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Limited Edition Print attributed to Ellsworth Kelly

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This is a professional appraisal report, provided upon request. In this report, I researched and interpreted information provided by the requester. The appraisal report contains different sections to complete the description, identification, and appraisal of this artwork ( ). Extra information like provenance, author, style of painting, date, appraisal method (Mark to Market Valuation) and recommended venues to pursue selling.

This report is designed to give you an appraisal value for the artwork you own, whether it is a painting, sculpture, or another type of art. The information provided will help you to understand your piece and its value. I use the world reserve currency (US dollars) to appraise each artwork. The selection aims to avoid currency risk variations that could affect appraisals over time. This report is not intended to encourage you to sell your art; rather, it aims to provide information on your art’s value, so that you know what steps to take if you do wish to sell. It is recommended to update the reports (if for insurance) every three years, to reflect changes in the market and account for inflation.

Description, research and provenance of

Image Recognition with Artificial Intelligence

To investigate this work of art, I used image recognition with artificial intelligence to try to find the first clues. Image recognition, in the context of machine vision, is the ability of software to identify artworks, objects, places, people, shapes, or forms. Computers can use machine vision technologies based on artificial intelligence software to find images similar to the input picture. A specialized program is used to determine whether the front photograph of the artwork is available on the internet. The software takes the picture as an input, compares it with millions of other works in the database, and outputs similar images. This software will be useful later to determine the origin of the art piece. For clatification, the input image is a frontal picture, straight, leveled and filtered image of your artwork. The results of the automatic recognition are not conclusive. If a match is found, it will be shown below:

What specific information can we obtain from this test?

The frontal artwork picture isn’t similar to any of the previous results. In this case, we can confirm that the artwork is an original scene and original artwork. By “original scene”, I refer to a painting of a scene that has never been painted before. By “original artwork,” I refer to an artwork that has been hand painted by an artist as opposed to a print, a limited edition print, a poster, or a postcard. While some results may show similarities, I concluded they are too unconcise to be considered relevant.

We will see in the next section the signature and the meaning of 1/1.

Signature Investigation

In this part, I study and research the signature of the artwork. I used a larger picture of the signature and try to interpret it. In this step, I also consider any signature or information that is located on the back of the artwork. In some cases, we can see a signature on the back or even an identification sticker that can be used to identify the artist.

A picture of the signature and/or back (if relevant) is depicted below:

I can read the signature as:

E***

We also have more information with the numbers 1/1. The number means this is a unique piece, it is a limited edition artwork of just one unit. It is uncommon to number a unique piece, but I have seen this in other artists.

About the artist, Ellsworth Kelly, he used different signatures for his artworks, from Kelly to Ellsworth Kelly or EK. Here is a picture of a similar signature as this artwork:

Ellsworth Kelly (American, 1923-2015) seems a plausible artist for this piece.

There isn’t a certificate of authenticity for this piece, so I will appraise it as attributed to Ellsworth Kelly.

Medium, frame construction, style and frame

Now that I have more information about the artist, I can check if the style and type of painting matches the artist referenced. An artist may change painting style, scenes and compositions with time, so I checked similar paintings during the whole lifetime of the artist. In this test, I would expect to find similar known paintings made by this artist. 

Another important point is to date the painting and check if the frame construction technique, medium used and colors matches the lifetime period of the artist. There are many variables in this step, so I will explain here an example so you can understand the purpose of this part. I check the frame construction for small details, like the type of metallic parts used, if the wood joints and cuts are irregular, or if the wood cuts were machined. That small details can help to know the age of the painting. For instance, a the frame construction that includes modern metallic pieces like flat-head nails, staples, or Phillips-head screws can be dated circa 20th Century. Older frames comprises the use of irregular wood cuts (hand made) and hand forged metallic parts. In some cases, you can see absence of metallic parts. This is only an example for the frame construction, but I consider the type of medium used and the color palette. As a reference, a picture of the back of this artwork is included below:

For this artwork I find the back is from circa late 20th century, perfectly compatible with an original print by Ellsworth Kelly.

Conclusion

I think this artwork is valuable and can be interested to art collectors and decorators.

