Prices in the late 1800s to early 1900s

lilly1326001

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Hi all,

I was just wondering what the price of a oil-based portrait of an unknown lady would be in the 1890s–1905. I've been researching the prices of that time, but to no avail.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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Do you mean a newly-commissioned portrait painted then, an Old Master portrait, or just some old, possibly unfashionable thing?

And if a commissioned portrait, is it from Joe the town artist or someone like Whistler or something in-between?
 

lilly1326001

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Well it's a painting that was painted in the early 1500s by an unknown artist of an unknown lady. The history of the painting is vague in that all they know is that it was painted in the early 1500s and that it was said to have been stolen from a ship docked in a port in Spain in around 1520. In general the portrait is quite simple. The setting is a estate auction sometime in the 1890s–1905. I just need an approximate amount to start the bidding.
 

Lil

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If this auction is being conducted by a major auction house like Sotheby's, they are going to have a pretty good idea of the value of the painting, and they aren't likely to miss a Raphael. If it is being conducted by a local auction house off in a small town, they may have no idea. (My sister-in-law once bought a picnic basket at an auction that was fitted out with very tarnished Tiffany sterling. She paid $10.)

You might ask Christie's or Sotheby's, though they may charge you.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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Bear in mind they would have romanticised any old portrait to make it sound better. They never would have called it an unknown lady ... at the very least it would be "Early Tudor Noblewoman", and if they could find some historical name to hang on it, so much the better.
 

lilly1326001

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Bear in mind they would have romanticised any old portrait to make it sound better. They never would have called it an unknown lady ... at the very least it would be "Early Tudor Noblewoman", and if they could find some historical name to hang on it, so much the better.

That's very true, but does anyone know what the average cost of a regular painting in that time period is? (nothing valuable)
 

Lil

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You might try checking some biographies of painters at that time, especially those who were young then and not yet famous. In the 1870s, Money sold five paintings for 1,000 francs, about $400. (He was not yet famous, was very broke, and yes, that was cheap.)

Monet, I mean, of course.
 
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pdr

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Er...

lilly, have you checked Resources by Era? That's a sticky on this board. There is a section up near the top about websites which give accurate information about the value of money, prices etc in various eras.
 

Ariella

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Doing some unrelated research the other day, I ran across this newspaper article about a rather disappointing estate sale of a fine art dealer's paintings in New York in 1903. That should give you some ballpark figures.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/l...ction+auctioneer+painted+Ichenhauser+painting

If you want a clearer idea of the painting's probable value, the Victoria and Albert museum in London has a page listing resources for researching the provenance of old artwork. Some of the periodicals from 1890-1910 may be out of copyright and online.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/study-guide-art-auction-sales-sales-catalogues-price-guides/