ShareThisDear Helaine and Joe: I inherited two paintings of sailing ships about which I would like some information. One is named "Racing to Bermuda" and signed by J. Arnold. The same artist painted the second, titled "Macquarie." Are they valuable? -- A.W., Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Dear A.W.: Some paintings have huge monetary values, but the majority of paintings that most people hang on their walls do not. The primary value of this latter group is in the aesthetic appeal they have for their owners, or perhaps in the sentimental and familial connections they may represent.
Before the advent of photography, if a family had a painting on the wall, it was probably that of an ancestor or perhaps a depiction of the homeowner(s) or children. If, however, the picture was purely decorative, it was likely to be a landscape or -- if the family lived near the water -- a seascape.
The majority of these seascapes or maritime paintings were done in the Dutch or English tradition, and there are many collectors in the United States and Europe who find them compellingly attractive. These maritime paintings tend to show views of the sea, harbors and shorelines and include representations of naval vessels (often engaged in battle), fishing boats, ocean liners, sailing ships and the like.
Images with human figures performing tasks, ships tossed in turbulent seas, ships in famous military engagements and ships with flags that are identifiable are among the most eagerly collected maritime paintings. As to who might have painted these two particular works, there are two choices -- one is John Arnold, and the other is Jay Arnold.
There is some thought that these may be one and the same artist, but that is open to some conjecture and no positive proof either way could be found. Both are American maritime painters, but the work owned by A.W. is in the style of work we found credited to Jay Arnold.
These two paintings appear to be both in his style and encompass specific subjects that he often depicted. Unfortunately, there is no biographical information about this artist that we could find, except that a number of his paintings have come up for sale in 2007 and 2008.
Jay Arnold is a mid-20th-century artist whose work titled "Macquarie" sold for $400 at Myers Fine Art in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Nov. 30, 2008. This vibrant painting is a night scene, and should be valued in the $800-$1,000 range for insurance purposes.
"Macquarie," incidentally, is a name associated with Australia. There is a Port Macquarie in New South Wales, a Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, a Macquarie River, a Macquarie Lighthouse, a Macquarie University and a Macquarie Street in Sydney, among several others. These are all named for Lachlan Macquarie, an early Australian colonial administrator and governor of New South Wales.
We would like to have known the size of both of these paintings, but we feel that "Racing to Bermuda" is worth a tad less than "Macquarie" and should be valued for insurance purposes in the $600-$700 range.
(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Contact them at Treasures in Your Attic, P.O. Box 27540, Knoxville, TN 37927. E-mail them at treasures(at)knology.net.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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