What's It Worth?

Posted By whatsitworth on March 1, 2010

I was given this bowl a few years ago as a gift. It is a Newcomb Pottery College Bowl signed by the artist.  I believe it is from the 1920’s – 1930’s.  It is 7” in diameter and 3.75” high. Can you tell me about the bowl including its value?

“A community is fortunate which has the wisdom to foster the talent of its children and provides effective ways for its employment.” Ellsworth Woodward

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries reformers sought to make available more economic security for its women by actively developing fields where an educated woman could make a respectful living for herself and her family.  The American south was particularly interested in this because the south witnessed first hand the devastation and poverty women were subjected to after the loss of their bread winning husbands.  This economic necessity combined with the heightened interest in the Arts and Crafts movement’s reverence for work led to a rise in opportunities  for women.  One area that seemed a natural for women was the craft of decorating of porcelain and pottery.

In 1894, Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (Tulane University in New Orleans, LA) hired Rhode Island School of Design trained Ellsworth Woodward  to establish a program of vocational training for young women. This program combined a fine arts curriculum with a with the goal of providing employment for graduates when there were few work opportunities for women.

The studio  produced over 70,000 pieces of pottery – all designed and decorated by women but thrown by men – between 1895 and 1940 when the studio closed.  The studio and artists had a very good and only recently deciphered system of marking their wares as to identify not only the studio and the artist, but the year the piece was made.

The N inside the C is a mark used by the studio throughout its history; the QI 14 dates the piece to 1927 and the 65 refers to the shape.  I can’t make out the cipher mark for the artist but the blue glaze and the japonica blossoms are both typical for that decade.

Newcomb pottery’s clean lines, soothing colors and history of women’s suffrage make Newcomb pottery extremely desirable and sought after.  If your lovely bowl were to come up at auction I’d give it a pre-sale estimate of $900-1200.

Interestingly, we here in the bay area have a somewhat parallel studio pottery.  After the 1906 earthquake and fires, San Francisco saw an epidemic of tuberculosis, especially among women.   Dr. Philip King Brown opened the Arequipa Sanitarium in Marin to offer  the only known cure for tuberculosis at the time: rest, fresh air and good food.  Doctors also saw a therapeutic value in hand crafts and so, with the help of local philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst, they developed a pottery decorating studio.  The Arequipa Sanitarium closed in 1918 so pieces from this studio are highly prized.

Please enjoy your bowl and its place in the timeline of women’s independence!

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

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Posted By whatsitworth on February 22, 2010

Dear What’s It Worth,

I have 4 western paintings that are watercolor by R.L. McOllister that handed down from my grandfather to my father to me.  I am 72 years old and I think these must be 50-100 years old.  They are painted like Charlie Russell’s westerns.  They are 24 x 36 inches.  I can’t forward pictures as I don’t have the equipment to do so.  Can you give me an idea as to the value?

R.L. McCollister seems to be a pretty elusive character.  The only biographic information I can find about him is that he fathered Stevenson McCollister with Eva Mae Booth on leap year day 1944 in Shelby, Texas.  He was the illustrator of two books published in 1950, “Texans with Guns” and “Texas Trail to Dodge City”.   He also illustrated “Timberleg of the Diamond” published in 1949.

I found only one record of a painting by him selling at auction.  This sale was in 2006 at a gallery in Texas.  The painting is about the same size as your paintings but is an oil signed and dated 69.  This painting sold for $550 against an estimate of $400-600.

If we were to include them in an auction at Michaan’s I’d give your watercolors a presale estimate of $200-400 each.

Dear What’s It Worth,

Hi – I inherited a little beaded purse (pictures attached). I think the beads are glass (definitely not plastic) as the purse weighs 6.5 oz empty.  The actual purse is 5.5″ square and has 3″ in looped strands making it 8.5″ long. The lining has tears in it but the purse seems to have all its strands except possibly one (it is kind of hard to tell). I know nothing of its background except that the original owner would be about 110 if she were still alive.

Thanks for any information you can give me. It is very much appreciated.

What a sweet bag!  I love and use vintage purses myself!  Many companies in the 19th and early 20th centuries made beaded bags like yours and some even sold just the frames so the purse could be made at home.  Many ladies magazines regularly published patterns for crocheting or beading a bag.

Your bag is slightly unusual because I do not see any metal frame.  Therefore, I think it likely functioned as a “dance bag”.  1920s flappers in their body skimming dresses had no place to put pockets so they often carried these beaded bags to coordinate with their dresses.  The bag was small because it only held a dance card, a pencil and (perhaps, shockingly) a lipstick.

