Looking to identify an artwork peice and artist.  I've been googling
and searching with no luck.  Painting appears to be about 50 years old
based on backing & frame.  Can not read signature.  But do have some
numbers like A235G 14072 T124 and what looks like the artists
signature on the wood frame and a title that is either Tragic of Gray
or Touch/Taste/Trace of Gray.  The picture is beautiful (20"X27")where most of
the print is a huge tree blowing wind/gray towards a mother and
daughters who seem to be trying to catch the flowers of another tree. 
It's a very dark green/gray effect.  On the back of the Frame is a
peice of cardboard glued to frame that says FruhLingsmo??? and the
cardboard is missing right after the o.  I'm thinking this may be the
artist but could be the place where it was purchased.

Would love to figure out where this picture came from.  My parents
picked it up at an auction in 1981 and I'm in the midst of cleaning
out their estate.  I don't want to sell as it's always been a favorite
of mine but it would be great to find out who and when.

Thanks
Mindy

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Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 08 May 2006 10:52 PDT

Mindy - there are sites, where you can upload a picture of your
painting for free :
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=free+image+hosting&btnG=Search 

It might help if you uploaded the file and told us where to find it.

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Clarification of Question by mint88-ga on 08 May 2006 16:52 PDT

I don't have access to a digital camera today but I will do that this
week.  Probably a good idea.
Txs
Mindy

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Clarification of Question by mint88-ga on 09 May 2006 05:52 PDT

Ok..here is a link to a picture.  Thanks for the free host idea.  

[URL=http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=paintingwoth0020oe.jpg][IMG]http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/9171/paintingwoth0020oe.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 09 May 2006 14:35 PDT

Thank you for posting your photo. I will be happy to identify your
painting and the artist for you. Please check back in a couple of
hours for the answer.

tutuzdad-ga

Dear mint88-ga: 

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. The
original painting depicted in your example was a masterpiece painted
in 1864 by French realist painter Jean Baptiste-Camille Corot
(1796-1875) and was entitled, ?Souvenir De Mortefontaine? (?Memory of
Mortefontaine?).

GOOGLE IMAGES:
http://images.google.com/images?q=Souvenir+De+Mortefontaine&hl=en

You do not have the original painting because it is accounted for in
the Louvre Museum in Paris where it has been almost exclusively for
almost 150 years .

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/art-57267

ARTCHIVE
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/corot/souvenir.jpg

CERAM
http://www.ceram-mortefontaine.fr/fr/portrait/

So unless this is a modern reproduction the next best scenario, in
terms of value, is that you may have a hand-printed etching (called a
?re-strike etching?) that was created from the original Victorian
etching plate of the painting which is sometimes marketed under the
renamed title, ?Spring Morning?.

EASY ART
http://en.easyart.com/art-prints/prints/Jean-Baptiste-Corot/Spring-Morning-Restrike-Etching-38302.html

As a commenter suggested the partial word ?FruhLingsmo*? is most
likely indicative of the painting?s title ?Spring Morning?, or
?Frühlingsmorgen? in German. The presence of the German phrase
suggests that this painting might have been originally acquired from a
German dealer (but that is mere speculation on my part).

Corot is well known for his misty, almost melancholy landscape scenes,
some others of which you can see here:

EASY ART
http://en.easyart.com/art-prints/artists/Jean%20Baptiste%20Corot-2371.html
 
Jean Baptiste-Camille Corot was known as an extremely generous man and
because he was blessed with his own income outside of his artwork,
unlike some he managed to continue to paint for many years. Because he
was rather prolific he became well known though not altogether highly
regarded by the French art world of his day. This fame resulted in
numerous forgeries of his paintings even in his own lifetime which of
course means that at least some of the paintings thought to be
original today could very well be fakes.

Having said that, there are several types of this particular painting:

THE ORIGINAL: Painted by Jean Baptiste-Camille Corot himself.

FORGERY: An original painting purporting to be by the original artist but is not.

RE-STRIKE PRINTS: (sometimes called a ?restrike etching?) a print
"struck" (i.e. printed)  from the original block (usually a metal
plate) but at a later time than the original edition, and SOMETIMES
even hand painted over after striking to give it an original
appearance.

