About Ben Mahmoud Expertise Questions regarding "the business of the arts (ie.artist/dealer relations).
Questions regarding the collecting of contemporary art.
Please keep in mind that I am not a professional appraiser, however, I can direct interested parties to sources of information.
Experience 40 years as professor of art, Northern Illinois University
Curator of University Art Collection (responsible for purchase and care).
Member of the board of directors, Illinois Arts Council.
Juror of many competitions.
See vitae: http://benmahmoud.com/resume.html
Publications Many conference proceedings.
"Advice to Young Artists in a Postmodern Era" with William Dunning, Syracuse University Press, 2000.
Education/Credentials MFA, Ohio University, 1960
Awards and Honors See vitae: http://http://benmahmoud.com/resume.html
Question I have a oil painting of Artist "Millard" that is the signature on botttom right. I was told it is very valuble. on the back it has an address and date of 1845 It also indicates "the balloon Event" It looks like C. Millard and it also has 5 #41 . How can i fined out more about this artist ?? thank you.
Answer This question does not fall into the catagory of "contemporary painting," however, I have made an exhaustive search of the Internet. If C. Millard were a well known artist, there would have been a record of him somewhere (museum publications, etc.).
I did find one reference to a Charles Stuart Millard who lived from 1837 to 1917. His name was in the data bank of a web site called ArtPrice. This web site has an extensive listing of auctions.
It is possible that this is the artist in question. And I can tell you that the only place to get a definitive answer to your question is from an auction house. The ArtPrice site has information on the auction of 13 watercolors/drawings and one painting. However, to obtain the information, there is a fee. You can go to the site and see if it looks like it is worth it.
There are other options. You can call a couple of major auction houses that specialize in art, and ask their opinion. If the work were valuable, they would be most happy to provide you with then information, in the hope that you would consign the work to them for auction. These are very reputable institutions. Here is the correct web page for Christie's:
