Please help identify: artist, title, aprox value

Thanks for any help you can send my way. Cheers.

 

You'll have to provide a bit more information, Douglas. Where did you get it? What were you told about it? Could/would you post photographs of the work both front and back including frame? Could/would you post a good quality close-up photograph of the signature? In the meantime, I've taken the liberty of reposting your photograph as Full Image so it's easier for all to see.

Debora

 

I think it's decorative art only.

 

I bought it at a thrift shop in Miami, the signature says Malva 79 and on the back there is a number 5794. From the very rough research I have done, I believe that the artist is Omar Hamdi Malva however I am not sure. The frame is very heavy and in perfect condition. Any help you can provide is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

I’m guessing you have the right artist. Seems like he is very prolific. Auction estimates are very modest in the few hundred dollar range. Maybe someone can chase down an actual result for you.

 

The auction company I used to work for sold a painting by this artist for $1900 in 2019. You can see more comparables here - you might have to establish an account to see auction results but it is free and they don't spam you.
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/sea...va&pageSize=24&sort=-saleStart&status=archive

 

Agree that someone named Malva sure churned out a lot of paintings. Most appear to be copies of Impressionist works or inspired by Impressionist works. (His 'Misting Pond Reflections' with its water lilies, for instance, reminds me of someone, someone... Just can't quite put my finger on who.) As most of his works have been sold by the same handful of auction houses, I would be highly doubtful that there is a genuine market, beyond decorative, for his work.

Debora

 

A little trick of the artist's. He takes a masterwork and then crops and simplifies.

In this example he even flopped.

Debora

 

In this example, he cropped, removed figures and adjusted the perspective slightly. The heavily lifting, as above, was done by Monet.

Debora

 

In my opinion the quality of this artwork is way way below that of Omar Hamdi. Authentic works by him are often brilliant and can sell for thousands of $.

 

Would/could you give us an example please?

Debora

 

Here is an impressionist scene that sold for $3250 in 2016 https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/48694022_omar-hamdi-malva-oil-on-canvas

 

If you google – omar hamdi kurdistan art blogspot – the first result contains a lot of images of his work. I’m not posting a link because it has a ‘Not Secure’ tag. Towards the bottom of the images are some of his landscapes which I think are massively better than the one we’re discussing here. Hamdi is an important modern artist imv, particularly the earlier abstract work.