Recognizing Value in Fine Art Paintings: Signatures, Initials, Monograms and Unsigned Paintings

We purchased this signed painting, but the artist's signature has not yet been identified. It will soon be available in 31 Club Gallery.

Taking some of the mystery out of recognizing value in Fine Art Paintings is a topic I get many e-mails on. Members e-mail me about wonderful paintings they'd like to buy, but the artist can’t be identified. Maybe there are only initials, a signature that can’t be read, or just simply a monogram with a figure on the painting. Perhaps the signature can be read, but the artist is not in the guides on paintings. People have often said to me, “I liked the painting, but I didn’t purchase it because I couldn’t identify it.” This could be a huge mistake.

If you judge a painting to be worth $400 because of the frame, the content, and quality of the work, and you can purchase it for about $100, then your decision is made. Even if the painting is not signed, you might not want to hesitate to purchase it. I have seen paintings in beautiful frames sell for $100, and after a little research, it was discovered that the frame was a Newcomb-Macklin frame worth up to $1,000. And this might be a real shocker: Some vintage frames have been known to bring over $100,000. And, unsigned paintings can still sell for thousands, as William shared with me when he saw an unsigned painting sell for over $5,000.

I have seen signatures appear after the painting had been cleaned and have found signatures hidden behind a frame. So, if you buy a painting for a few dollars and know that it’s worth more than four times what you paid for it, then it has met our rule for buying. Anything from there that enhances its value is only a plus.

I’ve accumulated many secrets over the past 45 years in this business and I've shared many of them them in my book. Today, I'll share one of those secrets with you.

Did you know that, like authors who’ve written under pen names, artists also painted under alternate names? Did you know Leon Gaspard also painted under the name Leon Schulman and John Edward Castagno used the name Czako? Artists painted under alternate names, and they are listed in the back of American Signatures and Monograms by John Castagno. In the back of this book on signatures and monograms, you will also find the initials used by some of the greatest artists to ever decorate a canvas. If you find a painting signed with only initials, the identity of that artist might be discovered right here in this book. If you’re serious about finding valuable paintings, there might be a true treasure waiting for you because others didn’t have this information, but you did. Castagno’s books are very expensive, but if your interest lies in this area, his books will prove to be key tools for you.

At a house I was called to about several items, I stumbled across a painting of an Indian Chief that looked to be unsigned. I asked what they were asking for it. The answer came quickly: $250. I thought that was a good price, but I asked if I could take it out of the frame. They agreed, and lo and behold, there was a signature behind the frame I didn’t recognize. I had just made a very serious mistake.

You see, the owner quickly asked if I would mind if they waited another day before they sold the painting. We had already settled on several other items I was purchasing, and I didn’t want to miss out on those items as well, but I said, “Sure” anyway.

That evening I quickly researched the painting and found that it was worth about $10,000. I called back the next day but they told me that their daughter really liked the painting, so they’ve decided it should stay in the family. You see, they had done their research after I left, also. So, remember this story, and keep this in mind: If you come to the conclusion that something should be purchased, stop trying to convince yourself further and simply buy it.

You may find that this approach will produce several paintings that will only return you a small profit, but by taking a risk, you might end up with a piece that will make your whole year or even more.

Join Daryle Lambert's 31 Club, today. Put a Turbo Charge on your Antique & Collectible Treasure Hunting Skills. Get FREE MENTORING. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets that help you increase your profits. Continue to Grow Your Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art, and Collectibles with Daryle's Strategic Business Plan. Our Members are Newbies to Seasoned Dealers who are making more money than they thought possible.

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Condition of Antique/Collectible Items: Pricing, Repairing, Restoring

I have a rule I abide by whenever I evaluate an item for pricing. I base it on how close to mint condition it is. If it has some damage, then, I deduct the appropriate percentage of my purchase price for that damage. Here’s an example: If a piece is heavily damaged, I might deduct 90% of what its mint value would be to come up with my offer. If there is very little damage, the deduction might only be 50% of its mint value. I always buy based on the item’s present value – not what the value could be after it’s repaired. I have found that it’s best to let your buyer pay to have a piece repaired, if they choose to. If I’ve bought well, I will still make the profit I intended. Buy and sell as is, always.

Here’s an example of why this is important. Yesterday, Ann, one of our most active members e-mailed me very excited about a rug she purchased for $8 at a house sale. She told me she’d taken the rug to a dealer who told her the rug could sell for $8,000 if she had it repaired. He could repair it for her at a cost of $1,600.