The monetary value of your sweet bag is minimal at about $40.  You could have it relined with sturdy fabric and do what I do with mine:  hang it from your belt and carry your cell phone in it!

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

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Posted By whatsitworth on February 16, 2010

Dear Ms. Alexiadis,

A number of years ago I bought a Limoges coffee set, as pictured in the accompanying pictures. While I thought it quite beautiful  – I liked the cobalt blue color and the hand painted sailing ships – I want to sell it now and have not much idea what it is worth. My attempts to find anything even similar through the internet, both on eBay and on other Limoges related sales sites, have been largely fruitless. I haven’t seen anything remotely like the set in either color or type, but I have come across enough documentation to make me uncertain if the set is even really made by Limoges of France, or the American copiers, if I have traced enough of the lineage information correctly to know anything at all. So I want to ask if the set is worth even putting up for auction, or worth anything at all.

As you can see in the photos, there is a fleur-de-lis on the bottom of the coffee pot, and the words “Limoges China”. This only appears on the coffee pot and not on any of the other pieces of the set. Research has not turned up anything to say with certainty if those symbols mean anything. All the 6 coffee cups, as well as the sugar and cream container, have the same lions’ feet on them, and there are no chips, cracks or other defacement on the set.

Thank you in advance,

Dear MJ

Limoges is a town of just over 100,000 people about 200 miles southwest of Paris.  Since the late 18th century the town has been home to porcelain factories and porcelain painting studios:  by the early 20th century the town of Limoges boasted no fewer than 40 porcelain companies and 60 painting studios.

When collectors (and brides’ mothers) refer to Limoges they might be talking about fine porcelain produced by a number of companies, the best known being Haviland, Ahrenfelt, Coiffe, Laviloette and Guerin.  These companies have long histories of producing finely fired and  decorated services that are passed from generation to generation.

Your set was not, however, made by any of these companies.

This is just the sort of thing that burns me up.  It’s the type of set frequently sold by by less than honest “auction” companies that set up in hotel ballrooms.  These companies imply that what they’re selling are fine antiques, etc., when what they are selling are inexpensive and frequently poorly made reproductions.

Your set has deliberately misleading markings and was produced in huge numbers in China.  It’s very pretty but would bring $25 to $40 if you were to sell it.  I’d recommend that you use it and enjoy it.

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

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Posted By whatsitworth on February 8, 2010

Hello Ms. Alexiadis.

I am a fan of your column in the Contra Costa Times and I hope you can help me settle an old family dispute.

I am in possession of a painting purportedly painted by my Great-Grandmother.  There is no signature or other script for identifying the artist or dating the painting.

My G-Grandm’s name was Ellie Mae Buttner (nee Gibbs).  She was born and raised in Santa Cruz (CA).  My mother, who ran an art gallery for decades, claimed Ms. Buttner (Gibbs) was part of the “Santa Cruz” school and that it was very unusual for a woman to be painting in California pre-1900.

Was there such a thing as the “Santa Cruz” school, and was she very unusual in her doings?

Your answers would be very much appreciated.

JWM

Is there much riding on this family dispute?  If so, perhaps I can add more controversy.  According to Edan Hughes, author of “Artists in California 1786-1940″ Lillie Mae Gibbs Buttner was born in Maine in 1867.   She came to California with her parents in 1870 and they settled in Felton (Santa Cruz County).  She lived in Felton until her marriage to John Buttner in 1888 when they moved to a farm in the Central Valley.  I don’t know the reason but in 1900 she moved to Oakland where she lived for years.  Her works are rare.

As early as the 1840s Santa Cruz was a bustling town with California’s first power sawmill and a distillery.  In the 1880s hotel developers Thomas Bell and James Pierce left stands of redwood untouched so they could offer their hotel guests a more wilderness like experience.  This back to nature vibe,  combined with craftsman style lodges, tennis courts, bowling alley and – allegedly – a gambling hall attracted a thoroughly Bohemian cleintele of writers and artists, some of whom settled in the area permanently some of whom commuted to San Francisco.

So Santa Cruz did have a very active artist population prior to 1900 and the population grew considerably after the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco.  Not a majority but many of these artists were women.  Most folks outside the bohemian sphere of artists, musicians and writers likely would consider the doings of these females unusual.

Your plein air landscape with cows is very much the sort of thing that would have been done around Santa Cruz.  I cannot find any sales records for her work but, with your story, wouldn’t hesitate to put a $1000-2000 estimate on it.  I’d embrace it as proof of your artistic heritage.  And don’t argue with your mother.

