Anyone knowledgeable about Artwork?

[hemster922]

Been banging my head against the wall with this piece for quite some time and I would once again appreciate any knowledge.
My Mother bought a neglected old 19th century mansion in Washingtonville, NY back in 1990 and converted it into a bed & breakfast.
Before they started the renovations I helped empty out the carriage house and found this in the drawer of an antique nightstand that was one of many things left behind.
It's so fragile I placed it in a box lined with foam and tucked it away ever since.
Only 11" x 7". The Frame is less than 1/2" thick. Nothing broken, but the frame is loose [wobbly], I'm assuming because a couple of the tiny nails holding it all together on the back have gone missing.
[which would explain why it was placed in the drawer rather than hanging.]
I have no idea, 'who', 'what', 'where', or 'when'. Cant find a signature. And I would LOVE to know something!
Is it a print? A painting? Approximate age? And how do I tell?
I looked into the label on the back. Oestreicher's Art shop. Leo Oestriecher had the largest 'print' collection back in the 30's apparently.
I have no appraisers of art in my vicinity.
I put it up on Ebay about a month ago [with a high reserve on purpose] had 33 people on the watch list and a zillion inquiries that I had no answers to.
One ebayer warned me of letting it go. Another flat out told me NOT to...
I showed it to a neighbor a month or so ago and he offered me $200.00 on the spot....
...hence, the banging head against wall. [,,and I can't afford to do that. makes me dizzy ]

[fancypants]

From what I can see in your posted images , the frame & its' elements would be from around mid-1930's to mid 1940's .

Perhaps the best thing to do would be to (very) gently remove the artwork from the frame , in order to fully inspect the item in question , for starters .

[mart]

If there is a glass over the front its either a watercolor or a print !!  No glass would be on an oil painting !!  It looks like a print but a few of those can be pricey !!  I would carefully remove it from the frame and look on the border or the back !! Usually the name is there as well as the company the printmaker often with the year done !!  Its one I have not seen before,,, hopefully is a rare one !!  A watercolor would be done on a thicker heavier paper often with a texture and is easy to tell from the thin paper used for a print !!

[bigwull]

just be careful if you remove it from the frame...the last time Mart...and I ..told someone to do that...it ended up a disaster...as the person...made a pigs arse of it, and damaged...there less that valuable, MichaelAngelo...or was it a Davinci.....Mart might remember....

[Ipcress]

Could be a hand coloured lithograph on card.

[hemster922]

Wow! Thanks so much for the input!
It not being an oil is about the ONLY thing I've known about this piece.
I actually think it could be a watercolor because someone suggested I remove it from the frame and take a peek at the edges of the board to see if there were any indication of a separation between the image & the board [suggesting a print?]
Or if there were color bleeds along the edge of the board [suggesting possible watercolor]
I never actually completely removed it from the frame [too scared to death!] The board itself is quite thin...I'll try to take a close pic.
Its so loose because of the missing nails in the back I can see the edges by just lifting it a bit.

[Rauville]

To me, it looks like somebody's attempt to paint in the style of Charles Haslewood Shannon.

http://www.artchive.com/web_gallery/reproductions//179501-180000/179820/size1.jpg

[bigwull]

Well if they have..they,ve given the guy an arse that some women would die for.... ...

[mart]

Do you have a frame shop near you ??  If so take it to them and let them help you with it !!  Might cost $5. !!  Our frame shops here would do it for nothing !!

[hemster922]

Someone I know suggested Howard Pyle.
I looked up his work. He has a piece called 'The Mermaid', and I noticed that in much of his work he accentuated the color red, randomly, like in the hair here in this picture.

I do have a framing shop pretty local Mart. Will look into having them take a look, thanks!

[bigwull]

can you decipher the writing in the boat...

[mart]

Someone I know suggested Howard Pyle.
I looked up his work. He has a piece called 'The Mermaid', and I noticed that in much of his work he accentuated the color red, randomly, like in the hair here in this picture.

I do have a framing shop pretty local Mart. Will look into having them take a look, thanks!

Good !! They will have the proper place and tools !!  I use my dining table and thick towels and all my other little tools !!  But I have don`t stuff like this so many times its second nature to me !!

[hemster922]

Bigwull I really cant make out those red markings on the boat. I originally thought that was a signature, but now I just have no clue.
And I will hopefully be taking it to a frame shop this weekend! Anxious to see what they say! Thanks mart!

[mart]

Be sure and let us know !!  Saw those red marks too and had hoped it might be a sig. but couldn`t see well enough to tell !!

[hemster922]

I took a few better pictures of the back of the painting. Is that canvas material under what used to be paper?
And the third pic is about the clearest picture Ive been able to take, trying to make out the red markings on the boat.