I haven’t been wildly excited about the pickings in original art on Ebay lately. The worthwhile investment pieces have looked either fishy (in other words, likely fake), or have been offered with ridiculously high prices/opening bids. I have managed, though, to pool a nice assortment together to post:
A great 16 x 20 oil by Beaux Arts graduate and San Francisco artist Ethel Marjory Wallace (b. 1891). This painting has such a delicate appeal, and the gold ground is highly Klimt-esque. Ethel Wallace is a listed artist, but without any sales records that I can find, so the pricing is somewhat arbitrary. The buy-it-now price of 950 seems a little high for an artist without sales records, but given the style and subject matter, this could be a real sleeper of a painting. As more of her work comes to market, a solid price point will be revealed, and it is likely to be at least in the four figures, if her other work is on par with this painting. I would think a winning bid of 750 or less would be an excellent buy.
This oil painting is full of bells and whistles for me — A period 1930s modernist city scene that is simple and charming and……..WOW! Can that price be right? Seriously, this painting is easily worth twice or three times the buy-it-now price of $325. True, Green’s sales records have been very mixed for the last 10 years or so, but it looks like the market has also been flooded with some pretty sub-par work. His early auction records are very strong; up to $2500. The clincher for me is that it looks like a distant cousin to a work in Barridoff Galleries Aug sale that I much admired: Stefan Hirsch’s “City Nocturne“, estimated at 70-90k, sold for 110k.
Great painting by an early 20th century California artist who was very prolific, so sales records are plentiful. Judging from sales in the last couple of years, this painting would bring about 2k; the seller has it listed for $725. Good buy! Quality work by early California artists continues to be a good investment.