May

4-27-11: ON SALE! Why? Today is my birthday, so I'm having an "I LOVE ART" sale for my ebay customers:) I'm an artist~sharing the passion for some of the one of a kind pieces I have listed for sale.Lowest appraisal I received for this drawing is $450.00.

This drawing was found among my stepfather's things.(B.1919 D.2008) I have recently begun to sift through it all, and this drawing has been well preserved in it's original frame. Although the frame is in rough shape, the old nails, paper backing and gold (gold leaf) gild makes it a wonderful statement about the age of the piece.The backing of the frame was wooden planks, which needed to be removed to access the drawing. The glass was also removed as it was broken. Amazing how well this frame kept this drawing in such great condition! I had no idea what it was, but with the help of three kind, generous gallery owners and appraisers, the type of painting and some history was acquired. It is now stored in a large sheet of Arches acid free paper. It is in excellent condition, with only one small blemish near the mountains in the background. It measures 13 and 3/4 x 9 and 5/8ths. The frame measures 16 x 12 with an inside measurement that perfectly suits the painting.

Beneath the wood planks on the back of the frame, was a piece of paper with a small tag in the middle(see pic) that was unfortunately cut in half. Written in old script, in ink, the details are difficult to decipher. Half of the artist's name is clear, "Mrs. William Re...?" This piece could be considered signed with this tag, written by the artist.There isn't a signature or any writing on the drawing. There are two numbers written in pencil on the back. The place where the landscape was created is there, the only word I can make out is "port". Looks very much like "Newburyport"which is in Massachusetts. This would make sense, my stepfather is from MA. I wish I knew he had this, I would have asked him about it, being an artist myself. The date on the tag is clear, 1851.It could possibly be 1857, but looks more like a 1. I will include the original frame in it's entirety,with the tag and old nails and all. The glass will not be included, it was broken. The painting will be carefully shipped in acid free paper, bound well in cardboard.

Other sandpaper drawings, sometimes referred to as marble dust paintings, can be seen if you google the term. I have seen the same size paintings being sold at auction and in galleries for well over a thousand dollars, but that included the frame. The gallery prices seem to be higher than the auction. The comments from all of the people I contacted was this is a "very nice" and "beautiful" piece representing this form of drawing/painting of the time. The appraisals ranged from $450 to $650+ as a "conservative estimate". At auction, the hammer price could be much more depending upon the collector. If the artist and details of the piece were known, this would also increase the appraisal and hammer price. I'm confident that if researched further, these details could be found. I am trying to help my mom with the antiques we have found, being a widow now the proceeds will be going to her. I have priced it well below the lowest appraisal, a portion of the proceeds will go to Wounded Warriors. We are a strong military family. Please support our troops! Thank you!

Returns accepted ONLY if the piece is in the EXACT condition as when it was shipped.

I'm trying to share every piece of information and detail that I have about this piece, please contact me if you have any further questions. More information included below:

From the American Folk Art Museum:

"Sandpaper drawings revived a neoclassical taste for monochromatic decorative arts that had gained popularity at the turn of the nineteenth century. Although interest in the technique peaked during the 1850s and 1860s, it was introduced as early as 1835 in B.F. Gandee’s Artist, or Young Ladies’ Instructor in Ornamental Painting, Drawings, &c.; there, because of the resemblance to paintings discovered in ancient Greek villas, it is called “Grecian Painting.” Sandpaper drawing was taught in schools or learned at home from instructions in artists’ manuals. Professional artists such as Silas Wood Jr., an itinerant teacher who coined the term “monochromatic painting,” also practiced the method. Sandpaper drawings actually consisted of charcoal or pastel on a board that had been coated with varnish and then covered with pulverized marbledust sifted through fine muslin. The resulting rough-textured, iridescent surface created a highly effective play of light and shadow, perfect for translating published line engravings into original works of art.The vast majority of practitioners, whether professional or amateur, based their efforts on published prints on a variety of subjects, though landscapes, seascapes, and city views proved the most popular."