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

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Posted By whatsitworth on February 1, 2010

Dear Ms. Alexiadis,

I read your column in the Contra Costa Times here in Walnut Creek ,California and it occurred to me that maybe you could shed some light on two family paintings that I inherited.

Both are watercolors that have been in my family since at least my grandmother (died in the late ’50s) but may date to my great grandparents.  I believe both are from the late 1800’s or early 1900s.  When my father passed away and I got them I had them both professionally rematted and returned to their original frames.

The first of these is signed P.E Chillman in the lower left corner with no date.  I did some internet research on this name but all I was able to turn up was a photographer (apparently a good one) who was operating around the end of the 1800’s.  No mention anywhere that I could find about whether or not he did paintings but apparently this painting is similar to some of his photographs.

The second is signed C.R. Raymond on the right, just up from the bottom.  Again no date. The interesting thing about this is that I was led to believe by my mother that this artist may have been in our family in some way.  My grandmother’s sister married in to a family by that name but the genealogical research I have done has found no Raymond in the family with the initials C R.

Both are approximately 19×9 inches exclusive of the frames/matting. I am more interested in trying to find any history about the artists that in the value as they will stay in the family I hope for a long time.  Then again, for all I know maybe they were done by complete unknowns and simply acquired by fore bearers because they liked them… as do we.

Thank you very much for any help or comment you may be able to provide.

P.E. Chillman Painting

C.R. Raymond Painting

Dear CC,

Your letter brought such a smile to my face!  I so appreciate that you love and admire these paintings for their own worth and for the pleasure they have given generations of your family.  And bravo for protecting them by having them professionally cared for and returned to their original state.

Your first painting was done by Philip Edward Chillman who was born in Philadelphia in 1841.  He studied painting under the German born artist Carl Philip Weber and was greatly influenced by him.  He does not seem to have been a prolific painter:  perhaps he gave it up in order to pursue the exciting new medium of photography!  I can only fine records of four of his watercolors coming on the market in the past decade (the sky in one of them looks remarkably like yours).   Two of the watercolors had estimates of $300 to $500 and two had estimate of $1000 to $1500.  None of the four seems to have sold and I can find no further record for them!

I believe the second painting was done by Grace Russell (G.R. not C. R.) Raymond (1876-1967).  A painter, lithographer, lecturer, traveler and teacher, Grace Raymond was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio.  Always interested in art and travel, she studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the School of Applied Design and the Metropolitan Art School in New York, the Corcoran School in D.C., the Pennsylvania Academy of Art and in Paris, Belgium, Mexico and London.

In the 1930s she moved to Winfield Kansas and became a teacher of art, art history and art appreciation at Southwestern College.  As she was more of an academic than a working artist, I’ve only found about a half dozen of her works at auction.  (Some, like yours, are attributed to C.R. Raymond.)  They have ranged in price from $100-$550.

I hope this information adds to your enjoyment of your paintings.  Were your great grandparents from Philadelphia?

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis,
Michaan’s Auctions

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Posted By whatsitworth on January 26, 2010

Dear What’s It Worth,

I would like an appraisal on a painting by Eugene Garin.

Description:
Title:    Tranquillity Bay
Size:    24″ X 30″ without frame
Painting is framed
Oil on Canvas
Commissioned by Artist in 1987
Purchased through Simic Galleries in Carmel.

Dear Joe,

“Appraisal” is an often misused or misunderstood word.  In general, an appraisal is a written report giving an opinion of value of a piece of property in a certain point in time.  An appraiser must adhere to a strict code of ethics, comply with standard practices and must inspect, research and compare items.

Appraisals can have different values depending on the purpose of the appraisal.  For instance, you might need a Fair Market Appraisal for determining estate taxes; you might need a Non-cash Charitable Contribution Appraisal if you’re donating property to a museum or school; you might need an Equitable Distribution Appraisal to divide an estate fairly between heirs; you might need a Liquidation Appraisal for a bankruptcy; you might need a Replacement Value  Appraisal to determine insurance coverage.

All of these are appraisals and the dollar value determined in each case would not necessarily be the same.  What I can do in this column is give you an informed approximation of the value of your item were it to come up on the auction market.  I rely on information provided by readers to make these evaluations.

Eugene Garin was born in Odessa in what is now the Ukraine in 1922.  He trained as a painter, served in WWII and was captured by Germans.  After the war he emigrated to Argentina and then moved to California sometime around 1960.

