Two unknown artists

Zire · September 14th, 2011, 04:50 PM

Hello...

I'm fairly new the the art world and recently acquired three paintings by two different artists. I'm having trouble locating any references to the artists online, so I thought I'd turn here for help. Any info you may be able to provide would be greatly appreciated.

Painting 1:

I cannot make out the name, but have attached two pictures. One is of the entire painting, the other picture is of the signature.

Paintings 2 & 3:

I do not have pictures (yet), but the painting look to be a set and the signature reads "O. Karins". All online searches have came up short.

Any help from the good folks at ArtConversation would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

John · September 14th, 2011, 05:34 PM

Did you get this at Goodwill or a similar type of outlet? For some reason a lot of people have been coming here lately to identify paintings they've bought for a song at Goodwill. Usually they're signed with illegible or made-up names and look like they might have been mass produced in Asia.

September 14th, 2011, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John

Did you get this at Goodwill or a similar type of outlet? For some reason a lot of people have been coming here lately to identify paintings they've bought for a song at Goodwill. Usually they're signed with illegible or made-up names and look like they might have been mass produced in Asia.

Thanks for your response, John.

I inherited these paintings from my grandparents recently. My grandparents don't strike me as the type of couple to purchase paintings from Goodwill (not that I have anything against that). Growing up, I heard stories of how my grandparents paid close friends in Europe thousands of dollars to 'quietly' send paintings to them in the states. Not sure what that was all about, but that's what I heard.

All three of the above-mentioned paintings have been hanging in my grandparent's home for the past 30 years. It's possible that they were mass produced in Asia, but then again, I'm a novice - so I could be totally wrong.

One more clue regarding the painting in the attached photos: when I removed this photo from the wall, a piece of poster-board-like material fell off the back. This looked to be adhered to the backside of the frame with a type of adhesive and was installed (I'm assuming) to give the back of the frame a flat finish (instead of the irregular contours of the canvas wrapped around the interior frame - if that makes any sense). Anyway, the posterboard is brown on one side, but on the other side is a portion of a large, printed ad, with text in German. A clue as the origin of the painting?

Stumped.

John · September 15th, 2011, 12:55 AM

Fair enough, sounds like this one is probably from Germany. That ad could be a big clue as to where and when the painting is from. I still can't make head or tail out of the signature, though.

Zire · September 15th, 2011, 06:03 PM

Could be, John.

I'll definitely attempt more extensive research and let you know what I find out.

I can't decipher the signature either - looks like nonsense to me.

Thanks again.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

September 14th, 2011, 05:34 PM	#2
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2,404	Did you get this at Goodwill or a similar type of outlet? For some reason a lot of people have been coming here lately to identify paintings they've bought for a song at Goodwill. Usually they're signed with illegible or made-up names and look like they might have been mass produced in Asia.

September 15th, 2011, 12:55 AM	#4
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2,404	Fair enough, sounds like this one is probably from Germany. That ad could be a big clue as to where and when the painting is from. I still can't make head or tail out of the signature, though.

September 15th, 2011, 06:03 PM	#5
Zire Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 2	Could be, John. I'll definitely attempt more extensive research and let you know what I find out. I can't decipher the signature either - looks like nonsense to me. Thanks again.