I am trying to find references to an 18th or 19th century oil
painter named Hibbert, probably English, maybe Belgian. I purchased an
oil painting at Bonhams in London in 2000 signed "Hibbert" with
preceding initials, perhaps a "C" or "J". If I can locate such an
artist, the painting will be valued quite highly. However, the name
does not appear in the usual art reference books that I have access
to. Hibbert may be a pseudonym for the true artist, but the painting
is extremely well done, not painted by a novice, so I feel that the
artist was certainly well known at the time. This is a difficult
search for me because, I have been looking for something that might
not exist. Hibbert is a common name, and I cannot reduce my queries to
anything meaningful. |
Request for Question Clarification by
rainbow-ga
on
23 Jul 2003 13:24 PDT
Hi tomsantikart-ga,
Would it be possible to take a picture of this painting you have and
post it somewhere on the web for us to see? That may help us identify
the artist. A close up of the signature would be an additional bonus.
Regards,
rainbow
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Clarification of Question by
tomsantikart-ga
on
23 Jul 2003 20:50 PDT
Please see the following 2 URLs for the picture and signature.
http://www.members.aol.com/tomsantikart/Hibbert.jpg
http://www.members.aol.com/tomsantikart/Hibsig.jpg
I hope this helps.
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Request for Question Clarification by
rainbow-ga
on
25 Jul 2003 06:09 PDT
Hi tomsantikart,
Firstly, thank you for posting the images for us to study.
Secondly, this is a real stumper!
After searching hours, I am still not able to identify the artist. I
tried various combinations of the name but came up with nothing. And
while researching your question, I contacted Bonhams in London.
Below are excerpts of the email exchanges between me and a very nice
lady who tried her best to help.
"Thank you for your email. Unfortunately I don't think I can help you
if you don't know the full name of the artist. As you say Hibbert is a
very common name. There were hundreds of provincial or 'Sunday'
painters in the 19th Century particularly who were very competent.
Several of them come up regularly at auction. The problem with them is
that because they didn't exhibit we don't know much about them.
If you are interested in a value on the item then we would need to see
it to assess it on a decorative level.
I hope this is of interest and I am sorry I cannot be of more help."
"I have 2 url's I'd like you to look at which display the painting in
question. May I bother you in looking at these and seeing if they will
help identify the painter in question.
http://www.members.aol.com/tomsantikart/Hibbert.jpg
http://www.members.aol.com/tomsantikart/Hibsig.jpg
Thank you again and looking forward to hearing from you."
"Thank you for the images. Looking at the signature it looks as if it
is J Hibbert, or J E Hibbert. Unfortunately I can find no record of
one. The
painting appears to be 19th Century, but it is sometimes difficult to
tell from a photograph."
"Looking at the signature closer, you can notice the "C" or "G" is
written over the "H". Do you think it could be Gibbert or Cibbert? Are
there
any possible records to that effect?
I sincerely appreciate all your efforts and the time you have taken to
assist me with this."
"I am afraid there are no listed artists under those names, I think
you can
be fairly certain it is Hibbert."
Bonhams Picture Department,
Montpellier Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW7 1HH
tel: +44 (0)20 7393 3866
fax: +44 (0)20 7393 3863
http://www.bonhams.com/
(I still believe the "C" or "G" is written after the "H" and should
therefore come later in the name.)
I'll keep looking and hopefully me or another researcher will be able
to help you identify this artist.
Regards,
rainbow~
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Request for Question Clarification by
markj-ga
on
25 Jul 2003 06:26 PDT
tomsantikart --
I have found a single reference in a database of artists to a "J.
Hibbert," who is listed there as a 19th century artist. I have
e-mailed the proprietor of this database for any further information
that might be available. Substantial research has so far yielded no
other leads.
If and when I get a response, I will of course post the information.
Let's hope the mystery will be solved.
markj-ga
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Clarification of Question by
tomsantikart-ga
on
25 Jul 2003 14:46 PDT
I appreciate the efforts taken thus far. Hopefully they will start to
bear fruit. Remember this is only a $50 question, even though it may
be interesting.
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