We've all heard stories oil paintings for sale about people finding old paintings in their attics or purchasing them at yard sales for a minor fee and then discovering that they had found antique paintings worth thousands.
While these situations are rare, solutions when that old oil painting or even water colour in your basement may be classified as an antique and be worth more than you think. Now how do you know if the painting you have just found stashed behind that old dresser in your basement is an antique or just a worthless piece of junk?
The truth is there is no way of knowing for Hand Painted Famous Paintings sure whether or not that painting is an original antique painting, old fashioned print or not an antique at all unless you have some working knowledge of paintings and art or contact someone that does.
An appraiser can certainly tell you whether a painting is an antique or not and even give you an idea of its worth. However, evaluations cost so you might want to try a few other things to at least know if the cost of the assessment is worth it. Here are a few things to help determine whether or not that painting is worth taking to an appraiser:
Do Some Investigation
The first thing Oil Painting Boutique you are going to need to do is do a little investigation on your own. If the painting bears a signature, what a great place to start. Nowadays, you can do a simple online search if the artist's name appears. Finding out the dates the artist did his work in will at least give you some idea if the painting is old enough to even be classified as an antique. If you find anything about the artist online then go to the curator of your local museum and he may be able to narrow it down for you.
Online Evaluations
Once you have assured yourself that you do have a work that may classify as an antique painting then you might want to see if there is a possibility that the work has any real value. There are companies that do online evaluations from pictures of your painting that are extremely cheap. While these evaluations are not the best, for a few dollars investment you will at least know if the painting is worth the cost of pursuing a more costly and personal assessment. These online sites have expert appraisers so they can give you a fair idea if the painting is worth taking to someone to find out its real value.
If the online evaluations Chinese Oil Painting state that the painting is definitely an antique of some value then it is time to find a good antique painting appraiser and find out the truth worth of that treasure you found in your basement. Most antique auctioneers will be able to give you a valuation. Keep in mind that even if the painting happens to be a copy or a print it may be quite valuable to a collector somewhere. The only way you will ever know is to take the risk of finding out.
