# Wouldn't a genuine Renoir be worth more than $ 100,000? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wouldnt-a-genuine-renoir-be-worth-more-than-100-000/634213 "2012-09-09T16:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wouldnt-a-genuine-renoir-be-worth-more-than-100-000/634213/1 "2012-09-09T16:48:21Z")
Per this article I thought Renoirs were kind of a big deal. If so $ 100,000 seems a little low if he was a major figure. [Woman Finds Renoir Original at Flea Market](http://www.newser.com/story/153672/woman-finds-renoir-original-at-flea-market.html) > [@](#): > > Newser) – The flea market box lot was less than $50, and the buyer picked it up mostly for the Paul Bunyan doll it contained. But it turns out the box lot also contained an original painting by Renoir that could fetch up to $100,000 in an auction at the end of the month, reports the New York Times. The 5.5-inch-by-9-inch painting of the Seine riverside is believed to be Renoir’s Paysage Bords de Seine. It was bought from a French gallery in 1925 and later sold to a Maryland collector, but art historians aren’t sure when or how it disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wouldnt-a-genuine-renoir-be-worth-more-than-100-000/634213/2 "2012-09-09T17:00:21Z")
IANAAH (I am not an art historian), but this sentence from the [Wikipedia article on the artist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Auguste_Renoir) might be a clue, “A prolific artist, he made several thousand paintings.” In other words, his paintings aren’t terribly rare. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wouldnt-a-genuine-renoir-be-worth-more-than-100-000/634213/3 "2012-09-09T17:09:24Z")
Also, 5x9 isn’t very big – about half the size of a standard piece of paper. It’s not like this is a major painting. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wouldnt-a-genuine-renoir-be-worth-more-than-100-000/634213/4 "2012-09-09T17:16:34Z")
Plus, it does depend upon how the bidding goes on that day. Perhaps there are two people just dying to lay their hands on an original Renoir - it is not uncommon to see a bidding war where this could quickly raise the price. As an Antiques Roadshow fan, I am often amazed at the low price of many paintings/sketches found from famous painters. But they too mention that size of painting comes into play, as well as style - if the artist is famous for lush landscapes but you have a portrait of an old man, it might not be worth as much. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wouldnt-a-genuine-renoir-be-worth-more-than-100-000/634213/5 "2012-09-09T19:04:42Z")
For sure being small makes a difference. It’s not going to dominate an entire wall in your living room or be the crown jewel of a gallery exhibition. Having a muddy provenance probably plays a role, too. Sold to a collector then disappeared for 87 years isn’t going to raise the price as much as being sold 8 or 10 times for continually escalating amounts.