Featured Help w/Identifying Antique Oil on Canvas Painting

Discussion in 'Art' started by Jim Goodykoontz, Dec 27, 2025.

  1. Drew

    Drew Well-Known Member

    This is a 'Let it be' piece. Any painting can be made new again in appearance with restoration, one like this has real atmosphere in it's condition . . the composition is enhanced.
     
  2. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    Might it read O'Brien on the lower left?
     
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  3. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    I do agree with Drew, that the piece is an enchanting relic as is-magic in it's ruin.
    Here's a bit about another Tonalist's techniques,the great Albert Pinkham Ryder (a real visionary).
    "Albert Pinkham Ryder famously incorporated unconventional,unstable materials, including bootblack, into his paintings.
    Ryder's experimental & unorthodox methods, which also involved layering paint, resin, varnish, candle wax, and bitumen, were intended to achieve a desired luminosity and depth of color. He often worked on a single painting for a decade or more using a wet-on-wet technique, applying new layers before the previous ones had fully dried.
    ...his disregard for sound technical procedures meant that many of his paintings have deteriorated over time, developing fissures and cracks, and sometimes completely disintegrating."

    RYDER 2 JPEG.jpeg RYDER JPG.jpeg
     
  4. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    Can you blow up that (& illuminate) part Jim ?
     
  5. Jim Goodykoontz

    Jim Goodykoontz Well-Known Member

    i'm now fully agreeing with this general consensus about leaving it alone. this was actually my first impression of the painting too. i did try some spit and a little solvent that i have in the lower right corner. you can kind of see the difference in that corner in the pic i've provided at the beginning of this thread. that corner has a flat look to the surface of it. i don't think it's especially damaged, but i'm definitely not going to do anymore. here are some closeups under good light of the bottom at both ends and along the center left. i see a couple of potential "sort-of" signatures, but you can really get a sense of what that area looks like. if anyone else sees a signature, feel free to chime in. these pics do give a good sense of the way there's absolutely no separating the varnish(or whatever it is) from the painting. i have to assume this was the intention of the artist.
    varnish_sig1.jpg
    varnish_sig2.jpg
    varnish_sig3.jpg
     
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  6. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    good pics
     
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  7. Jim Goodykoontz

    Jim Goodykoontz Well-Known Member

    here's that corner in outdoor light.
    varnish_lowerleftoutdoor.jpg
     
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  8. Potteryplease

    Potteryplease Well-Known Member

    That surface almost looks organic, almost looks like leather....

    I'd totally leave it 'as-found.'
     
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  9. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    That's the kind of age I like to see on true primitive furniture and 19th century signs.Venerable-like an ancient Bristlecone Pine !
     
  10. Jim Goodykoontz

    Jim Goodykoontz Well-Known Member

    i'm not planning on trying to clean it. but, the real question is, do you see anything that resembles a signature? i pose that question to anyone that sees this thread.
     
  11. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

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  12. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    I can barely see anything that resembles a painting.......:confused::confused:;)
     
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  13. Jim Goodykoontz

    Jim Goodykoontz Well-Known Member

  14. verybrad

    verybrad Well-Known Member

    I don't think so. Looks like fire damage to me. Exposure to extreme heat and smoke IMHO. I don't think there is any cleaning to be done here that would make much improvement.
     
  15. Jim Goodykoontz

    Jim Goodykoontz Well-Known Member

    what i actually wrote was, "these pics do give a good sense of the way there's absolutely no separating the varnish(or whatever it is) from the painting. i have to assume this was the intention of the artist." and based on what i've learned here from bosko69 and the information he's provided regarding tonalist artists and their techniques, i'm pretty sure that's correct. however, it's likely that when the artist applied what was possibly a final coat of some varnish in order to give the piece an additional atmospheric effect he was exprimenting with some new mixture of ingredients that just didn't hold up well over time. when i look at other examples of the work of Hudson Mindell Kitchell, and it sure does look like his work, i can see examples of textures that did work. now, this could be the result of heat, or intense humidity over time, or something else, but that's actually beside the point. i'm pretty sure this painting can't be "restored." it is what it is. if you start trying to remove those blisters, you WILL remove the painting too.
     
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