Featured information requested on this lady with a tea cup

Yes even with my bad eyesight, I can see it's signed. The fastest method for oil paint to fade or wear off - is if has been applied over varnished paint and then not varnished. I think that may have been what happened here, and if so, there's no bringing that back to legibility for any reasonable price.

Keep in mind, the person to have signed "after the fact" of the varnishing of the painting, may not even be the one who painted it.

 

Interesting. Why would someone varnish what looks to me to be a very well done oil painting? Are you guys able to locate any information on the karlbach gallery ? Google has failed me

 

According to this 1973 article in the New York Times, the Karlebach Gallery was in New Jersey. Owned by a frame maker who copied period frames.

https://www.nytimes.com/1973/08/26/archives/a-shop-that-sells-mistakes-shop-talk.html

Debora

 

Sniped!

Debora

 

Here's the obituary of the owner.

https://www.easthamptonstar.com/Obituaries/20131226/Bernard-Karlebach-96

Debora

 

Varnishing is a normal part of the process and would have been done by the artist.

 

Great find. Ty. Based on that you've got to figure that frame was at least $350 in 1996. I'd love to know more about this lady in the painting. She's run her course with me. Christie's and skinner weren't interested so I guess I'll try it on eBay unless you guys have a better idea

 

Personally, I think the frame is more interesting than the painting which appears to be a rather run-of-the-mill genre scene.

Debora

 

I'll give it a shot. Will use the saliva trick too cause it appears I have nothing to lose

 

Yes that is correct. That's why I'd question any signature signed on top of a varnish layer anyway.

agreed

 

I tried playing around with the image, but really need a hi-res file... If it's small enough dimensionally you can use higher resolution.

 

Ok I'll work on that over the weekend. Gonna have a few more fun pieces to add soon too

 

I think it's a copy of a famous painting - I don't know which - and it was sold in a home decor store. I have a copy of a detail of Rembrandt's Man with a Golden Helmet in nearly the same frame and I know it came from a store. When you look at it up close, it looks like brush strokes.

 

Except it has karlbach gallery paper along the back and he made frames inspired by past famous art