Clara Davis Inness- Born in Illinois on Nov. 2, 1874. While in San Francisco in 1896-99, Inness studied at the Mark Hopkins Art Institute. A spinster, she died of cancer in Santa Barbara, CA on Jan. 15, 1932. Seems her work doesn't sell for much, on eBay at least. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_od...A0.H0.Xc.+inness.TRS0&_nkw=c.+inness&_sacat=0
"C Inness" is a name chosen by the art factories in China - much like "Wallace" and "BC Wellan" at ebay. None of the paintings have any provenance, titles, or dates. Presently there are no less than 25 "Inness" paintings listed for sale.
Clara D Innes (correct spelling) did not paint any of the hundreds (or thousands) of paintings attributed to her. Her family has never seen any work by her and knows nothing of her being a painter - never mind a prolific one. Some of the materials used were not made until the last 10 years of her life - she'd have been extremely busy. The "Inness" signatures used to change but have settled on a block letter.
One "C Inness" painting, bought in Montreal, came with a typed letter attached claiming the artist was an elderly Carl Inness in Amsterdam, another claimed ex-RAF Colin Innes, both reputed to have been recognized and shown but nothing else could be found (Colin Innes in the RAF died in service).
Check out Dafen Art Factory, or Chinese art factories.
1794-1932.The style if creation by painting strokes IS appropriate for the time period. Surat is an example. If there is texture and it was made with tiny dots. The time to make a work like this is very high and just couldn't be reproduced in dome factory to make the value. I hold a BA in Art from the University if Oregon, College of Art and Design and I paint as well.
I would take this to a specialist and insure it for sure.
I donāt know what GoldieLocksā attachment tells us because it wonāt open. Nevertheless, the originally posted picture at least is as āInnesā says. It has no relationship to an artist called āC. Innesā which, in this case, is an invented (or borrowed) name. All the back-story touted with them is fictitious or mis-associated and has been so widely plastered across the net that this non-existent artist has taken on a life of his/her own. These pictures aren't even all painted by the same person. Itās original art in the sense of being hand-painted (or at least hand-finished) but came out of a factory in Asia and itās untrue to say that these factories (employing skilled copyists for peanuts) couldnāt produce āartā like this at a profitable price.
Hundreds of them exist with similar themes, often incorporating improbably large swans as is the case here. Theyāre all different but formulaic in imagery, often including the same hut/cottage/trees/lakes etc with only minor re-arrangements, or seen from a slightly different viewing aspect.
They were popularly sold in the 1980s from display boards rented in shopping centres and such along with other pictures having different fictitious signatures from the same factories, selling for around $25 or so. They donāt fetch a lot more than that today. Hereās a āBuy it Nowā on fleabay for $50 (note the over-sized swans again) which is a fairly typical āvalueā.