A French gallery sending European paintings across the Atlantic since 2017
We source original oil paintings of the 16th to the 20th century, in France and across Europe, mainly from private hands and regional sales. Everything ships free to the United States and Canada.
Sold on eBay under the same name since April 2017. Feedback rated over the last twelve months.
We name what we know, and only that
The greatest risk in buying an antique painting is an attribution that will not survive scrutiny. Where a work is not signed and documented, we catalogue it in the standard vocabulary of the trade and nothing stronger. Attributed to, Studio of, Circle of, Follower of, Manner of, After.
We never present a circle or follower work as an autograph painting by a master. Our guide to Reading Attribution sets out where each term sits.
We photograph the back
The reverse dates the support when the style dates nothing.
- The weave of the linen
- The wood of the stretcher and its keys
- Old labels, dealer stamps and inscriptions
- Whether the canvas has been lined
All of it is read before a word is written about the front, and every listing carries a photograph of it.
We say what is there
A canvas of the 17th or 18th century has almost always been relined and carries old restorations. That is conservation history, not damage, and we say so rather than let a buyer discover it on arrival. Every listing describes the support, the frame and the state of the surface as we find them.
Paintings go online when they have been examined, photographed and described. Not before.
How we ship
Every painting is wrapped by hand in protective sheeting and bubble wrap, then boxed in rigid double-walled cardboard. Corners are reinforced, and the frame never touches the wall of the box.
Tracked and signature required. The painting travels at our risk until it is delivered into your hands.
You have fourteen days from delivery to notify us of a return. Return shipping is at the buyer's expense. Full terms are in our shipping and returns policy.
Any question, in writing
- More photographs
- A detail of the signature
- The surface under raking light
- Our reading of an attribution
Answered by the person who selects, photographs and packs the paintings, along with what we do not know.