r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Babychoby • 1h ago
Unsolved Northern California landscape purchased at a Berkeley estate sale
Can't quite make out the signature.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/[deleted] • Jan 15 '20
What is a “decor painting”?
A decor painting is a piece of artwork created purely for decorative purposes. Purchased not from galleries or artists, but from decor & furniture shops like Pier 1, Homesense, The Brick, websites like AliExpress and OilPaintings.com or from markets & stands on vacation. Tell-tale signs that you have a decor painting are lots of stippling, undefined figures, hurried brush strokes, gradients, cloning techniques and a certain Bob Ross feeling to it.
Common vintage subjects would be European street scenes, landscapes of mountains / forests / lakes & rivers, vases of flowers, Tuscan landscapes, ocean & beach scenes and Asian style boats. See below for examples. They are often rectangular in shape to hang nicely above a sofa, you could even buy them from Sears as a package. Modern versions are more varied in subject.
Black velvet paintings and artwork specifically for tourists as souvenirs share many factors with decor paintings.
Where are they made?
They are produced in massive numbers in painting factories like Dafen Village in China or Mexico. Another article here:
Dafen once produced an estimated 60 percent of all the world’s oil paintings. During its heyday—when the village’s reputation as an art factory rang truer than today—it almost exclusively cranked out copies of paintings in the Western art canon. These canvases found their way into hotel rooms, show homes, and furniture outlets all around the world.
At its peak, Dafen was jam-packed with sizeable, factory-like studios, all employing Huang’s production line process. Individual workers each focused on a specific compositional element—background details, or eyes, or trees—dutifully painting their part and then passing the canvas along the chain.
Who’s the Artist?
While they are "originals" they are not by known artists. Often entire production lines will use the same signature which explains why your research many have founds pieces by the same “artist”. As quoted above, often many people will work on the same piece.
Do they have any value?
Unfortunately, they do not hold much of any value. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be enjoyed and some are even a bit collectible.
Can I see some examples?
Decor paintings are posted to this sub almost daily, while not definitive, here are some common examples:
Landscape Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7
European Street Scene Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7
Vases of Flowers: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3 more coming soon...
Beach, Ocean & Boat Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7, Example 8,
Other Miscellaneous Vintage Decor Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4
Modern Decor Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6
Black Velvet & Souvenir Pieces: Example 1, more coming soon...
Please let me know if you see any room for improvement on this post or would like to include other examples. Thank you!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Babychoby • 1h ago
Can't quite make out the signature.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/fromtheok • 3h ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Knopfler_PI • 43m ago
I’m more interested in what the scene actually is than who painted it, as I don’t believe it’s from a well known artist. It’s just perplexing to me…maybe trash on fire in front of a burning building??
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/silverspeakk • 3h ago
We found this piece at an antique store and fell in love. The man who sold it to us only had a guess that it was painted in the 1930s or 40s. The signature is "André" in all uppercase at the bottom right, on the dress. We'd love to know who this artist was!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/WalmartFan76 • 1h ago
The person who left me this piece had a collection of moderately valuable art. I know it doesn't necessarily mean much but someone apparently spent some money having it matted and framed. Any help would be appreciated.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/MavrickOcean • 32m ago
Signed D. White
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Obvious_Selection257 • 3h ago
Found it at a thrift store. It’s pretty beat up but I loved it. Just wondering if someone can identify anything about it!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Past-Shopping-4033 • 1h ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/SmilinShosh • 23h ago
My grandmother passed away and I have a ton of stuff I'm going through. I've researched this and it's called "Cedars by Moonlight" by James D. Smillie. 1878. My question is how do I tell if it's an original? Wondering if it's a possibility because of what's written on back. The text on the image appears to say: (which was generated by google ai) “Cedars & Stone Rock Moonlight Original Sketch by James D. Smillie No one has touched this 20 proofs were taken by us before No 4. Then the plate D Appleton & Co - Etched ??? “ I purchased a loop and there are no dots. (I realize that's not alwavs a tell tale sign ). I've included 2 pictures of looking through the loop. Any input would be appreciated. Sheri / SmilinShosh
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/busboy99 • 5h ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/ripsreddit86 • 3h ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Strange_Occasion_408 • 3h ago
Been here for a few weeks. Can’t find anything on it on web. Someone framed it.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/artattik • 3h ago
Trying to find out more about the artist of the print or watercolor
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/WalrusBig2897 • 15m ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/HappyPandaPants • 16m ago
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but it's worth a try. This book, which seems like an autograph book, was on my grandparents shelf forever. I believe it has been passed down from family and was owned by a relative who went to art school in the 1890s. We live in British Columbia, Canada, but family came here from Scotland and England. The front of the book says "Brunswick" as the location. I was fascinated by this book growing up and would always look through it. When my grandparents died, it came to be in my possession. It is filled with random sketches, drawings, and poems that are signed and dated. Most are from 1890-1899. I assume they are all just lovely amateur drawings, but am curious if anyone recognizes any of the signatures. It's a treasure to me regardless, I've just been interested in trying to find out more about any of the people who contributed to it. Also if anyone can point me to a resource for how to best care for it! It's been sitting on a shelf forever and I would love to ensure that I preserve the pages the best I can.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/artattik • 4h ago
I am trying to find out more information about this painting or possibly artist
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Olilandy • 27m ago
Nothing is written on the back.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/MedvedTrader • 31m ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/crackernibbles • 42m ago
My mum has always had this hung in the house and we were always curious about it. From what we can make out, signature is W Angel. It looks to be on hardboard. There’s a stamp on the rear but this has faded.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/ObjectPhysical6676 • 1d ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/AnxiousOutcome6996 • 1h ago
Love to know more
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/thehillhaseyes8 • 1h ago
My grandpas old painting, curious as to what it is!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/OxonaWing • 1h ago
Didn’t include the pic in my last post, but this is at an art collector’s home. They’re too old to be able to tell me who the artist is.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Huff1371 • 1h ago
It was important to someone at some point but I can't find anything.