Date: Fri 09-Jul-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: SHIRLE

Quick Words:

Vose-new-collectors

Full Text:

NANTUCKET SECTION: Notes For New Collectors

(with 10 cuts)

By Marcia Latimore Vose

How can one set a price on a unique object? In answering this critical and

frequently asked question, we'll try to make some sense out of a task that

requires connoisseurship, a comprehensive knowledge of the art market and

popular taste. Please keep in mind that all rules have exceptions!

When a painting comes into Vose Galleries, we rely not only upon our memory of

an artist's entire body of work, but also on our own extensive inventory of

records and photographs of over 36,000 sold paintings. We consult auction

records and have first-hand knowledge of the prices other dealers are asking.

The first thing we do after identifying the artist is rank the quality based

on a general impression. Most artists produce works of varying success. The

artist might be experimenting with a new technique which may not work.

Financial crises might require the artist to dash off a few canvases to refill

the bank account. Or mental and physical problems may be the cause of poor

quality work.

Whatever the reason, quality is one of the most important factors in setting

price, and the eye of an expert who has seen the entire scope of an artist's

work is crucial. Aldro Hibbard (1886-1972), for example, was a prolific

painter, known for his ability to paint snow in many different lights.

Hibbard's landscapes are crisp and detailed at their best, but in his later

years, Hibbard's work became much sketchier. Those paintings that lack detail

and vibrant color -- and fail to include Hibbard's famous snow -- command

one-quarter the price of a top-notch canvas.

Image 1 -- Aldro T. Hibbard (1886-1972) "Logging, Southern Vermont," 24 by 32

inches, oil on canvas, $34,000.

Image 2 -- Aldro T. Hibbard, "Snow Melting in the Valley," 28 by 40 inches,

oil in canvas $26,500.

Despite its much smaller dimensions, "Logging, Southern Vermont," is Hibbard

at his best, commanding a much higher price tag. Hibbard's valley painting is

much sketchier and most probably painted later in life.

Gallery co-president Bill Vose notes, "Many people tell us what a bargain they

got at auction. Often, they paid too much for a below average example that is

sketchy or done when the artist's eyesight was waning. We also caution clients

against basing prices solely on auction results. It is a small sample in the

world of painting sales and the results are often skewed."

Underlining the importance of quality is another pricing maxim: masterpieces

sell for many times an artist's average, and for good reason. Masterpieces

hold their values better. For example, paintings by marine artist Gordon Grant

(1875-1962) generally bring less than $20,000. However, one of his

masterpieces of Gloucester Harbor, which measures 40 by 50 inches, sold for

$44,000.

Image 3 -- "Nantucket men" by Gordon Grant, 28 by 36 inches, oil on canvas.

Masterpieces sell for many times the artist's average price. This thoroughly

typical canvas by Grant is priced at $13,500. Vose Galleries sold one of his

masterpieces for $44,000.

The popularity of the artist is perhaps the most important determinant in

setting price after authenticity and condition issues have been settled. The

painting must be thoroughly typical of the artist and be painted during his

best period to bring the highest price. The early paintings of Nineteenth

Century Artist Ralph A. Blakelock bring less on the market than his later,

more subjective works. But those painted during the last two decades of his

life bring nothing -- he was in an asylum for the insane and unable to produce

quality paintings.

Subject Matter

And Popular Taste

Subject matter is another major component of price. European scenes by

American painters, for example, generally bring far less than canvases

depicting American scenes or subjects. Thomas Moran's Nineteenth Century

scenes of the American West are his most desirable, followed by his Long

Island works; least sought after are his Venetian scenes. Impressionist

painter Edward Potthast's Swiss mountain scenes languish on the market, while

his highly desirable beach scenes bring six-figure prices.

Image 4 -- "Chateau Montreuil Bellay" by George Loftus Noyes (1864-1954), 30

by 34 inches, oil on canvas, $38,000.

Image 5 -- "The Foot Bridge, Annisquam," Mass. by George Loftus Noyes, 18 by

34 inches, oil on canvas $38,500.

Even though Noyes' Annisquam scene is considerably smaller than this French

Chateau painting, the latter's European subject matter commands a lesser price

with an American public.

Small beach scenes are the most popular items in our stock and command top

dollar. An exceptional eight by ten inch beach scene can sell for more than a

much larger figural painting.

Works from the current popular Nineteenth century Luminist movement (Fitz Hugh

Land, Frederick Edwin Church, Martin Johnson Heade) that show calm bodies of

water bring much more than those depicting turbulence.

