Original paintings by Renoir, Chagall, Picasso, Rembrandt and Mary Cassatt at an Estate Sale??? Embarking more than 25 miles each way to experience possibly original prints by these artists, I figured the newspaper ad was probably slightly errant. After all, almost no Rembrandt paintings in private hands are available for sale anywhere in the world, much less as part of an Estate Sale.

The named art dealer was from a seemingly high end Southern California locale. I have some degree of suspicion, as mention of this dealer is suppose to guarantee legitimacy for this sale. But I question why these wonderful works of art would be sold at an “Estate Sale“ instead of a proper Art Gallery. There are many reputable art dealers but just as many who consciously prey on the uninformed art buyers looking for a great deal. Often these disreputable dealers move around from city to city, making it hard to track them down.

At this “Estate Sale“ there were paintings by an artist with a French last name, a relative no-name artist. The omission of this individual’s last name caused me to wonder. Didn’t the seller know his/her first name? Was the viewer to think “If I ask, he’ll think I don’t know who the really famous French artists are?”

The Rembrandt etchings were 19th century impressions. As Rembrandt lived and worked during the 17th century, his etching plates were frequently re-etched over the next two centuries, seriously altering the appearance of the resulting etchings. Practiced art buyers do not knock themselves out to acquire the later impressions, especially for the prices presented.

The Mary Cassatt etchings were replica etchings made in France from the original plates long after Mary died. The Louvre has a division that creates and sells posthumous prints from plates residing there. These typically sell for a few hundred dollars, not thousands as they were priced at this “Estate Sale.”

The remaining golden opportunities consisted of original lithographs by Marc Chagall, unsigned meaning they were originally tipped into books. These have some value but are not generally pursued or priced so aggressively. These were priced just high enough as to appear as if they might be originals but just low enough that there was room for resale. I wondered if this gives the impression that maybe the seller has the “Real Thing” and just doesn’t know it? One can’t help to think that there is profit to be made. There’s also a sense of urgency, can’t wait to long to buy or someone else might figure it out. After all, people have found million dollar items at sales. So what if the rest of the furnishings in this “Estate Sale” look like they came from the local thrift store.

In short, these opportunities were fool’s gold, as are most.

Remember, if it looks too good to be true it probably is.