I’ve apparently inherited some old oils by Polish artists. The paintings have been in this country for 50-60 years. I have no idea if they have any monetary value, but they have sentimental value to my husband and he wants them hung in our house. The frames are (in my humble New Englander opinion) hideous, and the paintings themselves seem dull colorwise, probably from being hung in a house where everything was innundated with cigarette smoke.
My sense is that I might become fonder of these paintings – one is of old Warsaw and the other is apparently Polish countryside – if they were clean and not so garishly framed.
Is there a college with an art department near you? I would check to see if someone there knows or if they have a program where art preservation students do things like this.
I would try a local art museum. They have restorers on staff and may be able to give you a recommendation. The new frames are simple enough. Any framer can handle that. Actually a good framer might have some info about restoration, too.
Where do you live? There are several high quality framing stores in NYC. My neighbors recently closed theirs, but recommend another company to their customers. So if you are near NYC, PM me and I’ll give you the name of the store they recommend.
I would recommend that you check out framing stores and art galleries and antique art dealerships in the nearest big city. If they don’t do preservations, they will be able to recommend people who do.
I would NOT recommend going to a college with an art preservation program. Things do sometimes go wrong and you need a high quality shop that has insurance so that if preservation damages the painting you’ll be compensated. If a student tries something and it doesn’t work, you’ll get back a damaged painting. The good framers will also be able to give you an idea of the value of the paintiing—you’ll need to know this to know whether you need to insure them. (Many standard homeowner’s policies exclude art above a certain value .) If they confirm the paintings are valuable, they can probably recommend someone who will give you an appraisal an insurance company will accept.
I admit that I’m cheap in some ways and I’d probably find out the value of the paintings before cleaning and/or framing them. I wouldn’t pay a lot to restore and frame a painting that isn’t that valuable–especially if I didn’t care for it all that much in the first place. So, I’d probably start by googling the name of the artist and finding it out if (s)he is known. You may be able to get a rough idea of the paintings’ values from this.
If the paintings aren’t particularly valuable, then going the student route may be just fine.
First, you need to find out the paintings are of any value. Check the names on line to see who they are and if any of them have been sold recently. In the library there is a painting valuation book called “Davenport”, it is the bible for art dealers. However, use it wisely, because you may find some identical names with different value.
If, after some research, you have determined that there is not too much value, then try the student route or go to a framer.
Thank you all. My guess is that it’s only sentimental value. And since I am going to have to hang them regardless of their value, they need to be in acceptable condition. I will try the framer in our NYC suburb.
It’s shocking sometimes that framing can cost more than the artwork itself! With oil paintings though, you won’t need a glass cover or even a backing (if they’re on stretched canvases). You probably will want only the frame and no matting. My D used to do it herself with pieces of trim wood, a mitre box, and some black paint.
If you’re shocked by the cost of framing, look around a bit. Look for a groupon or even try Michael’s.
If possible, please consider hanging on to the old frames, and just storing them, when you re-frame, if you think they are original. This matters to some folks.
I have had what I consider expensive oil paintings re-framed at Michaels. With a coupon!. But I didn’t leave the painting. They ordered the pieces and assembled it while I waited and watched.