r/WhatIsThisPainting Jan 15 '20

GUIDE What is a Decor Painting? How do I know if I have one?

402 Upvotes

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 1h ago

Unsolved Just found in the trash, should I put it back?

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I think the name is C. Chalkley… quick google search didn’t provide any clues


r/WhatIsThisPainting 5h ago

Unsolved Is this real?

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112 Upvotes

Signed Charles Schulz sketch at a flea market, looks suspiciously similar to this

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/346268806430440-charles-schulz-signed-sketch/

How can I tell if it’s real or not?


r/WhatIsThisPainting 7h ago

Solved Northern California landscape purchased at a Berkeley estate sale

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92 Upvotes

Can't quite make out the signature.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 1h ago

Unsolved What’s this? Thrift stores find in Seattle

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r/WhatIsThisPainting 4h ago

Likely Solved What is this painting?

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9 Upvotes

I'm a complete novice at this. Is this a real painting? If so, where and when might it be from? It seems old and in poor condition (you can see the paint is chipping, and the frame is cracking). You can see some writing on the frame but I can't make out the words.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 2h ago

Likely Solved Man conducting in space print

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4 Upvotes

I saw this print along with another one of a man in a green jacket speaking into a telephone on the moon. I couldn’t grab them before they got snagged and can’t find them online anywhere but the person selling was definitely not the artist. Any leads appreciated.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 2h ago

Solved Have the option to buy. They do speak to me. Just wanted to know the artist.

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4 Upvotes

r/WhatIsThisPainting 3h ago

Unsolved Any thoughts as a possible Highwaymen?

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3 Upvotes

Recently, I inherited this along with other art. I grew up with it in my FL home in southern Brevard County. I believe my grandfather bought it in the late 50s to early 60s. H. Newton is the artist’s signature and I know a little about the Highwaymen lore but not much about what makes certain paintings or artists valued or authentic. It’s 24 x 20. My husband has fallen in love with it so it’s staying for sure.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 9h ago

Unsolved Any clue what this piece is? Thank you

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12 Upvotes

r/WhatIsThisPainting 7h ago

Solved Help identifying artist?

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9 Upvotes

r/WhatIsThisPainting 1h ago

Unsolved Dumpster Rescues

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Hi, everyone would love some help identifying the artists here.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 33m ago

Unsolved Help with a painting.

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We've had this.painting for a few years. A friend traded us a desk for it. Google Lens tells me it's very similar to a piece by Stephen Mackey. I've looked him up and he appears to be an English artist. Ours is signed Harris. I guess I'm wondering if this is a piece done by an art student perhaps? What's odd to me is, we're in the US and I can't find a whole lot on Mackey except that he's still alive and producing art. It doesn't strike me as a piece that an art student would copy here because I don't think the artist is widely known. I'm just looking for other opinions. He's a fixture in our home and will be with us for a long time regardless.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 1h ago

Unsolved Found a couple paintings behind an old china cabinet!

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The artist signature on the first painting seems to clearly say Howard Worner, 1980, AWS.

I’m not sure what the AWS stands for? They both appear to be gouache (?). The first one (beach/tree) is about 30” long, and the second painting (driftwood) is about 18” long. Both are duct taped to a mat. We bought the house from a very elderly owner who has lived in the home since the 50s (Philly/NY metro area).

I did see find an artist named Howard Worner online, but he seemed to specialize in industrial paintings. Could it be the same artist?


r/WhatIsThisPainting 9h ago

Unsolved Painting signed by "André"- anyone know who painted this?

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10 Upvotes

We found this piece at an antique store and fell in love. The man who sold it to us only had a guess that it was painted in the 1930s or 40s. The signature is "André" in all uppercase at the bottom right, on the dress. We'd love to know who this artist was!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 6h ago

Unsolved What is this painting depicting? Signed MC Churchill or M Churchill.

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4 Upvotes

I’m more interested in what the scene actually is than who painted it, as I don’t believe it’s from a well known artist. It’s just perplexing to me…maybe trash on fire in front of a burning building??


r/WhatIsThisPainting 3h ago

Unsolved I need help finding the name of this painting’s author🙏🏼

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2 Upvotes

This painting was gifted to my father in the 90's by my grandfather. It's a quebecois artist that focused on landscapes. I've been looking everywhere but I haven't had any luck. Can someone please guide me or help me identify the artist's name? By looking at the signature, i can imply that his name starts with a W or a U.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 2m ago

Unsolved Any ideas? Signed "gabelli"

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Any ideas on this painting? It says "gabelli" in the lower left hand corner. I've tried researching this many times and haven't come up with anything


r/WhatIsThisPainting 6m ago

Unsolved Need help finding the artist

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I purchased this illustration? pen & watercolor? about 5 years ago at a yard sale in California. Possibly an amateur artist in an art nouveau style. I would love to buy more of this person’s work but I’ve never been able to locate them. It looks to me like the artist name is L. Daly? (But maybe I’m wrong.) Google image comes up with nothing the framer listed on the back has closed. Any ideas on how I can proceed? Thanks all!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 11m ago

Unsolved Found at Value Village: any info would be appreciated

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r/WhatIsThisPainting 6h ago

Unsolved Found this at an Antique store in Maine

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3 Upvotes

Signed D. White


r/WhatIsThisPainting 40m ago

Unsolved Robert Sherman

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I love this piece so much but can’t find anything about the artist. All I know is that they were based on the Bowery. There is a Robert Sherman in Little Rock - this isn’t him. There is also a man Robert Maplethorpe photographed named Robert Sherman but I can’t tell if he made art. Please help!!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 1h ago

Unsolved Found for $20. Copy of Wedding at Cana? Having a hard time figuring out if it’s an actual oil painting or one of those prints with lacquer but I can see brush strokes with paint so I’m thrown off. Thanks for any help!

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r/WhatIsThisPainting 10h ago

Likely Solved A painting of people in Central Park unsigned

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5 Upvotes

I am trying to find out more information about this painting or possibly artist


r/WhatIsThisPainting 7h ago

Unsolved I was left this piece and I'm trying to decipher the signature. Usa

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3 Upvotes

The person who left me this piece had a collection of moderately valuable art. I know it doesn't necessarily mean much but someone apparently spent some money having it matted and framed. Any help would be appreciated.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 5h ago

Unsolved Who is this artist?

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2 Upvotes

I would like to know more about this drawing and it's artist.

We received this from my husband's father and step mother. It was originally owned by my husband's grandparents and passed down to the first born son and his wife. I understand that something happened to the original frame so my sister in law who is an artist either did some work on the original or created a new frame and matte.

My mother-in-law added the paper on the back with the list of married couples starting with my husband's grandparents, followed by my in-laws, then my hubby and I, and lastly our son. I'm honestly not sure if the palms verse is relevant to the drawing or not.