Art in an Estate

Paintings in an estate run from a family portrait to a signed oil by a known Texas artist to a print from a museum gift shop. We look at each one front and back. The front shows the signature, the hand, and the condition. The back shows the gallery label, the framer’s stamp, an exhibition sticker, or a pencil inscription with a title and date.

Who painted it decides most of the price. A small signed oil by an artist with an auction record outsells a large decorative canvas. Texas painters have their own collectors, and a bluebonnet field or a hill country scene by the right hand draws strong interest.

Original, print, or reproduction

Under glass, a good print passes for a watercolor and a giclée passes for an oil. We check for brushwork and raised paint, the dot pattern of a printed image under a loupe, a pencil signature and edition number in the margin, and the paper or canvas itself. That answer comes before any talk of value.

What we look for

• A signature, and whether it matches the artist’s known hand
• Labels, stamps, and inscriptions on the back of the canvas or the frame
• Edition numbers and pencil signatures on prints
• Condition: flaking paint, tears, foxing on paper, and old restoration
• Receipts, appraisals, and letters that trace who owned it

Before we look

Leave paintings in their frames and on the wall. Do not clean a canvas, even with a damp cloth, and do not peel off labels or replace the backing paper. Keep watercolors and works on paper out of the sun. If a painting has already come down, stand it upright facing the wall, never flat with something stacked on top.

Outright or auction

Decorative paintings and prints we buy outright with the rest of the estate. A signed work by a listed artist goes on the private auction list, and when a signature cannot be confirmed, we research it before naming a number.