Image 6 -- Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908), "Watching the Sailboats," oil

on canvas, 18 by 36 inches. Luminist paintings depicting a calm body of water,

such as this one by Bricher, command much higher prices than turbulent scenes.

As for the impressionist movement, bright outdoor scenes with identifiable

locations attract top prices. Popular taste plays the important role here, not

necessarily the merits of the painting. All things being equal, a collector

who can ignore what is fashionable and be guided by personal taste can acquire

a high-quality painting at a lesser price.

Image 7 -- John J. Enneking, (1841-1916) "Cattle by a River," 16 by 22 inches,

oil on canvas, $12,500.

Image 8 -- John J. Enneking, "Spring Orchard," 18 by 24 inches, $35,000.

New England landscapist John J. Enneking's bright, colorful landscapes fetch

far more today than the darker tonalist scenes for which he was most famous at

the turn-of-the-century.

Popular Taste

Changes in popular taste are one reason that we rarely advise buying paintings

for investment. A particular artist sometimes becomes a hot commodity for no

apparent reason. Nowadays there is an insatiable demand for light,

Impressionist paintings, while the Hudson River School palette of the

Nineteenth Century is less sought after. None of these taste issues relates to

quality, and if you happen to like the Hudson River School style, your

pocketbook will feel less of a pinch... And you can be sure that good quality

paintings from this period will again become popular, as they have in the

past.

Image 9 -- Lee Lufkin Kaula (1865-1957), "The Green Shade," 34 by 24 inches,

oil on canvas $37,500.

Image 10 -- Lee Lufkin Kaula, "The Letter," 29 by 24Õ inches, oil on canvas,

$16,00.

The insatiable demand for high key color as seen in "The Green Shade" fetches

more than twice the price of the darker canvas.

Size, Shape & Condition

Small paintings often cost more per square inch, but they are affordable and

have a spontaneous, jewel-like quality. If you are greatly concerned about

resale, however, we often suggest buying larger canvases which have a better

chance of holding value. The ideal size for a Nineteenth Century painting is

24 by 36 inches and for a Twentieth Century work, 25 by 30 inches. Paintings

that are over-sized, unless of museum quality, are slower to sell, but a

contrarian buyer again can acquire a high-quality work for less than the

average. As for a painting's shape, horizontal paintings bring top dollar,

followed by vertical, oval, and the least desirable, round.

A severely over-cleaned painting, even by a top artist, can be nearly

worthless. Condition of a painting, whether it has been unpainted or

over-cleaned (skinned) is crucial to price. A dealer's responsibility is to

thoroughly examine a work and describe its condition in detail to clients.

Dealers who specialize in the finest paintings, however, simply will not

handle works with major condition problems.

We are always wary of a painting's provenance, or history of ownership. Robert

C. Vose, Junior (1912-1998) recalled, "Years ago, a man named William Roberts

used to invent an extremely professional looking provenance for $25 for

unscrupulous sellers. Only a provenance which can be verified will add to a

painting's value, particularly if the painting has been in a collection known

for quality." Inclusion in a catalogue raisonne -- the complete listing of an

artist's work -- is highly desirable and nowadays crucial for a major work. A

painting that has been exhibited or has won prizes will also bring a premium

price.

A dealer's crucial role is to determine authenticity. We have continually

found that when an artist's prices begin to climb, fakes and forgeries abound.

When artist Ralph Blakelock sold a painting in 1916 for $20,000, he became one

of the most faked artists in history. An expert on Blakelock, Robert C. Vose,

Jr, was asked often to authenticate the artist's work and routinely found only

one out of 100 canvases to be genuine.

If an artist signed his paintings -- and many did not -- then a signature can

add to the price. Vose Galleries does not put heavy emphasis on signatures

because most fakes are signed. If we see a signed Willard Stuart or John

Smibert, for example, we become suspicious since neither of these two early

artists signed his work.

Robert W. Holmes, Jr, a Boston attorney who specialized in art transactions,

cautions, "Fakes come in many different forms, such as questionable works with

fake signatures, works by students, followers and contemporaries which are

sold as originals, and newly fabricated fakes, in many cases utilizing old

stretchers, antique frames, artificially induced cracking and the like. The

best way to avoid being defrauded is to deal only with well-established,

reputable dealers who are willing to give guarantees and back them up with

refund policies which are honored in practice."

î Copyright 1998, Vose Galleries of Boston, Inc.