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I bought a table full of random junk at the last auction for $5. There were two small 8″ x 10″ paintings that were very dirty that I sat aside and have ignored for the last month. I finally took a better look at them after my cat knocked one off the shelf. Long story short: they are by Texas artist Dwight C. Holmes, and his paintings sell for hundreds. A casual google search brings up paintings that have sold for $350-900.
I’m pretty sure they are authentic. One of the paintings has his studio stamp on the back. A google search brings up a few other paintings of the same style and size, even with the same style of frame.
I’m at a loss for what to do with these. The frames are in rough shape and the paintings are dirty. They could definitely use professional cleaning, but I’m not sure if I should undertake that or just sell them as-is. Should I sell them on eBay? Should I approach one of the auction houses in Austin?
Any advice? I want to make some decent cash from these, but I also want to make sure they are handled appropriately. Taking care of art is important. I’ll add pics in a few minutes.
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I’m familiar with the artist. This is without seeing the pics.
If the condition is poor and frames are damaged, I would post on ebay around $500 and accept offers. The unframed $500 painting is a good price range on ebay to get offers. Just be sure to include as much as you can about authenticity of these pieces in the listings. If the subject matter is the same as the more expensive paintings you could contact the same gallery/house that sold those they might be willing to do light restoration, but be prepared to lose a big chunk for their commission and fee.
Another good place to try would be galleries in Fort Worth as he was a student/teacher at TCU. Could be some local intrigue and a gallery might buy them directly off you if they have a buyer for Holmes.
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So cool. Great looking paintings.
Someone definitely is shooting for the moon on their Dwight Holmes paintings:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2323012.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.A0.H0.XDwight+C.+Holmes.TRS5&_nkw=Dwight+C.+Holmes&_sacat=0
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This is probably the wrong advise to give you for something more valuable than what I normally have in inventory, but I usually take a damp cloth and carefully wipe down frames and paintings. There certainly isn’t any reason why you couldn’t wipe down the frame at least, but I don’t know about the painting. I’ve never damaged anything before, but you have to be careful with something more valuable.
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Those are REALLY nice! How about pricing them really high and enjoying them until if and when they sell? What a great find! I would keep them for myself if I found them 🙂 – Liz
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Thanks, y’all. I have to head to Austin in a few weeks, so I may try to get an estimate on cleaning the paintings while I am there to satisfy my curiosity.
Husband and I have always joked “Ugh, when will we find expensive art for pennies at Goodwill?!” like those stories you see on Antiques Roadshow. Guess it’s finally our turn, lol.
“So tell me, where did you find these and how much did you pay for them?” “They were $5 and shoved in a box with a bunch of other random things. They were in a dirt floor barn in Where-the-Heck-is-That, Texas”.
Gotta love it.
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