A painting purchased for just $30 at a Michigan estate sale is now headed to auction with an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. The story is remarkable, but for homeowners preparing for an estate sale, the most important detail may not be the potential six-figure price. It is this: The painting was signed and dated. According to multiple reports, the buyer noticed the inscription “Abercrombie ’51” in the lower-left corner of the work. That clue eventually led to research ident

When homeowners begin interviewing estate sale companies, one of the first questions they often ask is: “What percentage do you charge?” That is an understandable question, but it may not tell the whole story. Estate sale agreements can be structured in different ways. A straightforward household, a large collector estate, or a property requiring extensive research, staging, staffing, or cleanup may involve very different amounts of work and financial risk. For that reason, t

Before researching an artist or trying to understand what an artwork may be worth, it helps to answer a more basic question: What is the artwork actually made with? A work that appears to be a painting could be oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, pastel, ink, or mixed media. Sometimes what looks painted from across the room is actually a print or reproduction. Identifying the medium can help determine how the work should be researched, handled, photographed, and compared with