Post #773449 by Otto on Mon, Feb 27, 2017 5:46 PM

Ukutiki
What a coincidence, I am also trying to figure this out. The label notes that Leeteg had passed which means the painting is after 1953 and due to the smaller size it is definitely painted by a hired copy artist.

See the image of my label which has the same text but the price has been raised to $2000 (note it is in a different typeface than the rest of the label) and that is somewhat shocking because it is documented that Leeteg paintings were selling for up to $10,000 at his death and up to $20,000 by 1969!?!
My painting is the standard Leeteg size of 22x32 and has a different numbering system.

From John Turner's 1999 Leeteg book I know that Leeteg and Barney had a numbering system because Leeteg painted multiples of his most popular paintings, but this is obviously a different numbering system. I believe my number includes the initials of the copy artist "DG"

Until someone sheds more light on the numbering system I cannot be 100% sure that my painting is by a copy artist rather than Leeteg himself because it is possible that original Leeteg paintings existed for sale after his death (though unlikely)

See my painting and label here
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=51964&forum=12&hilite=Leeteg

On 2017-02-26 15:48, ukutiki wrote:
I picked up this small "Leeteg" this morning at an antique market. It is not in good condition (needs cleaning and has some scratches. No tears in the velvet. It measures 11" by 14" and appears to be mounted on a hard surface and the velvet is not soft.

It is signed Leeteg Tahiti and possibly a copyright symbol as well. It has the standard Davis Gallery on the back identifying it as number 195-2292 and titled MATA. There are also numbers on the brown paper #195-2292 and 5593-B. I know it is not an original but my question is how un-original is it? Did Leeteg paint it as a copy? Did an assistant paint it? Somebody else? Is it velvet or not?

Thanks for any help you can give me. ukutiki