Garin is well known for his seascapes and for the translucent quality he brings to waves.  His work can be found in the Russian Consulate in San Francisco as well as in the corporate headquarters of a number of successful shipping companies.   Paintings by him are retailed in galleries from Carmel to Hollywood with asking prices in the $10,000 to $30,000 range.

I don’t know how much clients are willing to pay for work in a gallery.  In addition to the cost of the painting, a client is buying the expertise and experience of the gallery as well as the assurance of authenticity.

Less than a dozen of his paintings have come up for sale on the secondary (auction) market.  Prices for these paintings have ranged from $1200 to $5500 with higher prices being paid for images with boats being tossed at sea.

Were your beach scape of Tranquility Bay come up at auction I’d give it a pre-sale estimate of $1000-1400.

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis, ISA
Michaan’s Auctions

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Posted By whatsitworth on January 25, 2010

Hello,

I saw a column you wrote in our local paper and thought I would contact you. I have a Raspberry Bride’s basket from General Grants home. It has a ropey met basket holder with General Grants  theme acorns on it. The Raspberry has so much gold in it the raspberry mix it can almost turn green around the edge. I have a quote that “No one will ever see one like it for it is that rare  and “One of a kind” I have a 3 x 5 card talking about there was an auction in Galena, Illinois where this was purchased.

Let me know what you think.
Wayne

Wayne,

Thank you for your note but I don’t have enough information about the basket to give you any idea of value.  For instance, what is it made of? how big is it? and how do you know it came from Grant’s home?

Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) was born in Ohio and graduated from the US Military Academy.  He served as a lieutenant in the Mexican American war and remained in the Army until he resigned in 1854.  He then worked various farming and civil service jobs until 1860 when, out of work, he moved to Galena, Illinois to work in a leather shop owned by his father, a tanner.

He became a general when Abraham Lincoln appointed him one in 1864 when he re-joined the army to fight for the North.

Grant married Julia Dent in 1848 – 12 years before they moved to Galena – so the basket probably is not hers.  Grant’s only daughter, Nellie, married from the White House in 1874 so the basket probably isn’t hers either.

I don’t want to debunk the story or belittle the beauty of your basket; I just want to illustrate some of the steps we take when we evaluate a story or an item.

I’d be happy to give you more information if you can supply me with more details and a photograph!

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions
510-740-0220 x110
www.michaans.com

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Posted By whatsitworth on January 19, 2010

Dear Jane Alexiadis,

I have a painting by Dedrick Stuber, who was a painter in the early to mid 20th century. He became a California painter and painted landscapes and coastal pictures.

The painting is 27″ x 22″, horizontal, on linen. It has severe smoke damage, and has a rip in the linen in the upper tree area. It looks like it could be a very nice painting if restored. There is a small figure, a sailboat on the water and a house on the hill.

Does this have some value in their present condition, and if so, would it be worth it to restore them?

Dear Lynne,

Dedrick Brandes Stuber (1878-1954) was born and trained as a painter in New York City.  He moved to California in the 1920s and you’re right: he is primarily known as a California painter.

He did work on the east coast as well, however, so to determine where your landscape was done I contacted horticultural art historian Sheila Donnelly.  Sheila is able to examine a painting and tell me where it was painted and at what time of year.

Her thoughts:   due to it’s enormous height relative to the rest of the landscape, stout trunk branched near it’s base, broad slightly irregular crown with spreading branches and the fact it’s along a stream the large green shrubby tree on the right side has got to be a California Sycamore, (Platanus racemosa).  It is probably allelopathic meaning that this tree’s roots and leaves either actively or passively emit chemicals that inhibit growth of other plants.  Maybe why this is the reason the White Alder in the foreground appears to be dying.  Or is that the damage on the painting?  The white alder on the other side seems to be doing OK.

Platanus racemosa is common in valleys and foothills near coasts of California (Bay area down to Baja CA).

So your work was done in California, somewhere along the coast.  Stuber’s landscapes bring very good prices at auction and in good condition your landscape could bring $3000-$5000.

The question of restoration is different.  Your painting does have value in its present condition but it’s difficult to determine what that is.  The only person who would buy it would be a dealer who planned to restore it and sell it to someone else.  If you wanted to sell your painting privately to an end user, you’d be more likely to have success if it were restored first.

I’ve forwarded your note and photographs to Renee Wallace, a painting conservator.  She’ll look at the images and be able to give you an estimate on cleaning or cleaning and restoration.

Maybe we’ll do a follow up article!

