I have a painting which is signed by n artist called Leeder it is a Victorian painting in the original frame?

First, try entering a name into a meta search engine like www.dogpile.com. Enter it in quotes "John Smith" to narrow down your search, Or "John Smith California" to narrow it down even more.

For information on artists living or dead, try sites like: "absolutearts.com" or "worldwidearts.com" and type in whatever you have--artist name, type of work, style of work, medium used, size, etc. Is it a print, a painting, a photograph, an original, a copy? a numbered lithograph print is a lot different than a giclee print. These things all effect the value, as does the condition.

If the artist is dead, a gallery link might pop up. A gallery dealing with the works or the estate of an artist can give you a lot of useful information, might be able to tell you the value and if there is a market for the work. If you are looking to get a piece appraised, do as much research as you can on it first. If it's a print, that is a different kind of dealer than if you have an original oil painting. A print might be more appropriate for an antiques dealer while a painting might be more appropriate for a gallery to appraise. Museums do very little if any outside appraisal. They do not have the time or the staff to offer that service.

If you are talking about an established artist it is reasonable and normal. The issue here is what right the artist is selling to the painting, and if you agree than those are the right you are buying. The same thing is with realestate, the city or municipality puts rules or rights of how a property you buy can be used, and when you buy a property and sign a contract you are to use it in a proper manner. The first part is understandable , nobody wants a piece of art destroyed. But usually it is applied in situations of large public works and large modern sculptures or murals. When they become unpopular they get thorn down, but tearing down or destroying a piece of art might hurt an artist carrier. thirty days a year loan to a gallery is a lot. But it is customary for an artist to put in that if they have an major museum or top gallery retrospective of their work , for you to loan the work to the show, and the work will be insured and some fees payed to you usually. It is a good idea because it usually raises the price of the art. Resell laws are controversial and are only in liberal California, they don't go over 10%. You can say no or yes to that. Also copyrights, usually artists don't sell copyrights, so the artists is always able to publicy the painting, but the owner or the person in posession has no such rights. this is understandable, because I would not want anybody to use my work in such a way as to demine me or my work ot to use it in their ad campaines without me getting money or credit, Or by telling people they did it. It is like buying a can of coke doesn't give you the right ot use their logo in your advertising, or using their product in advertising. The art world and the laws are sometimes complicated, i would change some wording on the contract, and speak to the artist. The worst thing is when you want to buy something to bring you pleasure, but some stupid unreasonable person stops you from it and gives a bed vibe to the whole thing.

local auction houses often give free evaluations, they have access to books on various artists and they may be able to help you find further information

He was a old fart who liked scribbling

throw it in the fire cause its worth jack