Abuse of the forum

Syd - I'm not without sympathy for your point of view; this is not an art valuation site. At the same time - I worked in antiques for many years (though even more many years ago); I would not offer a valuation for any work posted here, my knowledge is grossly out of date. But I can usually tell a Chinese knock-off from an original painting; I can normally recognize a print from a painting when I see one (although you'd be quite right to observe that this is NOT easy online); and of course you and I both know that if a picture is posted here, coyly inferring that it might be valuable, it's very rarely going to be worth more than the frame, and half the time not that much. I know that this annoys you - it annoys me far less, because, having been a dealer some 40 years ago, I do find some (not all, by any means) of this interesting. I still live in rather hopeless hope of finding a good painting, worth a bit of money or just worth saving in its own right, on the Forum - there was a nice little painting of Whooper swans earlier today, which I liked rather a lot. I don't think it was worth much, but it was certainly worth saving from the decaying mount and frame which held it; I'd like to think we could persuade the owner to spend a bit of money on it, and preserve it for future generations. That alone would justify posting it here. But other pictures of no great value or interest or quality - yes of course they annoy us, and make us think that someone is hoping to clamber aboard the art-sales bandwaggon. All the same, if they didn't we might not see the good (or better) stuff either. So - I wouldn't want to stop 'em - I know it's very often sheer laziness, or they just don't know where else to go; I know we have to look at a number of mangy old ducks before we ever see the Golden Goose; I also know that some people are picking up any load of old tat in salesrooms and offering them here in the hope they're worth a fortune and we can identify them for them and introduce them to a small fortune. But to be honest, I do find this a small imposition - and anyway if you just ignore them, they'll drop down into the many subject headings which positively embrace the obscurity for which they were always designed. All the same: yes, I do sometimes wish they'd just Google them first.

Syd - again: I've just taken another look at the latest offering ( and have commented). The trouble with all of these old paintings (or prints) is that however expert we may or may not be, or like to think we are, we just can't begin to evaluate pictures online - we can't see the paper, the textures, the quality and surface of the paint. You and I could identify a watercolour from a print, I think - I believe I could, I'm sure that you could - but an online picture gives us next to nothing. I did once evaluate old paintings, but needed to handle them, to apply the magnifying-glass to them, to examine the back of the painting: we just can't do that online. Those who want to test the legitimacy of a painting or print should take it to a conservator, a gallery, even a framer - all we can do here is offer a very general opinion on the basis of the little information a photographic file can give us. It's almost inevitably never enough - to that extent, I agree with you - it's guesswork at best. I don't mind if people try testing us, but they do need to know that the very best opinion they can hope to get here is still guesswork, based on an examination of a digital file; and I wouldn't even begin to rely on that! They don't annoy me, but they do need to know that we're not magicians..........

I suspect I'm just quite good at ignoring things that might otherwise annoy me!

Syd, I'm following this discussion with a great deal of interest, can see both your and Robert's points of view, but afraid I'm coming down more on your side (sorry Robert), as I do feel that the Forum is being abused. Which is a pity as there is a great deal of useful information (the latest of course about the LD palette), and helpful, knowledgeable artists giving advice. I still think that a newbie, or any of the rest of us, can search out topics of interest under the various headings, and ignore those posts which are not relevant. Or of course can post a new topic, as I've done on several occasions and received very helpful answers. And this is why I would like to see a persistent "pest" ignored/discouraged, it would be just such a pity if genuine contributors end up leaving the Forum. Just my own opinion.