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions
510-740-220     x110
www.michaans.com

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Posted By whatsitworth on January 11, 2010

Dear What’s It Worth,

These two wall hangings were given to me by my mother who lived in  England for a while.  The documents I have here read, “limited  edition silk-screen print hand produced by Corinium Art, F.F.G.  Tiley, Sapperton, Cirencester, Gloc GL7 6LE.”  The male is identified  as Thomas Chaucer Esquire; the female is Matilda Chaucer, wife of  above.  They were “Commissioned for St. Mary’s Church, Ewelme in Oxfordshire.”

MM
New Zealand

Dear MM,

Welcome to our “What’s It Worth” community!  How fun that you found  us all the way in New Zealand.

Your prints depict poet Geoffrey Chaucer’s son Thomas (1367-1434) and  Thomas’ wife Matilda (died 1436).  Thomas was a member of the British House of Commons and was elected speaker of the house five times.  It was quite a coup when he married Matilda Burghersch as she was considered to be above his station both in social status and in
wealth.  Ewelme in Oxfordshire was her estate and it is at St. Mary’s Church on the estate that she and Thomas were buried.

What you have is at least a third generation away from from the original “Monumental Brasses” that marked the lives and passings of Thomas and Matilda.  Brasses like this can be found in churches all over England; they date from Medieval through Tudor times.  The brasses are a fascinating way to trace customs through the Gothic,
Renaissance, Elizabethan and Reformation by examining the dress and hair styles, armor and symbolic attributes associated with the person.  For example, Thomas is depicted standing on a unicorn.  This attribute reflects virtue, courage and righteousness;  I can’t quite tell but Matilda seems to be shown on a lamb reflecting great patience(!)

Taking brass rubbings was a popular pastime in until recent decades when the practice has been all but forbidden.   The process involves securing a sheet of paper over the brass, gently rubbing the surface with a soft wax crayon and then burnishing the print to let it shine.   Most churches no longer allow the practice as the rubbing
gradually wears away the brass.  “Brass Rubbing Centers” all over Britain now use replica (and sometimes miniaturized) brasses for the public’s use.  Brass rubbings come on the market frequently but have little monetary value in the $10 to $50 range.

Your prints are silkscreen prints done after the brass rubbings.  Corinium Art is a company in the UK that produces large numbers of “limited edition” prints by hundreds of artists.  They still exist and wholesale prices for their prints range from about $12 to $20.  I’m afraid that’s about the value of your Thomas and Matilda.

Interestingly, part of the estate of Ewelme and some of the alms houses set up on the property by the Chaucer’s daughter,  Alice, Duchess of Sussex, still stand today.  They are part of a Bed and Breakfast Inn! Maybe they’d like to purchase your prints!

All the best.

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions
Alameda, California

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Posted By whatsitworth on January 4, 2010

Dear Jane,

I recently acquired this bowl and I’m hoping you can identify the artist.  As you can see, the bowl is oddly shaped, is painted with a picture of a green eyed girl and is signed on the back.  I like the bowl and any information you can give me will only enhance my enjoyment.

LB
Livermore

Dear LB,

When I first saw the image of your bowl it looked familiar:  the elongated bodies, stylized  caricature, subtle colors and overall whimsy reminded me of the work of Pablo Picasso or Jean Cocteau.  When I saw the swashbuckling signature, however, I recognized your bowl as the work of Polia Pillin.

Pillin was born in 1909 in Poland.  Her family, like many eastern European Jewish families, moved to Chicago in the 1920s when Pillin was still a girl.  She attended the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied painting.  It may have been there or at the Chicago’s Jewish Peoples Institute that she met and married poet William Pillin.  The two visited California on several occasions and eventually settled in Los Angeles.

Pillin’s work was greatly inspired by the work of Pablo Picasso and, like Picasso, she eventually turned to ceramics as a medium.  With the assistance or her husband WIlliam, who worked on the shapes and glazes, Pillin painted her serenely modern women, horses, birds and fish on plates, bowls, vases and chargers.

Pillin’s work is riding the continued wave of the huge popularity of mid-century and modern work in today’s market.  Prices for ceramics by Peter Voulkos and Antonio Prieto have skyrocketed lately to the four and five figures and the ripples caused by by that market have increased the demand for other less well known artists like Pillin.

Collectors and museums – including the Oakland Museum of California – are snapping up works by the Pillins.  In this market atmosphere I’d estimate your lovely bowl to sell in the $400-600 range.

Regards,

Jane Alexiadis
Michaan’s Auctions

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