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2 Beihong, or not 2 Beihong? That is the question. Authentication on Xu Beihong paintings
Posted By: Tim
Posted Date: Nov 29, 2012 (11:11 AM)
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I just bought 2 horse paintings with signature and seals of the artist Xu Beihong. I would like to authenticate the paintings if possible.

They are large, well painted, and in good condition despite foxing. You can view the photos I took at http://www.flickr.com/photos/23676403@N07/sets/72157632117083243/

Both were framed by Century Art & Frames, West Palm Beach, which went out of business in 1984, so the paintings are at least 28 years old. This is public record on the Florida State website.

I removed the painting of the drinking horse from the frame to take better pictures and to inspect for any additional seals/marks.

The painted area measures 40.5" x 14.0". This seems to be consistant with the size used by Beihong.

The painting I unframed is of a horse drink....a similar example can be found on the Xu Beihong foundation website http://www.xubeihong.org/Common/drinking.htm

There are 2 types of foxing....the spots and a band that goes across the top of the painting.

The band was caused by the matting used when framed in 1984 which covered to top 4" or so of the painting.

What I find interesting is that THE SPOTS MUST HAVE EXISTED AT THE TIME THE PAINTING WAS FRAMED IN 1984, as the spots occur in areas of the painting exposed to light, and after 1984, the top 4" were no longer exposed to light due to the matting.

While this does not prove it is a genuine piece,it does prove the painting is older than 1984, and it begs to question, WHY WOULD SOMEONE PAY TO FRAME A PAINTING THAT HAS FOXING IF IT IS ONLY A REPRODUCTION?

In 1984, how much would an original Xu Beihong painting be worth?

The best I can tell is that his paintings would be worth around $3,000-5000 back then, so perhaps whomever owned them did not see it was worth the money to have the foxing removed.

There are no additional seals/marks, but you can clearly see the painting was mounted as a scroll, and the silk used on the borders of the scroll is woven in a prunus flower and cracked ice pattern and of nice quality.

For the time being, I am leaving the other painting in its frame.

I welcome all comments and hope to discover the as much as I can about the authenticity of the paintings.

Thank you.







Link :Basic photos of my 2 paintings still in the frame




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