Old Oil painting on canvas

[icedgold10]

I picked this oil painting up today.  No signature but very well done.  Any idea on age , origin or value?  Measure 18" x 14".

[bigwull]

judging by the amount of damage, to both the painting and the frame...i,d hazard a guess at the 1930,s....as for value....in this condition...without a name or a signature...$50....with a Tsunami..behind it...

[icedgold10]

I'm thinking it may be older based on the character on it.  I still think even with the fact it wasn't cared for well its beauty still shows through.  Ever pick up a painting and it speaks to you some how?

[Ipcress]

Reframed at some point, i think. Painting looks mid to late 19th.

[icedgold10]

That is what I was thinking.  Would it hurt to refurbish the frame instead?  I have this pastel that was for the 19th century that was verified by Helaine Fendelman from "Country Living Magazine" that gives me the same vibe.

[mart]

From that stretcher frame around 1900 or little before !! Damage puts its value low !! When I first looked I thought it looked similar to some from the Hudson River School of artists !! But I enlarged it and don`t think it has the style even though the feel is somewhat similar !! Do the figures have western hats on ??  Looked a bit like it but with all the damage,, its hard to tell !!

[icedgold10]

It does look like possibly western hat.  Sadly it was not stored well. I still think it is very nice and once I work on the frame it will look better.  That being said old paint does tend to crack.  I saw an auction piece once that was extremely old and had a ton of cracking.  It fetched $5,000.  Interesting how high it went.  I was out of it way before it reached that.  lol

[mart]

The cracking is to be expected !! Parts looked like something scraped against it !! If you have a little bit of olive oil sometimes a light coat will bring up the color and make the scratches less noticeable !! Clean it first though !! Then just put a few drops of olive oil on a soft cloth and work it in a circular motion over the front !! Just enough oil that you can tell its there,, no excess !!  Don`t use the it on bare canvas though !! Its just to use over the painted areas !!

[cogar]

Are you sure it is done on canvas?

Take it out of the frame ............. and uh look for a signature.

And while ya got er out ......... you can repair the frame.

[icedgold10]

It actually seems like some kind of cloth.  I have been slowly cleaning it and amazing what beautiful color and detail is coming through.  I was researching the Hudson River School that Mart mentioned.  One of the artist often didn't sign his work so I have not given up hope on that yet.  May just be my dreamer side though.  lol  No signature that I have found yet.

[bigwull]

some kind of cloth?....what is canvas ..if it is,nt cloth..there are various type,s of canvas...cotton,polyester..to name 2...but there are more, my home town of Dundee in Scotland....was once the centre of the world production for supplying canvas Tarpaulins...they were made from jute, or flax..then dipped in liquid china clay....

[icedgold10]

I guess I mean not like the canvas I see today which is more mass produced looking and feeling. Not modern type.

[mart]

That's because old canvas wasn`t treated with gesso like todays are !! They did their own,,canvas was just that,,canvas !!  More like a twill !!

[cogar]

It actually seems like some kind of cloth.

I just raised the question because I don't recall seeing very many frames with a wood panel (backer board) "insert" placed tight against the canvas.

But on closer inspection it appears the edge of the canvas can be seen between the inside edge of the picture frame and the outside edge of the stretcher frame.

Given the chance that backpanel insert was added when the picture was framed ...... there just might be a signaturre on the back of the canvas. 

[Ipcress]

You don't clean all the artwork you have, do you ?