Need help on this signature.

I can't make out the sig. Thought maybe an A at the beginning. Any thoughts about the painting itself?

 

Either Adler or Adley in my view. Could be something else, but that's what I'm seeing.

 

I see an A or a C. I would say Adley over Adler because of the elongated last letter.

 

Is it just me or do I see a dot that would be for an i?

 

About the paiting itself, I have a few couple of questions. First, I noticed that this painting has some cracks in it. The medium used is not in a perfect line where it ends on the canvas. I'm use to seeing oil paintings with raised details. This one does have some minor raised details but is some what smooth. With the cracks, I think it's a real oil painting. Prints wouldn't have cracks.

 

Although it certainly isn't usual, prints can get cracks. If I am recalling correctly, it sometimes happens when temperatures change drastically...as in very cold with humidity...I think. Great Modern would probably know.

 

Another question, do all oil paintings have raised detail or can some be somewhat smooth?

 

I just read that an oil painting can be smooth.

 

I'm seeing a G and then maybe alaz.

 

If it's a print on canvas, it may have a shellac or something applied which would crack.

 

Only the shellac would crack? If a piece of the picture came off and it's not paper, which it's not, it would indicate an oil?

 

I have done smooth oil paintings and raised ones where I would use a pallet knife. So either or can be done.

 

Can you take the close-up picture outside in natural light? Digital cameras make dark pictures look grainy, almost like the dot matrix you would see on some prints.

 

The pictures aren't precise enough to tell for certain, but from experience I suspect an original oil on canvas, albeit thinly painted. There were studios actively producing these pseudo Victorian and 18th Century pictures, particularly in the 1960s and 70s. I think they were often based on prints. The modern signature form is typical--as is the framing.

Still, it may be a hybrid of some kind. Better pictures, including edges, might help...

 

Frankly, I don't find this picture endearing. In fact, I find it a bit creepy.

In both the signature and the detail that shows stockings and shoes, it seems to me there's a softness and lack of definition that suggests this is a print, but I can't be sure from the photos.

 

Here are more pictures. Upon observing it outside in natural light, I can see where there is raised areas of paint. You can see where the painting has filled in the squares of the canvas.