While selling an $8 item for $8,000 might sound like an excellent scenario, I told her not to repair the rug, but instead, offer to consign the rug, "as is," to that dealer to sell, and when it’s sold, she’ll accept just $5,000 and the buyer can pay for repair if they want to. Sounds like a good deal, huh? The dealer didn’t take the offer.

Then, I told her to take it a couple of other merchants to see what they have to say about the rug. She went to two more merchants and discovered that even repaired, the rug wouldn’t bring anywhere near the $8,000 she was quoted. Is it any wonder the first dealer, who offered to do the repair for her, wouldn’t accept her consignment offer?

You must be on guard against these types of schemes. They get your money, and at that point they’ve got their profit and could give a hoot whether or not you can ever sell it at a profit or break even with it. Every business has unscrupulous people trying to pick your pockets, and the antique business has not been miraculously spared of them. Don’t let them do this to you. The 31 Club is your best insurance policy against these types of people.

Ann has learned that selling her item in its present condition will make her far more profit than if she had repaired it. She can now see that repairing it would’ve proved to be a big loser for her. If she is able to sell this rug for $1,500 or more, “as is,” it will prove to be a very wise use of $8.

Even with the disappointment of not making about $6,000 profit on this $8 investment, Ann can buy for me any day. Her great eye can spot those special items others miss, and I’m fairly certain she can haggle on price very well. With your increasing knowledge base and continual practice, you can do this, too.

Don’t Buy Based on What You Think it Can Be. Buy it For What It Is.

Read this Blog a second time, or as many times as it takes you to understand the principles in it. Understanding this will save you huge amounts of time, money and a gray hair or two.

Please send in your stories so we can all learn from them. Sharing these stories with others will prevent us from making a lot of mistakes. Being a member of the 31 Club can guide you to becoming one of the most informed people out there in the field.

Join Daryle Lambert's 31 Club, today. Put a Turbo Charge on your Antique & Collectible Treasure Hunting Skills. Get FREE MENTORING. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets that help you increase your profits. Continue to Grow Your Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art, and Collectibles with Daryle's Strategic Business Plan. Our Members are Newbies to Seasoned Dealers who are making more money than they thought possible.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

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Buying Collectibles In Quantities Makes Sense – Marsha’s Story

31 Club Member struck gold with this Minton Oyster Plate and learned the value of buying in quantity.

A few weeks back, I wrote about a 31 Club member, Marsha, who I helped make decisions on buying a large McCoy Pottery collection she located from a local newspaper ad. The collection had about 100 pieces plus a few throw in items consisting of several Shawnee pieces, and one oyster plate.

The owner had not asked us anything about his collection and had decided to offer it to anyone who was interested at a price we could both be satisfied with. His goal was to get it out of his house as soon as he could.

Although the asking price for the lot was extremely reasonable at $500, we still asked if there was any room for a better price. (We followed the rules, anyway.) Since there had been no other interest, (we were the only response he got to his ad) he was receptive to reducing the price to $400.

Once we left this man’s house, I had asked Marsha how she thought we did. She didn’t really know, but hoped we did okay. Once we got into the car and drove off, I told Marsha that I believed there was just one piece we purchased in the lot that would pay for all of the pieces, and might even give her a profit above and beyond what she paid out. At first she looked at me like I was a nut case, then she asked, “Which one?”

“It’s not any of the McCoy pieces or even the Shawnee. But, that one oyster plate will probably bring you over $500,” I told her. Now, I didn’t have my book with me, but since I was almost certain this oyster plate was a Minton, I took a guess at the price. I could tell by her eyes that she wasn’t quite sure she trusted me on that. She got rather quite and I suspected she might be wondering what she just got herself into.

Marsha struggled a bit beginning with this program. While she has a great eye for quality, cashing in on her great buys was another story. If you recall from my previous Blog about Marsha, she had some basic office set up tasks to take care of before she could sell her found treasures, and this was holding her up. She needed a digital camera and had to learn how to use it. She needed to buy a new computer in order to even have the capacity to use the camera. Her computer was from the stone age. She’d never used eBay before, but, being the excellent student she is, it didn’t take long for her to catch on and soon listed her Minton Oyster Plate.

A bid of $250 for the plate finally gave her some hope. Soon someone bid $350, but then the listing sat with no activity up until close to the end of the auction. The real action started in the last 30 seconds, when it was bid up to $572. (Most of the bids on eBay today come within the last minute of the offering.) When you figure her cost was under $4, this selling price made for a pretty fair return on investment, wouldn't you say? I don’t know about you, but I’m sure going to keep my eyes open for oyster plates.

