Francis E. Jamieson ( 1895-1950 )was an Englishman who fell in love with the Scots Highlands. He painted hundreds of scenes showing the mountains and villages of Scotland. He also painted the Highlands cattle.
His pictures were so popular that he was contracted to paint scenes on furniture. In order to sell more paintings and not be in violation of his contract, he came up with over ten other names used to sign his paintings which he sold on the side and on the sly.
I found this painting for sale on Ebay and realized that it was one of his when I saw the faces of the cattle. The sellers could not decipher the name of the artist in the bottom right hand corner; they thought it was some French name, which they read as W. Rieliard. I saw that it was W. Richards, one of Jamieson's many pseudo-artist names.
The seller had had the painting appraised for $1200, but I wonder now about the ability of an appraiser of art who couldn't read the name. The asking price was $400 to start, so I didn't feel guilty knowing the seller believed the painting was worth $1200, what it actually is worth.
No, I didn't write the seller later and tell them. What good can that do? Nor do I approve of anyone who does that sort of thing unless the seller flat out asks for more information. It's not a class-act thing and should be avoided.
The painting is now hanging above an 1850 Virginia chest in the old part of the house. Its browns and oranges stand out nicely against the log walls.
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