Yard sale not the venue for selling art

There are two missing pieces of information I need in order to accurately evaluate these two paintings. The first is the size: This is important because art is often essentially sold by the square inch. The second is whether or not these images are actually signed by Roger Etienne.

The phrase in today's letter, " that I have finally figured out were painted by Roger Etienne," either means that these are not signed (I cannot see a signature in the photograph) or they are signed "Etienne" and it took N. L.-P. a while to discover to whom that referred.

I have found some genuine examples of Etienne's work that are unsigned so the lack of a signature is not all that disturbing. The pieces in today's question with their big eyed children painted on French newspaper is in Etienne's style, and I think there is very little doubt that these two pieces are by that artist.

Etienne is really very famous, but little has been printed about him that I could find. He was born in 1922, and since I can find no date of death, I have to assume that he is probably still alive or perhaps recently deceased.

Although he worked at the Pablo Picasso Workshop for four years, Etienne is considered to be a French Impressionist. It has been reported that Marc Chagall commissioned Etienne to do work for the Paris Opera House, and Etienne supposedly has work in museums in Paris, Zurich and Brussels.

All that sounds very impressive, but does this translate into money in the art market? Currently, I think the answer is no, and his work often fails to sell when it comes up for auction. Unfortunately, when it does sell, images of his children usually bring less than $500.

Etienne also did some nudes, which bring a little more money when they come up for sale (but still less than $1,000 as a general rule), and he also did some landscapes. In addition, there are some Etienne lithographs on the market, but these usually sell for less than $100 at auction.

If N. L.-P.'s two examples are signed, in good condition and a good size, the current insurance replacement value for the pair is probably in the $400 to $600 range. But the question is, should the current owner keep them or sell them. That, of course, is strictly up to her, but let me point out that the main reason to keep any work of art is because the owner likes it and appreciates the image.

So, if N. L.-P. likes these two paintings, she should keep them. But, whether she likes them or not she should not sell them at a garage sale. In this kind of downscale venue in East Tennessee, these painting would probably bring next to nothing.

I think she should keep them for the time being and see if the price goes up in the short term. If she should decide to sell, consigning them to a reputable auction house would be the thing to do.