I believe if Marsha had previously used eBay and already had a good feedback history, this plate could’ve brought even more money. You see, people are fearful of new listers who haven’t done business on eBay before, and will often not bid as high as they might for a lister with an established eBay record. Trust needs to be earned.

She has already begun selling her McCoy items, and several of them have brought over $20. And it’s all profit from here on down the line. I suspect those 100 plus McCoy items will keep Marsha very busy.

If you haven’t already taken a look into the expanded 31 Gallery & Marketplace, please do so. It will serve you well as an educational tool and a guide.


Stay tuned for more 31 Club Member’s Great Finds, How they Bought Them, How and Where they Sold Them.

Join Daryle Lambert's 31 Club, today. Put a Turbo Charge on your Antique & Collectible Treasure Hunting Skills. Get FREE MENTORING. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets that help you increase your profits. Continue to Grow Your Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art, and Collectibles with Daryle's Strategic Business Plan. Our Members are Newbies to Seasoned Dealers who are making more money than they thought possible.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

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Gold, Silver, Copper and Bronze

Art Metals continue to bring in good prices. Learn more about Roycroft, Jarvie, Heintz and other 20th Century valuable art pieces.


Alert! Alert! Gold and Silver are falling.

Even the weight of a bad stock market can’t keep the value of these industrial metals up. In the best environment these metals could have, they are hanging on by their teeth. Sell, Sell, Sell, and then check back with me in six months. I think you will want to buy me dinner.

This is the third time I have put out the alert To sell gold and silver, and because of the time lag from the first call to sell, I believe this decline will even be steeper than I originally imagined. Trade your gold and silver for wonderful and fantastic items produce from the common metals. I personally believe this is where the money is to be made in the short run.

Even though I am very negative on gold and silver, I think differently about choice antique & collectible pieces made from copper and bronze. If you have followed the metal markets, all the touters are pushing investments in gold and silver very heavily. This is usually a signal that a top has been reached in the market for those commodities. This can't be said for copper and bronze however.

Fine art pieces from the Art and Crafts movement will continue to bring high prices for items produced by such companies as Roycroft, Jarvie, Heintz, Gustav Stickley and Dirk Van Erp.

The real Arts and Crafts look will be hammered, and this hammering will be wonderfully crafted. Most of these copper pieces were meant to be displayed with furniture of that style and era, namely Stickley, Limbeth and others.

When you become familiar with their marks and learn about items from these companies, you’ll be paid handsomely in the future. Right now, the 31 Club is discussing the possibility of buying a large collection of Roycroft through our Associates Program. I have my fingers crossed on this one. What a great buy this will be for both the club and the member who called for our help.

Bronze has been used for producing figures, jewelery, sculptures and different types of lamps from almost the beginning of civilized man. It is easily worked and develops a wonderful patina over time. Items made from these metals bring huge prices in today’s markets. Rare bronze sculptures can easily bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars with ease, but the more common pieces you’ll find can fetch from $5,000 to $25,000. Considering most dealers can't tell the originals from the reproductions, they pass on all of them. This knowledge served one dealer I have previously written about when he purchased a Jarvie Candelabra for about $80 and sold it for around $7,000 or $8,000 if my memory serves me correctly. You will clean up big time if you have the knowledge in this area.


Our Marketplace has been expanded. If you haven't visited recently, take a look at our new additions. And don't forget, we will always have room for your items.

Join Daryle Lambert's 31 Club, today. Rub elbows with like-minded 31 Club Members, and Put a Turbo Charge on your Antique & Collectible Treasure Hunting Skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to Make High Profits and Continue to Grow Your Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art, and Collectibles. Our Members are Newbies to Seasoned Dealers.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

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Collectible Bookends

These Scottie Dog Bookends sold on eBay yesterday for $361

I sat down at the computer knowing I needed to post today's blog, but found myself struggling a bit. You see, my mind was preoccupied. You see, yesterday was the last time I will see my Pastor at the church I attend. Even though I knew this day was coming, I guess I wasn't as prepared for it as I thought I was. So, with this in mind, I'm asking some of you to keep me, my family and my Pastor in your prayers.

While my mind was wrestling with myself and wondering what would be a good blog topic today, I went into my library and began looking through some of my books. It's usually very easy for me to have a topic at the forefront of my mind, but, today, I was having some difficulty. I left the library and returned several times, each time moving the bookends to take out a few selected books. Then, it came to me. Bookends.

