I often stumble across artwork that speaks directly to me, and as a result, have built a collection of well-known and not-so-well-known artists. I was at an auction house recently when I saw a jumble of beige and brown and orange and black in a print hanging among others on a wall.
As I got closer, the jumble coalesced into a quartet, and I knew that I’d like to take the print home. When I first saw it, I thought “jazz,” but eying the three string instruments, piano and no saxophone, I wondered if they were actually playing classical.
Now, the last thing I needed was another piece of artwork, but this stuff can be addictive – both the buying of art and the bidding on “something” whether you need it or not. The artwork was a lithograph, an original print that the artist had a hand in making. It was number 198 of 220 prints, and it was signed.
The latter was the problem. I could not make out the artist’s signature, and how I do hate that. I got an email once from a reader who wondered why artists don’t sign their names legibly. A very good question. Don’t you think they’d want to be recognized, to let the world know that they produced this wonderful work of art (in this case, one that moved me as well as one other person at the auction. Both of us left absentee bids, but I got the print).
Usually, I’m pretty good at deciphering signatures. I like to know the names of artists so I can Google to find out who they are and how much their works are selling for. It’s a good way to determine how much I should bid on the piece.
Trying to figure out the signature on this lithograph was frustrating. I suspect that the artist is local; I pick up a lot of them from time to time.
Take a look at the signature. Can you figure it out? I’d really like to know who he or she is.
NOTE: A reader later identified the artist as Georges Dayez.
This will be more maddening than helpful but here goes:
1) My first thought: It’s mindful of cubism (as in Picasso, but it’s clearly not P’s signature). Try googling “Picasso imitators”?
2) Try googling “signed lithographs limited editions” hoping for an image match. (Maybe you already did this.)
3) Here are images of artists’ signatures. That’s the maddening part–browsing through all those sigs!
https://www.google.com/search?q=artist+signatures&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi63aH2_c7OAhWBNiYKHQQbAg0QsAQIHQ&biw=1366&bih=631
4) Solicit a local museum’s help; sometimes their research folks welcome a good mystery. Maybe they have (or have access to) a proprietary artist signature database
Good luck, look forward to your findings!
Thanks for the suggestions. As you say, this can be maddening.
Can’t help you, but it is a lovely litho.
Is it Romare Bearden?
It’s a very beautiful piece of art.
Wow, I wish it were Bearden, but his signature is very clear. That would be very nice.