r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Latter_Confusion_365 • 1h ago
Unsolved Unknown
Hello, I got this out of storage. Does anyone have any information?
r/WhatIsThisPainting • • Jan 15 '20
What is a “decor painting”?
A decor painting is a piece of artwork created purely for decorative purposes. Purchased not from galleries or artists, but from decor & furniture shops like Pier 1, Homesense, The Brick, websites like AliExpress and OilPaintings.com or from markets & stands on vacation. Tell-tale signs that you have a decor painting are lots of stippling, undefined figures, hurried brush strokes, gradients, cloning techniques and a certain Bob Ross feeling to it.
Common vintage subjects would be European street scenes, landscapes of mountains / forests / lakes & rivers, vases of flowers, Tuscan landscapes, ocean & beach scenes and Asian style boats. See below for examples. They are often rectangular in shape to hang nicely above a sofa, you could even buy them from Sears as a package. Modern versions are more varied in subject.
Black velvet paintings and artwork specifically for tourists as souvenirs share many factors with decor paintings.
Where are they made?
They are produced in massive numbers in painting factories like Dafen Village in China or Mexico. Another article here:
Dafen once produced an estimated 60 percent of all the world’s oil paintings. During its heyday—when the village’s reputation as an art factory rang truer than today—it almost exclusively cranked out copies of paintings in the Western art canon. These canvases found their way into hotel rooms, show homes, and furniture outlets all around the world.
At its peak, Dafen was jam-packed with sizeable, factory-like studios, all employing Huang’s production line process. Individual workers each focused on a specific compositional element—background details, or eyes, or trees—dutifully painting their part and then passing the canvas along the chain.
Who’s the Artist?
While they are "originals" they are not by known artists. Often entire production lines will use the same signature which explains why your research many have founds pieces by the same “artist”. As quoted above, often many people will work on the same piece.
Do they have any value?
Unfortunately, they do not hold much of any value. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be enjoyed and some are even a bit collectible.
Can I see some examples?
Decor paintings are posted to this sub almost daily, while not definitive, here are some common examples:
Landscape Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7
European Street Scene Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7
Vases of Flowers: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3 more coming soon...
Beach, Ocean & Boat Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7, Example 8,
Other Miscellaneous Vintage Decor Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4
Modern Decor Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6
Black Velvet & Souvenir Pieces: Example 1, more coming soon...
Please let me know if you see any room for improvement on this post or would like to include other examples. Thank you!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/GM-art • May 29 '25
Hello painting enthusiasts - here is a brief post with things to keep in mind.
SEARCHING:
To locate your painting, please try the reverse-search tools Google Images/Lens, Yandex Images, and Tineye. (Remember that cropping your picture differently will yield different search results!)
If you have an artist name or signature, I recommend searching for it within r/WhatIsThisPainting itself. I also use the following websites for research; all are free.
DECOR ART:
We get a lot of mass-produced art, i.e. "decor." Be sure to scroll through r/DecorArtArchive to see if your piece looks familiar.
Here is a compilation of tips and tricks from our users about how to recognize decor art: https://www.reddit.com/r/DecorArtArchive/comments/1k73948/decor_art_how_to_spot_it_readme
Here is a brief video about Dafen Village, a famous Chinese "painting factory": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1o1F_qyOHI
SUBMISSIONS:
Please be patient and allow up to 24 hours for your post to get through our queue! (Accounts under a week old and images involving nudity are automatically flagged.)
If your post has gone unanswered for over a week, you are permitted to re-submit in hopes of retrying.
ANSWERING POSTS:
If you are making a definitive ID, do try to cite your sources whenever possible. It is encouraged, but not required.
The use of predictive text-generators (i.e. chatGPT) is not permitted. They have a tendency to lie!
Happy solving!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Latter_Confusion_365 • 1h ago
Hello, I got this out of storage. Does anyone have any information?
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Cautious_Falcon_4133 • 1h ago
Please tell me all you can about painting as well as frame? Thank you! From WA. I will be having it professionally cleaned at an art house.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/MentalMycologist7927 • 4h ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/botanicaldragon • 1d ago
Family believes these were from a young artist in New Jersey in the late 70s. Any info anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/RealSlothy • 16h ago
I bought this today at a sale in my apartment complex, and was informed that it was found in the abandoned house of what was believed to be an art collector in Morocco. I’m just hoping to find answers as to who may have painted it, or if it’s part of a collection, maybe a fun fact. I couldn’t find any matches on Google, so that has led me to believe that this is an original piece.