Bookends Can Prove to be Great Finds, so Don’t Overlook the Opportunity to Cash in.

Many pairs of Rookwood bookends were represented this past weekend in the Cincinnati Art Galleries auction, including the wise old owl standing on a book and about six pairs that represented “The Rook”, which was a symbol for Rookwood pottery. There was even a Buddha pair I’d never seen before. Others were the horse heads, Kingfishers, elephants, water lilies, lions, the sphinx, and even dogs. I am sure this is just a short list of what the company produced, and these bookends can bring from a few hundred dollars to several thousands depending on their rarity and color. Each will be marked with the Rookwood mark, however, some have been reproduced. But, Rookwood should be just one type of bookend that should catch your eye.

Companies producing bookends from the Arts & Crafts movement can bring you serious money in the thousands of dollars. These are companies such as Jarvie, Heintz Koppercraft, Tiffany and Roycroft. All of the different companies marked their items, so be sure to watch for those marks. You can often find these at house sales, and garage sales marked for just a few dollars. Your local auction houses can even be a good place to find valuable bookends if you are knowledgeable.

There are 2,025 sets of bookends being offered on eBay today, with the most expensive ones being Lalique and Baccarat, both listing for well over a thousand dollars. Bookends are a much sought after collectible, and I haven’t even touched the variety of items in this are you’ll likely come across.

There was a period of time in my life when anything that had a dog on it, had to be mine. My house was over run with dogs, but I never had to walk these dogs or take them to the vet. It was during this time, I purchased a set of Scottie Dog bookends for about $2.50. I didn't know much about them and figured they might bring $25 if I listed them on eBay. I listed them. The first day, they were over $100. (Yes, there was a time when people on eBay bid on the first day.) By the end of the auction, those Scottie dogs brought in over $500.

Join Daryle Lambert's 31 Club, today. Rub elbows with like-minded 31 Club Members, and Put a Turbo Charge on your Antique & Collectible Treasure Hunting Skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to Make High Profits and Continue to Grow Your Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art, and Collectibles. Our Members are Newbies to Seasoned Dealers.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

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The Value of Modern Pottery Teaches an Old Dog New Tricks

Frank Boyden Pot, available retail at Red Lodge Clay Center

I have often been told I might be a little behind the times in certain areas of my life, but I've fought that idea for years. However, as we expand into different areas of Art, Pottery and Glass, I am beginning to think that I might just need to go back to school – for pottery!

I came to this conclusion as I was skimming though the Cincinnati Art Galleries catalog and came upon the name, Frank Boyden. A few of his pottery pieces were for sale with high estimates on them. I had never heard of Frank Boyden and when I saw the estimates on his pieces as high as $3,000, quite frankly, I was wondering where I’ve been. It will be interesting to note what these pieces sell for this weekend, and if the past is any example, they could easily pass these estimates. Boyden worked in pottery during the 1970's and 80's before returning to printmaking.

Brief Frank Boyden Bio from the Laura Russo Gallery:

“Frank Boyden's artistry moves easily from sculpture to ceramics to printmaking. In this exhibition Boyden focuses on ceramic vessels that are wood fired, a technique he became interested in in the mid 1980s. These vessels start as a thrown pot made out of French or Italian porcelain. The artist then works animal and skeletal imagery into the surface pushing and pulling, giving each piece an organic and dimensional quality. They are not glazed but utilize the high firing of the anagama kiln to create color and texture. Boyden works the materials to his own advantage, accepting only a select few for their exceptional and arcane presence. A native Oregonian, Frank Boyden graduated from Yale in painting in 1968. He taught at the University of New Mexico in the late 60s where he became hooked on ceramics. He returned to the Oregon coast to live and founded the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology: a school for environmental studies. An internationally known artist, Boyden has exhibited his work in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.”

Educate Yourself by Studying Current Top Auction House Catalogs and Sales Results

Now that Frank Boyden pottery had caught my eye, I decided to examine some of the other modern pottery on the Cincinnati Art Gallery’s list. Next in line was Don Reitz, another name I hadn’t heard of. Just about now, I was beginning to really feel I’ve been living under a rock, because estimates on his vases were even higher than Boyden’s. One piece had an estimate of $6,000. Isn’t it amazing how much you can learn by studying the items from top drawer auction houses? I’m willing to bet there are many more pottery artists I don't know of from the 1960’s through the 1980's whose work is quite valuable.

