Edna Eicke Reproduction Prints, ca. 1972
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GUEST:
Yeah, my wife and I bought our house in 1990 here in Manhasset, and about 2005, we decided to do a renovation on the house, which meant making sure there was nothing up in the attics. We found this in a back corner of the attic. I mean, it was just, like, "What is it?" It was all wrapped in newspapers and stuff. And we opened them up and we found these two paintings. And we said, "Okay, this is great." They ended up hanging in our new dining room. From what I know about them, they were done by an illustrator that did New Yorker covers. I don't know how to pronounce her last name, but it's Edna Eicke? We have an old house, so it was like a perfect fit, and we've both enjoyed them for years, hanging in the house.
APPRAISER:
So you have two wonderful images here by Edna Eicke, who is a 20th-century American artist. She was born in Montclair, New Jersey. She lived from 1919 till 1979.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And she really is known more as a New York artist, even though she was born in New Jersey. She studied at Parsons School of Design.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
She actually studied advertising and fashion and she got her career started doing window displays.
GUEST:
Interesting.
APPRAISER:
And eventually, she started doing illustrations for magazines. She did Vogue, she did Woman's Day, House and Garden, and, as you've mentioned, New Yorker.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
So, these are two of her very well-known images from New Yorker magazine. She did 51 covers, I believe, in all.
GUEST:
That many, wow! (laughs)
APPRAISER:
The one closer to you is called "What's Your Name?" and it's from 1950.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And then the one on this side is "Children on a Bridge," which is from 1948. Now, what did you want to learn today, while you're here, about these?
GUEST:
Oh, well, what we'd really like to learn is... Well, my wife thinks they're not real. I think they are real. But we came here to find out if they're real or not. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
And what do you mean by real?
GUEST:
Real, the real paintings, the originals.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Well, I will tell you that we're going to settle the score here today.
GUEST (laughing): Okay.
APPRAISER:
They are reproductions.
GUEST:
Okay. (chuckling)
APPRAISER:
They are wonderful examples of her work. And certainly, if you wanted one of her images in your home, the one especially closer to you is one of the best-known that, that you'd want to have. There was a box set put together of her works, and I think these may be from that box set, which included 12 of her most popular images.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
So they are printed on paper. They don't look so much like reproductions because they're not offset lithographs. They're a photolithographic process, but you wouldn't see a dot screen...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...if you looked at it under a magnifying glass.
GUEST (laughing): Yeah, we did, yeah.
APPRAISER:
So, there's a couple of ways that, that I can tell, and things that we look for.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
First of all, they're completely flat. So when you look at them, you don't see a lot of paint or brushstrokes.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
You see a very kind of flat application of the ink.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Another sign, and it's very slight, but the colors have shifted just a bit, and that is based on light hitting the print. It, it just shifts it over time, and it looks a little bit different. But they are wonderful images to hang and to view. And a, a very important illustrator from the 20th century. In terms of value, you probably would end up getting $100 to $150 for the pair.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And if they were the original illustrations, we'd add about two zeros to that.
GUEST (laughing): Wow.
APPRAISER:
So, you would be looking at $10,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
For the pair if they were paintings.
GUEST:
Well, they'll still hang in the house. They're pretty pie-- pieces and everybody loves them, so... (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
I hope that your wife is happy with the news. Maybe happier than you are, since she was right.
(both laughing)
GUEST:
I'm sure. (laughs)
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