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Welcome to the first edition of the victorian-paintings.com
newsletter. I hope to send the newsletter out quarterly and
include information about updates to our Web site, news from
the world of Victorian Art, interesting articles, "how-to"
tips and, hopefully, feedback from readers and Web site
visitors. If you know others who may be interested in this
newsletter, please take a moment to forward it to them. I
hope you find the newsletter interesting and informative -
don't forget to let us know what you think.
Danny Wettreich
dw@victorian-paintings.com
Site Updates
This month's featured painting is "Village Gossips in Beer,
South Devon" by Henry Garland.
This painting was exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1886.
This is a view of Fore Street, in the village of Beer, in
South Devon, England. Even though the painting was done over
113 years ago, Fore Street remains very much the same today.
In common with his peers, notably the Newlyn School of
Artists, Garland included local characters in his
compositions.
Henry Garland lived in Winchester and London and probably
also went by the names T.Valentine, Valentine Thomas and
William Garland, all painters of domestic genre recorded as
living in Winchester. He exhibited at the Royal Academy
between 1854-90 and also the British Institution and the
Royal Society of British Artists. For more see
http://www.victorian-paintings.com/artist.cfm?artistID=11
News: Victorian art more popular (and valuable) than ever
Victorian paintings are rising in value. An article entitled
"Eminent Victorians" in the June 1999 issue of Forbes
magazine details a resurgence of interest in Victorian art,
which, "Until 20 years ago ... was relegated to the attic of
the art market." The article puts the resurgence down to the
fact that "Beauty and accessibility--two qualities once
dismissed as hopelessly bourgeois--have come back into
vogue." This has translated into big prices at auction, with
paintings by Victorian artists having enjoyed a far greater
growth from 1980 compared with other artists. Paintings by
Millais and Frederick Lord Leighton having recently been
sold at Christies in London for prices in excess of $1M.
This is a fascinating article and includes graphs showing
the appreciation of Victorian art prices compared to other
art. When we receive permission to reprint this from the
publishers we hope to be able bring you more from this
article on the site soon... stay tuned to
www.victorian-paintings.com !
Feature: Signatures
Each issue will include a feature article on subject related
to Victorian paintings.
This month's feature is about signatures. It is always
difficult to value paintings but there is little doubt that
a signed original painting is generally worth more than an
unsigned painting. There are, of course, exceptions. Some
painters were known not to sign their work but have a
sufficiently distinctive style so that their paintings are
easily recognised (an example of this is Frederick W.
Watts). Many signatures are not easy to identify or perhaps
have been altered or enhanced by a restorer, which will lead
to a reduction in the value of the painting. I have personal
experience of this as I was offered a very large expensive
painting by a reputable dealer, and only after examination
of the signature under ultra-violet light did it materialise
that the artist's signature had been enhanced by a restorer
some time in the past. The dealer was as surprised as I was
(I did not buy the painting). So always examine the
signature on a painting and if you have doubts get an expert
opinion before you buy.
How-to: What is a painting worth?
Perhaps the most common question I get asked is "Can you
tell me what this painting is worth?"
The answer is that it is worth what someone will pay for it.
Each artwork is unique and there are so many factors
involved that it is very hard to generalise. The same artist
can produce different quality work -- everybody has a bad
day, even great painters -- or the scene can be more or less
appealing to the modern collector, etc. etc. I just
purchased a painting this week at an auction in the United
Kingdom. At this auction there were two paintings by the
same Victorian artist. One was sold for more than 7 times
the price of the other !!! I am pleased to say I purchased
the least expensive one of the two, but it just shows you
that "worth" is very subjective. To get a feel of values one
needs to compare the prices of the paintings sold recently
by the same artist, and then take into account the size,
condition, scene, and signature of the painting. It is not
easy -- but it's fun.
Do you have a general interest Victorian art related
question? Send it to us--if we can't answer it, maybe
someone out there can.
Do you have a "How-to" tip to share? Send it to
dw@victorian-paintings.com and we'll try to include it in the newsletter.
Feeback: Readers' Comments
Please help! I'd like a better name for my newsletter than
"VICTORIAN-PAINTINGS.COM NEWSLETTER" - does anyone have any
suggestions? If you do, please e-mail me at the address
below. I'll publish the winning entry in the next issue!
We want your feedback about our Web site. Please let us know
what you think, we want to make it the best Victorian
paintings site on the Internet. How can we make it easier
for you to use? What features would you like to see added?
What don't you like about it. Send your suggestions to me at
dw@victorian-paintings.com
The Victorian Fine Art Discussion List
I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the
Victorian Fine Art Discussion List, which I have set up at
eGroups.com. I hope this will become a lively forum for the
discussion of matters related to Victorian paintings and
fine art, where enthusiasts like ourselves can share news,
exchange views, ask and answer questions, recommend sites
and exhibitions and generally indulge and develop our love
for art of this era. If you have subscribed to the
victorian-paintings.com mailing list you will automatically
receive an invitation to join the group, otherwise:
Joining the group is simple. For details go to:
http://www.victorian-paintings.com/contact.cfm
Or you can join the group by sending a blank e-mail to
victorian-paintings-subscribe@eGroups.com
That's it for this issue...I hope you've enjoyed it.
Happy collecting,
Danny Wettreich
Victorian Art Collector
Copyright 1999, Danny Wettreich. All rights reserved. If you
found this newsletter interesting or helpful please e-mail
it to a friend or associate and help spread the word about
Victorian Fine Art. Thank you.
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