r/WhatIsThisPainting Jan 15 '20

GUIDE What is a Decor Painting? How do I know if I have one?

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What is a “decor painting”?

A decor painting is a piece of artwork created purely for decorative purposes. Purchased not from galleries or artists, but from decor & furniture shops like Pier 1, Homesense, The Brick, websites like AliExpress and OilPaintings.com or from markets & stands on vacation. Tell-tale signs that you have a decor painting are lots of stippling, undefined figures, hurried brush strokes, gradients, cloning techniques and a certain Bob Ross feeling to it.

Common vintage subjects would be European street scenes, landscapes of mountains / forests / lakes & rivers, vases of flowers, Tuscan landscapes, ocean & beach scenes and Asian style boats. See below for examples. They are often rectangular in shape to hang nicely above a sofa, you could even buy them from Sears as a package. Modern versions are more varied in subject.

Black velvet paintings and artwork specifically for tourists as souvenirs share many factors with decor paintings.

Where are they made?

They are produced in massive numbers in painting factories like Dafen Village in China or Mexico. Another article here:

Dafen once produced an estimated 60 percent of all the world’s oil paintings. During its heyday—when the village’s reputation as an art factory rang truer than today—it almost exclusively cranked out copies of paintings in the Western art canon. These canvases found their way into hotel rooms, show homes, and furniture outlets all around the world.

At its peak, Dafen was jam-packed with sizeable, factory-like studios, all employing Huang’s production line process. Individual workers each focused on a specific compositional element—background details, or eyes, or trees—dutifully painting their part and then passing the canvas along the chain.

Who’s the Artist?

While they are "originals" they are not by known artists. Often entire production lines will use the same signature which explains why your research many have founds pieces by the same “artist”. As quoted above, often many people will work on the same piece.

Do they have any value?

Unfortunately, they do not hold much of any value. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be enjoyed and some are even a bit collectible.

Can I see some examples?

Decor paintings are posted to this sub almost daily, while not definitive, here are some common examples:

Landscape Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7

European Street Scene Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7

Vases of Flowers: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3 more coming soon...

Beach, Ocean & Boat Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6, Example 7, Example 8,

Other Miscellaneous Vintage Decor Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4

Modern Decor Paintings: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5, Example 6

Black Velvet & Souvenir Pieces: Example 1, more coming soon...

Please let me know if you see any room for improvement on this post or would like to include other examples. Thank you!


r/WhatIsThisPainting May 29 '25

GUIDE Read Me Before Posting

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Hello painting enthusiasts - here is a brief post with things to keep in mind.

SEARCHING:

To locate your painting, please try the reverse-search tools Google Images/Lens, Yandex Images, and Tineye. (Remember that cropping your picture differently will yield different search results!)

If you have an artist name or signature, I recommend searching for it within r/WhatIsThisPainting itself. I also use the following websites for research; all are free.

DECOR ART:

SUBMISSIONS:

  • Please be patient and allow up to 24 hours for your post to get through our queue! (Accounts under a week old and images involving nudity are automatically flagged.)
  • If your post has gone unanswered for over a week, you are permitted to re-submit in hopes of retrying.

ANSWERING POSTS:

  • If you are making a definitive ID, do try to cite your sources whenever possible. It is encouraged, but not required.
  • The use of predictive text-generators (i.e. chatGPT) is not permitted. They have a tendency to lie!

Happy solving!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 1d ago

Unsolved aya takano painting ID

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I’ve had this artwork saved for years and want to buy a print, so I’m looking for the title of the painting! I believe the work is by Aya Takano but I can’t find anymore information. Unfortunately this is only a saved photo from tumblr but if anyone has more information, please let me know :p


r/WhatIsThisPainting 2h ago

Unsolved Conflicting Information Identifying Painter

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I inherited this piece from my parents. It was a gift to my mom for playing the cello at their daughter's wedding. I used Google Lens to find out who the artist was, when it was painted, and what the phrase "Drip Farblitho" meant. The results were not consistent. The artist was identified as "E. F. Serre" or "E. F. Siepmann" (likely referring to Heinrich Siepmann.) Those names did not show this piece, although I do believe this may be a German artist based on the name of the woman (Audi Reinkroler?) Looking up "Sinfonia" does not help, there are too many results. I would appreciate anyone who can tell me who the artist actually is.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 7h ago

Unsolved Family heirloom

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Was gifted this piece after my grandfather died. We were not close so I really don’t have much information other than the family lived in Missouri and Alabama. There is no visible signature on front or back. There are artists in the family so it’s possible that it may have been painted by family. I know this does not provide much in the way of provenance, but there is no one left who knows anything about it. I did do an image search and nothing came up. I mostly was just hoping to get an idea of age and how to care for it, if possible.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 25m ago

Unsolved Help identifying this painting/artist I found on Pinterest?

