William Hart watercolor painting. Advice please!!

Hi all, i picked this up on my way home from work at my local GW store.
I am pretty sure the signature reads Wm Hart 1860.
I has some damage but not sure how extensive it is as i haven't removed it from the frame yet. painting measures 12" x 16"
If this is the real deal should i have it repaired or sell it as is and let the new owner have it restored?

Mikey

 

Are you asking if it might be by this William Hart?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hart_(painter)

It's worth investigating, anyway. I'm not familiar with his work, but this is the kind of painting that he did. I've so far found two signatures of his online, neither of which looks exactly like this one but they also don't look like each other.

 

yes i was thinking it might be him Fig. I have found a few of his signatures also and seems he signed different ways.
Found one that was close. here it is out of the frame. Shows a rather poor repair on the left side and is mounted on this backing to hold it all together i guess.

 

It's a lovely watercolour and potentially valuable so
I would be guided by Fine Art Auction Houses regarding repair.
Reading about him it's interesting his daughter was the Mother
of E B White, a few weeks ago I thought I'd found a 1945 first edition of Stuart Little but alas no.

 

I love it. Even with the damage, I think it's a great picture. Good luck.

 

Thank you all very much. i might just sell it as is and let the buyer do the restoration. if i can find someone to at least tell me it is painted by him. i don't see any others with that name that could have done this.

Mike

 

OK now I'm just playing, But if i did do something i think i would use this frame. i love this mahogany veneer.

 

I like that frame much better too!

 

I should let you choose my frames. I take them to a local framing shop and I'm not always happy with their choices and I'm REALLY bad at it.

 

Well i received my first reply from emails i sent to several places.
This is from Mark Murray Fine art in New York.

This is a charming watercolor that is most likely by William M Hart - in this condition it’s probably only worth in the region of $800-1,000; and it would cost more than that to have it properly restored. It would not be of interest to us - you might see whether Swann Galleries in New York or Skinner Auction in Boston would be interested in offering it.

Best regards,

Mark Murray

 

Well, that's interesting. I wonder why they recommend the others if "it would cost more than it's worth to have it restored?"

 

I was wondering the same thing. But in any case his lowest appraisal is still 100 times what I paid.

 

Yes, there certainly is that!

 

I think ill list it on ebay. Thoughts on BIN? or auction starting price?

 

I like it alot. If it were in better shape, I would be very interested.
It seems that he neglected to answer a critical question. Namely, how much would the painting be worth after proper restoration?
Given its size and appeal, I would guess $1,500-$2,000. I would probably list it on ebay for $1,199 or best offer. Just my two cents....

 

Thank you Susan and Danno.
The only thing is that his watercolor paintings are very rare. I have only seen a few so far, and hundreds of oil paintings. One watercolor similar in size and subject, price was estimated 4,000 to 6,000.

 

The supply side is just one of the two influences on value. Rarity alone does not dictate price. If that were the case, I would sell the only oil painting that I ever painted! Oil paintings are generally preferred by collectors.

 

Let us know if anybody else replies. It would be good to get more than one opinion on this.

 

I received an email back from Witherell's auction house.
Brian requested more pictures. If you are not familiar with them. Brian Witherell is also a frequent guest appraiser on Antiques Roadshow. ill let you all know how this pans out.

Mikey