First official acquisition
The last year of my life was not a normal year for me. I was dealing with a back injury that led to chronic pain and ultimately depression and anxiety. Much of the year I didn’t function the way I had the previous 47 years. I was unable to make things. I painted very little and it all lead to a build up of ideas. One of the ideas was that I should put my money where my mouth was and start investing in artwork. After several years of trying my hand at the stock market I realized that I should invest in something I know. One of the things I know best is art history and specifically oil paintings.
So I decided to start buying paintings. At some point in the last year I realized that my perspective was unique and that it might even be rare. I am an artist myself with a career that included commissioned work, custom period frame building, art historical research, and conservation. I had an epiphany moment when I discovered a link between two 19th century artists just by analyzing the structure of their paintings. I realized that my eyes, hands and mind might give me advantage in the art investment world. One of the ideas was related to how smart investors choose stocks. The idea is that a stock value might fluctuate for a period, but if the company fundamentals are good the stock ultimately will go up. Applying this to paintings, I thought that if the fundamentals of a painting were good then the fluctuating value was irrelevant because ultimately it will go up. Plus I was able to add value with my conservation and presentation skills as well as with my ability to research and add to the painting’s story. I guess we will see how it turns out.
Near the Harbour, Boulogne, Sarah Louis Kilpack, Oil on panel, cir. 1890, 4” x 5”, prior to conservation
The first painting I bought was a small oil painting on walnut panel created by the British female artist Sarah Louise Kilpack. The painting is a seascape that depicts a colorful sailboat, a steam boat, a lighthouse and a fishing buoy. Although I bought several boat related paintings during that time, when I bought this one I didn’t yet recognize the building pattern. I later realized that I was being drawn by their inherent suggestion of a journey. I was drawn to the underlying triangular design of the sailboat in the midground with the simple use of the primary colors to create harmony. There is also something magical communicated through the colorful red and yellow sails. The painting communicated a lot with a simple palette and eloquent brush strokes.
After the painting arrived from the Isle of Man, which is off the coast of England, I immediately removed the frame and then cleaned and removed the varnish. I had to do minimal inpainting along the edges of the painting where years of the panel rubbing against the frame had led to a loss of paint. Once the inpainting was done I varnished it and set out to find a better frame. Although the frame was probably original to the painting it didn’t do the painting any justice. From the moment I saw the painting I visualized it in a black frame. I thought it was reminiscent of 17th century Dutch seascapes which are often presented in black frames. Because the painting is small I found it more difficult to find a period appropriate frame than I had imagined it would be. Ultimately I decided to just repair and paint the frame it came in. I came to this conclusion because the frame was not in great shape and it wasn’t worth re-gilding. I didn’t like the flowery motifs either because they didn’t speak to the seascape. I think it turned out better than expected.
This is an image shows the purchased condition with the after conserved image.
Now that I had the painting conserved and back in a frame, I set out to learn more about it. During the process of cleaning and conserving I had to remove a framing company label (W. Blight Picture Frame Manufacturing pictured below) from the back of the panel. I removed it because it was deteriorating. The label was significant because it was signed and dated 12/26/96, but what I found under the label was more interesting. There was some faint writing along one of the edges of the panel. I couldn’t read it without the help of a black light, magnifying glass and a little research. Eventually I was able to make out the first part which was “Near the Harbour”. However, there was another word that I couldn’t read. I imagined it was a town or harbor name.
The label I removed also gave an address of Jersey, which turns out to be a British island that Kilpack was known to have lived on and painted at. I thought maybe I could find a harbor on Jersey that matched the shape of the faint writing I couldn’t make out, but I had no luck. Eventually I started searching for other Kilpack paintings. It was at this point that I found another painting by her titled Boulogne Quay The boats in this painting looked exactly like the boats in my painting and the word I couldn’t make out matched the location it derived its title from, Boulogne. I had found the place the painting was made and the location it was depicting.
Near the Harbour, Boulogne, Sarah Louis Kilpack, Oil on panel, Circ. 1896
In conclusion, I bought a painting. I conserved and created a new presentation. I then added to its story by discovering where it was painted and ultimately what the artist had titled it. So far my collecting journey has been fun and rewarding. I can’t wait to discover what’s next in the journey.