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I found this painting on Pinterest and it's beautiful. Wanted to know who the artist is and what the painting is called! ❤️❤️


r/WhatIsThisPainting 10m ago

Unsolved Help ID'ing This Painting from an Airbnb in Milan?

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Hello all. I found this painting from an Airbnb I was staying in in Milan a few weeks ago. I unfortunately didn't have the chance to take a photo of the back, as I did not think I'd have so much trouble figuring out who the artist is and didn't know I'd be posting here when I took the photo. I wish I could read the signature, but this is all I've got. I appreciate any help in advance!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 42m ago

Unsolved Is this an original print?

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Hi, I have print that I think was made using the original copper plates. This is from Google lens if that helps. I would appreciate an info. Thanks!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 1h ago

Unsolved Identifying signature and any info on artists?

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More unknown paintings from an awesome cleanout. Sadly no info on these??? The RMR one has me stumped. All are paper backed in framed. Can anyone identify these pleeaassee?? Tyia!!!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 14h ago

Likely Solved - Decor Who is the artist?

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My husband inherited this painting from his grandmother. She gave it to him because he had admired it. He suspects it depicts the Chicago skyline, since she had once lived there. She was living in Southern California when she gave it to him. There is nothing on the back, as it has been refried. The original frame was a thick shiny gold, and there were no markings on the back.

Can anyone help me? Thank you for your time.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 1d ago

Unsolved My family and I have had this painting for about 4 years now. NSFW

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So we moved into this house on the eastern short of Virginia. It was pretty old probably about a century. I don’t know the exact date but it had stairs specifically for servants. The original owners were from Western Europe, I believe? I can interrogate my parents if more details are needed.

For reference I cannot find a signature on the bottom right or on the back. The brown spot on the right isn’t a seal or some kind of signature it’s just a part of the wood in the painting.

Really do love this piece. Kind of reminds me of the back rooms with all of the different corridors and structures not really having any rhyme or reason.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 10h ago

Unsolved Anyone know this art/artist? Found in basement

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I posted one previously and then later these two, not sure about the artist/country they are from, any information is helpful, thank you.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 5h ago

Unsolved Painting I saw years ago.

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I was watching youtube and it was this video with a painting as its background and some music playing or something. The painting wasn't credited and I scrolled down into the comment section, someone had credited the artist. I searched the artist up and saw a painting that I liked. The problem is, I didn't screenshot it or anything, and It has been years.

Everything I remember about the painting:

  • It was a top down view of white buildings. I don't know how to describe it, but it was super bright and white, like the Taj Mahal but not the Taj Mahal. Don't thing the buildings themselves were like the Taj Mahal, I'm just talking about the color.
  • There were some red accents (Cloth hanging, carpets, etc. I don't remember it quite well, sorry.) and some gold color as well if I remember correctly.
  • The building was almost like a Palace?
  • Here is where my memory starts getting hazy. There might have been water in it. There might have been some greenery behind. But I definitely remember white, red and gold being a part of it.

I'm sorry if this isn't enough information, it's the best I could do.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 14h ago

Unsolved Very nic

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This painting belongs to my father; he acquired it a long time ago. It's authentic, but not much is known about it. Please share it, and thank you. (Some modifications were made to the image saving program). (From the back)


r/WhatIsThisPainting 21h ago

Unsolved Unknown Thread Painting?

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Hi everyone my partners mom came across this painting left behind from a tenant in ontario canada, which was offered to us and we thought it was a funny painting of a lion print. After bringing it home and inspecting it up close it actually doesn’t appear to be a print or paint and instead it’s like threads of some kind weaving into the picture but it’s incredibly life like. It has a name engraving on the bottom right in an asian language which i cannot read. The frame of the painting is massive and pretty heavy. If anyone can help us to understand more abt this painting or identify the artist i’d greatly appreciate it.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 12h ago

Unsolved Who is this!

