Is this extremely creepy old painting worth anything? It has paintings on both sides. I linked pictures!?

Question

I bought this for 35 dollars at some thrift place today. I saw this somewhat ugly painting of a man sitting on a bench with what appears to be maybe a covered basket , beer in his hand and some bread. For some crazy reason I snatched it off the wall and flipped it around. On the other side is what appears to be a Victorian painting of a woman in her mid twenties. The weird thing about it is It's a complete and utter masterpiece yet she has a red X on her face. She had some VERY old newspaper stuck to her face and nose- I'm not sure if this was some sort of accident over the years but it was OLD newspaper like dust old. I flaked it off very carefully to reveal her beautiful mouth and nose. As you can see there is still some little bits on here and there but I'm afraid to mess up the paint. I included the signature of the first side- the portrait of the man. But I can't see any signature for the portrait of the woman- I'm guessing It's underneath the frame but yet again I don't want to mess it all up and I totally would knowing me. If you look closely you can see faint red X marks all on her body. The one on her face is dark but the others are faint like whoever did it ran out of paint. I can't tell what's in the background but it appears to be a very dark landscape. Maybe a night time portrait? She has what appears to be ruffles on the back right of side her dress- from what I can see anyways.  My hypothesis is probably incorrect but I think this is someone that was wealthy and maybe the painter didn't like the way it turned out so he ruined it - either that or this was a painting in some very rich persons house and someone got mad at them and vandalized it? Idk lol let me know what you think. 
The picture link is down below and again the man is on the front and the woman is on the back.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/creepypaintings/

Nomi · Accepted Answer

Wow, interesting.  This I am nearly certain of -- neither are Victorian paintings (mid thru late 19th century).  The style is too modern.  Plus, the year with the signature is 1962.  My guess is that the same artist did both paintings and for some reason he or she was dissatisfied with the painting of the woman, didn't want to waste the canvas, so turned it over to make the strange painting of the man on the bench.  The artist him or herself may have x'ed out her face and put the newspaper on top; painters do that kind of thing when they think they made a "failure." 

 My feeling is that the front painting was done from imagination; the woman perhaps from direct observation.  That would explain why the front painting has that strange awkward feel, and the back one feels more skilled.  But the way the paint is actually applied is not THAT different.

Anyway, it's fairly unlikely that these paintings are worth real money.  To find out for sure, you'd have to have them appraised.  Sometimes local art museums will have a list of appraisers that they use and are trustworthy.  But sorry to tell you that you may spend more on the appraisal than what the piece is worth.  But I can't say for sure; I don't recognize the signature, but that doesn't mean much.  I'm just saying that the odds are low that you came upon a valuable painting in a thrift store.  The painting of the women is quite compelling, though.  And even the other strange one is interesting.

Anonymous · Answer

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Is this extremely creepy old painting worth anything? It has paintings on both sides. I linked pictures!?

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