In my many excursions looking for treasure, I have seen many of these salt glazed pottery pieces with the incised name of the artist on them, but usually I figured they would have very little value. Not now. Today, I can guarantee that if we should bump into one another at the same sale, it’ll be a race to the table with these modern day pottery treasures.

I’m suggesting you go to the live auctions on eBay, look at the items for sale at auction houses like Cincinnati Art Gallery, Rago Auction and Arts, & Treadway Galleries – auction houses that specialize in pottery and examine the photos and information there.

Add Modern Pottery by Noteworthy Artists to Your List of Items to Keep Your Eyes Open For.

First it was the modern furniture and accessories that I didn't know much about, now it’s the modern pottery. I can tell you this – I am one old dog that is learning a few new tricks. And, they will be in the areas of modern design; the younger generation is demanding items from this period of time. And if that’s what they want, I’m going to find it for them. This fertile field is yet another area to help us reach our financial goals using the 31 Steps.

If you have any special knowledge of modern pottery artists whose work is sought after, please contact me or send me something I can post. This can be a powerful tool for members of the 31 Club.

Join Daryle Lambert's 31 Club, today. Rub elbows with like-minded 31 Club Members, and Put a Turbo Charge on your Antique & Collectible Treasure Hunting Skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to Make High Profits and Continue to Grow Your Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art, and Collectibles. Our Members are Newbies to Seasoned Dealers.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

Take a look at the great new items in our Fine Arts Gallery & Marketplace.

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http://www.redlodgeclaycenter.com/lists.php?aid=91&type=artist

Fine Art Paintings Located by 31 Club Member and Purchased Using our Associates Program

If you like Bluebonnet Paintings by Porfirio Salinas, but the going price is out of your range, fellow artist William A. Slaughter's Bluebonnet paintings are a great alternative and a good buy. This Slaughter piece is offered at 31 Gallery.

31 Club Member, William, struck again. Yesterday, he called asking about several paintings he was going to see at a local house sale in the Houston area. The first one was a Texas Porfirio Salinas painting, an artist I am very familiar with. It was one of his bluebonnet paintings; a very small one. Since the painting was in Texas, and that’s where Salinas is most popular, I was fairly certain the price would be out of our range. This proved true when we discovered the asking price was $15,000. There was no need to even try to bargain on this painting, so we moved on to the next offerings, and the interesting part of the story was yet to come.

William Fisher was the next artist on our list, an artist from New York. Out of place for Houston, right? After doing research, I suggested offering $200 apiece for three of Fisher’s paintings. We negotiated over the course of the afternoon, but we were unable to come to an agreement on the price, so we passed on these, even though there might have been a little profit there. Remember, we aren’t looking for a little profit.

The last painting was a very modern painting offered for $800. While the artist is listed, there have been only a few of his paintings sold at auction, but I saw that they were all sold for higher than the high estimate. That was about the best news we could have hoped for, and perhaps we could be on to something here. We discovered that there was no other interest in the painting, and after several calls back and forth, we finally settled on a price that satisfied us all -- $600. My educated guess is that at a Modern Design Auction or Sale, this painting has the potential to bring in $5,000 or more. Bingo. We made a hit. The painting was purchased through the Associates Program.

Let’s review the behind the scenes steps that brought us to the point that we bought this painting. First, while researching auction prices for this artist, I saw that his prices had climbed recently. Second, when they did sell, they brought more that the high estimated price. Third, the painting was in an area where this type of work was not especially appreciated, generally. This created an almost perfect game plan for us. It took patience to secure this purchase at the price we wanted, and I’m certain it will pay off.

I’d like to tell you who the artist is, but that will come after it’s sold, and I’ve selected two places that we could best sell this piece. Some of you might be industrious enough to figure it out, but, I promise I’ll tell the rest of you later. Depending upon which company we decide to sell it through, the sale will be either in September or November.

The Associates Program through the 31 Club is making it possible for anyone who makes a good find to prosper buying and selling fine art paintings, antiques and collectibles. The Associates Program is in high gear now, and we’re waiting for you to ride shotgun with us.

Join Daryle Lambert's 31 Club, today. Rub elbows with like-minded 31 Club Members, and Put a Turbo Charge on your Antique & Collectible Treasure Hunting Skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to Make High Profits and Continue to Grow Your Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art, and Collectibles. Our Members are Newbies to Seasoned Dealers.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.


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