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I bought this print from an estate sale in my small kentucky/ohio hometown a few years ago. There isnt a date or name on it and im curious on who did it! Or who inspired it!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 21h ago

Likely Solved - Decor I've found this painting in my parent's house (France). Signed Robert Cox and I need more informations

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I love this painting and with few research I've found that there's a prolific artist but it was also possible that there's some chinese copie of him. How could I know if there's a real one or a fake chinese ?

The back said the frame was made in Angers (French city)

Thanks !


r/WhatIsThisPainting 19h ago

Unsolved For years ago at a thrift shop

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r/WhatIsThisPainting 21h ago

Unsolved Woman holding child

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Signed "W.Yip" at an estate sale in Sacramento CA. Couldn't definitively ID the artist from a cursory google search.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 16h ago

Unsolved Antique Store Find - trying to find the original artist

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My wife and I found this painting in an antique store in Cambridge, MA. We really love it and have been trying to find the original painter for awhile now. There is a signature in the bottom left that is dated 1932 and has a name that is something like Screll, or Sorelle, or Sorelli. We couldn't find anything when looking for a painter from around that time period. Ther are some really faint pencils marks on the back but we really can't make them out at all.

We did a reverse image search and actually found an almost identical painting with some clear variations.

Search hit 1 - https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Farmer-with-a-cow-and-donkeys/38B865CF95206F9A

Search hit 2 - https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/print-lot/?id=379944

As you can see, we believe the one we have is a new rendition of the one from the links posted. But they are claiming the original artist signed the painting "Pepe." Ours clearly doesn't have the same signature.

We couldn't find anything about an artist named Pepe that made this original. We were also curious why someone would remake a painting that seems like it was never famous and not painted by a well-known painter.

Was hoping anyone could point us in the right direction on the original artist and maybe who even made this remake.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 17h ago

Unsolved "X" etching, signed AIM(?), bought in Portland OR but framed in Houston

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I purchased this at a vintage store in Portland. It's small (about 11" x 7.5" sheet; the image is only around 4" x 3"). No date, a label on the back says it was framed in Houston (and it's a seven digit phone number, so it's from at least before the late nineties). The signature/monogram looks like "AIM" to me, though it could be Alm or maybe even AJM. Finally, there's a blindstamp in the corner.

There are a lot of clues here, but I haven't been able to crack it!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 19h ago

Unsolved Unsigned old pastel landscape — can anyone identify the artist, school, or date?

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I recently acquired this unsigned atmospheric landscape and I’m trying to identify the artist, approximate date, and medium more confidently.

The work appears to be pastel or another dry medium on a textured support, under replacement glass in an older wood frame with gilt inner trim.

Visible artwork: approx. 19.5 × 7.75 in.
Glass: approx. 20 × 8 in.
Overall frame: approx. 23.5 × 11.6 in.

There is no visible signature, title, or date that I can find.

A handwritten note on the reverse reads:

“Approx 1860 / Frame age / Glass replaced.”

I’m assuming that note refers to the estimated age of the frame rather than definitively dating the artwork.

Provenance: I bought it privately via Craigslist in Danbury, Connecticut. The seller said he had received it more than 10 years earlier from a woman in Poughquag, New York. He said her original family was from Cross River, New York, and that she later moved to the Charleston area. He independently described it as an old pastel, probably from the 1800s.

The backing has not been removed, so there could potentially be information hidden around the edges or reverse of the actual artwork.

I’d especially appreciate opinions on:

  • likely medium/support
  • approximate date
  • American vs. European origin
  • artistic school or movement
  • possible artist or circle
  • whether anyone recognizes the composition or handling

Thanks very much for reading, and I appreciate any insight anyone can offer.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 20h ago

Unsolved Found this painting in my sisters basement

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I found this study of Cederström‘s The Sunlight in my sister‘s basement.
With the signature „HRh.“
Location Würzburg, BY, Germany.
She does not remember ever having this painting.
It is a bit creepy, but it is tickling my curiosity.


r/WhatIsThisPainting 1d ago

Solved German Abstract?

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Bought these 5 or 6 years ago at an antique flea market in Massachusetts (Brimfield). I believe they are German. Just curious if anyone recognizes them, or the signature. Thanks!


r/WhatIsThisPainting 1d ago

Likely Solved Accidentally found this painting

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Long story short: I’ve tried to save some money on buying the couch. Found one in the abandoned storage unit and bought it. In the same unit there was this painting. I’m not the big fan of art but it looks great, has some kind of clear coat on it.
Can you help me with understanding what I’ve got?