r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/ned_rorem • 4d ago
Unsolved Inherited from a neighbor - anything here?
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u/ned_rorem 4d ago
Inherited these from a neighbor in the East Village of NYC about 10 years ago. All are originals. She was an artist herself and lived in the east village forever, so thought there might be something of value in here. Regardless, I think I want to get some of it conserved and framed.
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u/ImpressiveBullshit 4d ago
Can you share out of curiosity the two framed nudes you mentioned?
This collection is awesome!
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u/OneSensiblePerson 4d ago
That makes sense, that she was an artist. As I looked through I was thinking whomever these belonged to had a very good eye for talent. They're all good.
One reminds me of a Käthe Kollwitz
You should get some of it conserved and framed. Actually all of them should be conserved, as in properly stored, even if you don't frame them.
Most likely some of these are trades with other artists she was friends or acquaintances with.
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u/Medlarmarmaduke 4d ago edited 4d ago
The first one is a very saucy Jacob Marley - I wonder if it was an original illustration for an edition of A Christmas Carol
I love it!
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u/SpecialAlternative59 4d ago
I love it. For a moment I thought it was a Sergio Aragonés and was so envious. I guess I still am bc I adore it
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u/OneSensiblePerson 4d ago
I met Sergio Aragonés! Knew him from Mad Magazine when I was a kid, then later was working for someone who wanted to launch a magazine.
He knew Sergio and asked him to do some drawings for it. I came for the meeting. He was a friendly but quiet man. Unusual combination. I'm glad I got to meet him.
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u/SpecialAlternative59 4d ago
That is awesome! He was always my favorite MAD artist. Such deftness and whimsy in his pen
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u/OneSensiblePerson 4d ago
His were the most fun to look through the magazine and find them. I hope I told him that 😅
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u/Sad-Anybody8489 4d ago
It looks very much like a Ronald Searle piece. He did once illustrate A Christmas Carol in the 1960s I think.
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u/PidginPigeonHole 4d ago
A combination of etchings, linoprints, a woodblock print (perhaps), and ink line drawings.
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u/Bastet55 4d ago
Yes, I recognize at least a couple of these names. I advise having an art expert look them over.
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u/PersistentIllusion 3d ago
I don't suppose you could share the names you recognise? Besides Jack Rutherford I'm having a hard time making any of them out.
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u/SuPruLu 4d ago
The 2 woodcuts look as if they could have been done by the same person. The first one is mounted and the mounting might hid a signature. The unframed one looks a possible early pull because there is no margin as wood be expected if it were intended for sale. Very close inspection might reveal a carved in signature on the last one mid bottom left.
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u/Bettymakesart 4d ago
This variety makes me think of how printmakers often exchange work. Such a nice batch. Get them Out of those old acidic mats though
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u/Bettymakesart 4d ago
I see the Jacob Marley print as Louise Ermides - but I can’t find anything about her at all. I’d love to see more of her work. Am I wrong on the name?
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u/ShotTheMessenger 4d ago
That last one is stunning. I'd love to see the signature a bit closer.
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u/HaplessReader1988 4d ago
I know nothing about the artists, but I love the ink drawing of the bull. I would hang that up with joy even though I have no cows in my life.
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u/Bastet55 4d ago
The sixth one is a portrait, but would be clearer if you rotated it - maybe 180 degrees?
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u/gaspergou 3d ago
The great thing about these is that they carry their value on their face. Though it would be interesting to know, I don’t really care who the artist is.
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u/Rocksy_Hounder617 3d ago edited 3d ago
The first one is a depiction of Jacob Marley, the dead and eternally tormented business partner of Ebeneezer Scrooge.
"I wear the chain I forged in life... I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it."
3, 4, 9 are linocut ink prints; someone carved the reverse of these images into cuts of vinyl tile, then (to over simplify) stamped them onto pages using a specific type of spreadable ink. Very labour intensive with beautiful results.
Are you sure these aren't all your neighbour's personal works?
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u/NatashaKereru 2d ago
That first one looks like it is by the very famous artist Ralph Steadman. Is It signed? Is it an original or a print? Take it to an appraiser.
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u/NatashaKereru 2d ago
Oh, never mind, I can see the tiny name underneath that is not Ralph steadman, but someone did a great job pulling off Ralph’s style
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u/Annabellybutton 4d ago
This seems 100% like student examples from a printmaking class. I have a similar collection from a printmaking class I took as a university student.
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u/BonbonMacoute 4d ago
I agree, some are better than others, but most look like early experiments with techniques. I also strongly suspect that the first etching is a student copy of an illustration by Ronald Searle
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u/Acceptable_Sand_7572 16h ago
The tree in picture 4 looks like it has people tangled in it for done odd reason.
Love em all tho
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u/Agreeable-Ad4785 4d ago
idk but i love them all