The artwork is of good quality, the composition is harmonious, and the creator chose a distinctive, alluring, and warm color palette. I believe that decorators and/or collectors would be interested in this work of art. Such high-caliber paintings are uncommon.

: Final Appraisal Value ($)

5,000-6,000$

Appraisal Report made by:

Andrés Gómez

BSc, MSc, Expert Art Appraiser

10+ year of Experience in Online Art Appraisals.
100k+ Customers Served.
Antique Store Owner.
You can check my portofolio of past appraisals here:

https://www.appraisily.com/andres-portofolio/

Signature:

Pictures received

We have Experts online now.

How to sell it

Antiques, art, and other collectibles are difficult items to sell online. This can take a lot of time. Be patient, but also make sure that the price you are asking for is the right one for your pieces of art. Consider the following tips on how to sell antiques and collectibles online. These tips will help maximize the price of your antique or collectible.

I would recommend selling it online, there are many ways to do this, for instance: Post an ad on Craigslist. Use eBay to sell antiques online. Post a listing on the Etsy marketplace. Sell with direct messages using Instagram. Create a website using Squarespace or WordPress. Use Shopify to sell via a website, POS and social channels. List your items on Bonanza.com, Facebook Marketplaces or Amazon Marketplace. The higher number of ads the better, if you don’t have time, I would recommend to start with Facebook, Etsy and Amazon.

The key to selling antiques on-line is to let potential customers know that you know what you are talking about. It’s much more difficult to sell something when the potential buyer can’t be sure it is authentic. Sellers should use a well thought out descriptive guides, like this report. A good lead generation service should be helpful in establishing these relationships with online buyers, and an effective way to do this is through a classified ads. If a buyer asks for more information, giving them some valuable facts well ahead of time will get you more sales because your reputation increases and real customers are the ones who ask for more details.

In order to sell your Antiques online, you will need to create a profile on the relevant forum (Etsy, Amazon and FB). Make sure you add a high-resolution image of the product (include at least 3 detailed photos) and add some text. The text should be informative and straight to the point, nothing fancy or fluffy.

Asking price is a big factor to sell your antique. If your asking price is too high (fancy company stickers, missing parts, or chip paint) you are unlikely to get many bids. If the asking price is too low it will cost you money for repairs, shipping, and insurance. As a general rule, I would recommend setting an asking price that is 80% of the value of this report, so you will make the listing attractive from the beginning.

About the valuation method

To value this item I have considered the results from past auction sales. Keep in mind that the final price can be different from asking prices that you can find on the internet. You can see ads on the internet with different asking prices. However, a very high asking price doesn’t normally find cash from a buyer.

That’s why our method comprises searching and comparing similar past sale results that had a buyer. That’s why we can provide an accurate estimation of this item.

For art pieces, remember that it isn’t the same a print, a limited edition print or an original art piece. If the artist can’t be identified, the value assigned corresponds to the quality and potential interest of the market for the painting.

To value this item I have considered the results from past auction sales. Keep in mind that the final price can be different from asking prices that you can find on the internet. You can see ads on the internet with different asking prices. However, a very high asking price doesn’t normally find cash from a buyer. That’s why our method comprises searching and comparing similar past sale results that had a buyer. That’s why we can provide an accurate estimation of this item.

Trying to determine likely interests and tastes of a broad market can be tricky. Works by a lesser-known artist may reveal greater interest to collectors than you might expect, but it is difficult to know without some market research. The same applies for artists who have works in the major museums or galleries but whose work doesn’t command large prices at auction or from dealers. Do not confuse print original limited edition. Be aware that the value of a piece of art is linked to the artist’s name and reputation. The quality of the work of art, its potential interest, are also major factors in its evaluation.

Quality art can be a good investment, but a large print or lithograph might not be as valuable. There are many different kinds of prints. An original piece of art has the highest value, followed by limited edition prints, which have a set number of prints produced.

5 thoughts on “Limited Edition Print attributed to Ellsworth Kelly”

  1. Автоломбард

    Я хотел бы выразить свою благодарность автору этой статьи за исчерпывающую информацию, которую он предоставил. Я нашел ответы на многие свои вопросы и получил новые знания. Это действительно ценный ресурс!

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