MODERN REPRODUCTION: A modern print made of an original painting using
modern mass production techniques.

Now, IF the painting you have is the original it would most assuredly
take an expert to determine it?s value.

IF the painting you have is a forgery, it may actually be fairly
valuable. Again, it would take an expert to determine this for
certain.

IF the artwork you have is a restrike, again it could be valuable
depending on when and where the print was made.

If the artwork is a modern reproduction it probably isn?t worth a
great deal, however one cannot discount the fact that if the art is
quite old there is always the possibility that the frame might
actually be worth more than the painting.

Jean Baptiste-Camille Corot?s work appears to be quite active in the
action market nowadays. While we can?t see the prices here unless we
subscribe to ArtPrice.com you may, if you wish, sign up and find out a
great deal more about this man and his current worth (in both original
and print form) on the collector?s market.
 
ARTPRICE.COM
http://web.artprice.com/artistdetails.aspx?src=0&idarti=MjYwMjAwMjM5ODE1Mzg=

There is also a feature that I think you will find particularly
interesting that allows you to consult art historians who can
potentially help you to establish a reasonable market value of your
painting.

ARTPRICE.COM
http://web.artprice.com/estimate/create.aspx?idarti=MjYwMjAwMjM5ODE1Mzg=&details=on

Unfortunately value is frequently relative to the condition of the
piece in question. From the photo you posted the example you have
appears to be in fairly poor condition (you will note that the colors
are quite faded in comparison to the on in this photo and some of the
actual detail is no longer visible).

PHOTO:
http://my.opera.com/joewanny/homes/albums/15706/Corot%201864%20-%20Souvenir%20De%20Mortefontaine.jpg

Depending on the source of the damage (smoke, light, weather, etc.)
with some cleaning from a restoration professional it may be
reconditioned considerably, which may in turn enhance its value.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;

Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher


[INFORMATION SOURCES]

WEB MUSEUM
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/corot/

GETTY MUSEUM
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=816&page=1

ASKART.COM
http://www.askart.com/askart/artist.aspx?artist=9000027
Dealers of selected Corot works:
http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/search/Search_Grid.aspx?searchtype=DEALERS&artist=9000027
Museums that exhibit Corot works
http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/search/Search_Grid.aspx?searchtype=MUSEUMS&artist=9000027

SOUVENIR DE MORTEFONTAINE
http://eu.easyart.com/art-prints/artists/Jean-Baptiste-Corot-2371.html

ARTFACT
http://www.artfact.com/features/artistLot.cfm?iid=Oqe1F5r3


[SEARCH STRATEGY]


SEARCH ENGINE(S) USED:

Google ://www.google.com
 

[SEARCH TERMS USED]

Spring Morning

Jean Baptiste-Camille Corot

Awesome!  It really helped!  Now I just wish I knew what all the
writing on the back of frame means (it's illegible to me but appears
to be German).  Now I can at least tell my guests who the painter
was!!
Thanks
Mindy

Re: the "Fruhlingsmo___" clue: "fruhling" can be translated "spring"
in German, and and the "mo__" may be "monate," or "month(s)." If the
word is "Spring Months"/"Springtime," it's likely not to be artist or
store, but possibly an alternate title or simply someone's description
of the perceived subject of the work, added later?

that could also be "Frühlingsmorgen", spring morning.

IF there is more German text on the back of painting, post it as a
comment, and maybe I can translate it.

I wish I could but it's not legible to my eyes (or my hubby's) seems
to look like squigles to me and a lot of numbers.  I tried to
photograph but because the wood is so dark it does not come through.
Thanks so much for the offer!  At least I have the major part of the
"mystery" solved!

Mindy

If you know anything about manipulating images you might photograph
the area and change the image in you rcomputer to a negative. It may
not be very effective but then again, in some case, the results may
surprise you. If you take a high enough resolution photo and post the
positive image of it somewhere that a researcher can acquire it,
someone may even be able to download the image draw out the words for
you with a photo program and translate them. Who knows - you've got
nothing to lose in trying.

tutuzdad-ga