Accepted Answer

Hello Piet,

This is an excerpt from the article in the second link, it's about the importance of Silas Wood Jr. in the American Arts:

"...However, it was Silas Wood Jr. (1816-1885), an itinerant artist and teacher, who was responsible for both the enormous popularity of the medium in America and its elevation in contemporary minds from an ornamental to a fine art. Wood renamed the technique "Monochromatic Painting"(4) (in part to highlight its original emphasis on a single color - black), and he promoted the method on his extensive travels across the country. Advertising heavily in the cities and towns he visited, Wood encouraged residents to attend his free lectures on the fine arts, to visit his traveling Gallery of Original Paintings, and to subscribe to his series of lessons.(5) His "monochromes" won prizes at the state fairs in Ohio (1850) and Connecticut (1856),(6) as well as praise in local newspapers. Wood also published and widely distributed several pamphlets describing his system of painting and offering glowing testimonials from satisfied students and leading citizens.(7) His "monochromatic boards" were promoted as the standard of excellence by booksellers and dealers in artists' materials around the country."

It appears that Silas Wood Jr. is an important figure in American Art however I was not able to locate much info about him, may be he is forgotten in the history of art.

Another possibility is that people who framed the pictures might have thought these are paintings from Silas Wood (1769—1847), the politician and historian who was born 53 years after the artist Silas Wood, which would make them very valuable.

In either case, what you got appears to be something valuable and only a very good arts expert can tell you what exactly they are and their values.

Hope this helps better, have a great day!

Expert:	tex-eng
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Answered:	12/7/2006

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