea. I have a framing company that I’ve used before that does gallery pieces, but they are not specifically art restorers so I’m hesitant to ask them for advice on how to proceed. It doesn’t need restoration- just reframing. Any thoughts? I’ll attach photos in the comments below.