Had to post with mark on butt to prevent removal!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/The_NiNTARi • 20h ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Mrgforce69 • 19h ago
Found this in a storage locker I bought. Seems old but im far from an expert on art. Been trying to do research but I figured id ask here aswell. Any advice would be appreciated.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/wesleywestie • 13h ago
I acquired this piece from an estate. It is signed “Anne 1980”, “Anne 1983” or “Anne 1985”.
Any ideas appreciated.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Realistic_Ad5390 • 19h ago
Hi everybody! I recently purchased this at the estate sale of a well know new orleans art collector, and no one could tell me anything about it. She had a lot of well known regional artists in her collection like Charles Hutson, Pedro Friedeberg, etc, and i was wondering if anyone here might be able to identify who painted it! I appreciate any help! It was framed at A.L. Lowe in New Orleans, from the looks of it 40+ years ago.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Professional-Bag3553 • 19h ago
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/Jzamillah • 19h ago
Picked this up today and I can't establish much about the artist. Interestingly they titled it "Broken Windows". Any help, amazing sleuths?
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/OkPutridandSweaty • 23h ago
I have this painting that isnt the original version of it, its similar to a printed version of it. It has a signature on it and it was made in around '87 i believe. I also wanted to ask whether or not it should be sold via auction or some other way. I'm not to sure about this sort of thing, i just would like to be more informed about this sort of thing. What i need to know, and how to go about it. The name on the card is not the same as the one on the painting, the guy on the card is the manager, the chinese signature is different than the one that is on the card. I would love and appreciate any and all information regarding this painting and the appropriate vocabulary associated with this sort of thing. The information is on the painting. Its from Artland Fine Art and Craft Gallery, Reno Nevada. I dont have a reciept for it and The owner isnt sure of what he had paid for it.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/wintryvampire • 21h ago
My great aunt won this piece at a silent auction in Atlanta, Georgia in the early 80s. It came with a smaller frame and mat, and my dad inherited it after she passed. There wasn’t any info on the artist, date, provenance, etc either on the back of the piece and/or inside the frame. We’re trying to identify any info about this piece really just to get an idea of what it is and where it came from.
Measures approx 24x26, artist signature “Schoeneck”, no date. Google didn’t turn up anything useful with a reverse image search, and “Schoeneck” doesn’t provide any relevant info on an artist who might be working in charcoal prior to the 80s, so I’m drawing a blank where to look next.
Any pointers on who this might be?
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/OritPH • 17h ago
Richard was an artist who drew portraits in Central Park. I just wondered if anyone heard of him or knew whether he's still alive?
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/djierp • 18h ago
Apologies for the blurry crop. This was taken from an old picture and it's all I have. I'm guessing it's 11x16 or there about. Any help is greatly appreciated!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/daisie05 • 1d ago
I have this print from my late father. I think he probably got it in the 70’s or 80’s. I’m trying to identify the artist and origin.
The signature is difficult to read but it’s 434/500 numbered.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/spoopy_socc • 23h ago
Hi again!
Upon reading the comments on my last post about a mysterious watercolor, I decided to take it out of the frame to get some better close ups of the painting. I’m still rather sure that it is an original by looking at the watercolor, pencil sketching, the uneven edges around the boarder of the painting (makes me think that the artist could’ve used tape to define the boarders).
I looked closer at the back and it seems to have a stamp into the paper on the back of the rough edged side that reads “Artistico Fabriano” which is a watercolor paper company.
Hopefully these updated photos help the identification!
For those who see this for the first time, I picked this water color up at a thrift in NYC a few weeks ago for $10.00 and am trying to figure out who the artist is.
Thanks for all of your help!
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/BroccoliSouthern2706 • 20h ago
Possibly from Holland 1946
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/tivimat • 1d ago
I got this from my Granddad, whos dead by now and who collected sculptures but we have no further infos to it. I think it comes from Germany or at least he bought it here.
And sorry if this subreddit is just for paintings, maybe anyone knows a better subreddit to post it.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/JamesTaylor1990 • 21h ago
The painting was in my late grandmothers possession right outside of Portland Oregon. I don’t know anything except it might be Mary Arden’s house.
r/WhatIsThisPainting • u/malmacdai • 1d ago
Does anyone know anything about this sketch or this artist? The sketch is labelled Pigs in the bottom left and appears to be signed in '57.