Oil painting appraisal from photos: raking light, lining, and stretcher clues
Oil needs a different photo list than works on paper. Raking light, stretcher bars, tacking edges, lining, craquelure, and varnish bloom matter more than a gallery-lit front only. The paintings hub still owns mixed media. This URL is the oil job.
Not for: A watercolor clone, a house-value estimate, or a promise of museum authentication from a JPEG.
Default: Standard $59. One signed oil report is $59. Insurance $99 after you ask the carrier. Tax and estate $399 case review. A stack of canvases is a quote.
Oil-specific photos: raking light, stretcher, lining, craquelure, varnish. Standard signed report $59. Not a watercolor clone.
Comparables for an oil, not a paper or print market. Oil comps follow artist or school, support, size, subject, and condition. The lots below are similar public oil-on-canvas sales, not your painting and not a value conclusion. A watercolor, print, or poster is not an oil comp.
Match these: Oil on a comparable support and size band; Similar attribution strength and condition, including lining; The same subject family when the artist market splits that way
Do not use as comps: Works on paper used as oil comps; Decorative prints and posters; Asking prices and interior-design estimates
Similar public auction results below are not your object and not a value conclusion. The signed PDF selects the comps that match your file.
Sold similar: JAMES WEBB, 19TH C. OIL ON CANVAS PAINTING — Clements — Jan 18, 2015 — $6,000. /lot/100135496/james-webb-19th-c-oil-on-canvas-painting/
Sold similar: Josef Foshko Oil on Canvas Painting — Greenwich Auction — Jan 1, 2015 — $550. /lot/100049145/josef-foshko-oil-on-canvas-painting/
Sold similar: Rene Lelong (1871-1938) oil on canvas painting — Antiques Supermarket — Jan 13, 2015 — $1,601. /lot/100010014/rene-lelong-1871-1938-oil-on-canvas-painting/
Oil-specific photographs. Front in even light, raking light across the surface, all four edges, stretcher or panel reverse, keys, labels, lining or patches, craquelure, and varnish issues. Include a scale.
Paintings hub vs this URL. /appraisal/paintings remains the media hub. Watercolor has its own paper job. Sculpture is /sculpture-appraisal. Order here when the support is oil on canvas, board, or panel.
What a photo cannot settle. A JPEG is not a laboratory pigment analysis. High-stakes attribution, lining decisions, and conservation still may need physical inspection. Instant Screener cannot replace the signed PDF.
Questions
Are the oil lots on this page my painting’s value?
No. They are similar public oil-on-canvas sales. The signed PDF selects comps that match artist or school, support, size, subject, and condition. They are not a value conclusion.
Is this just the paintings hub with the word oil?
No. The hub covers mixed painting media. This URL is the oil photo list: raking light, stretcher, lining, craquelure, and varnish.
Can you appraise an oil painting from photos?
Often yes when front, reverse, edges, and surface clues are visible. Conservation, lining, and high-stakes attribution may still need inspection. We refund if the file cannot support the ordered work.
How much does an oil painting appraisal cost here?
Standard signed report $59. Insurance $99. Tax and estate case review $399. A collection is a quote. No published rush dollar.
Should I clean or revarnish before sending photos?
No. Photograph as found. Cleaning and revarnishing can change both identification and value.
What if it is acrylic or mixed media?
Use /appraisal/paintings. This page is for oil support and surface clues.
Can Instant Screener replace an oil report?
No. Instant Screener is unsigned.
Do you appraise the house the painting hangs in?
No. Personal property only.
Start a $59 signed oil report
Paintings hub
Watercolor on paper
Sculpture from photos
Attributed pastoral oil sample
Attributed canvas sample
JAMES WEBB, 19TH C. OIL ON CANVAS PAINTING
Josef Foshko Oil on Canvas Painting
Rene Lelong (1871-1938) oil on canvas painting