I inherited a pastel done by an artist named J. Erwin Porter. He was more well known (semi-famous) in the northeast. How or where would I go to market/sell something like this, someplace honest?

Hi, cmc3427101!

My first recommendation would be to approach people at art or antique stores of any kind to see if they would be willing to sell it on consignment for you. It would get excellent exposure in those types of places and would thus possibly be sold for a higher price than you could get by advertising it yourself. Vendors in those kinds of places would probably also be the most likely to know how to price it the most correctly.

Places like eBay cost money to use and you most likely wouldn't be able to get what it's truly worth monetarily by using any of the sites where it's free for you to advertise things.

Thanks!

I would actually recommend getting in touch with a reputable dealer. Apparently in recent years J. Erwin Porter pieces have gained some popularity and worth. The best way to protect not giving it away for less than it's worth is to get it appraised and deal with someone who deals in art.

The New York State Museum has quite a collection of them and they are becoming popular with collectors.