Posting a picture would be a first step...
Seeing if it is on stretched canvas...if there is any signature...and the style and dress of the protrait would be a help.
Go to photobucket and post from there.
Linda C

I have posted a photo of the front and back view of the portrait on photobucket. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get them here.

Let's see if this works.
http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h139/ocsue/

Only note I could find from my father is that the portraits (there were two, I have only the man) were made for a woman who was born in 1865/died 1918 and whose maiden name was Cunningham. I think these people would have been in the San Francisco/San Jose area. I'll show it to an artist friend because she might be able to identify the fabric, which is nailed to the frame.
The frame appears to be redwood, but my husband can't be sure till he sands down a bit of it. The piece sat for years in a dry basement, no bug damage to the wood.

You have to copy the middle line of the stuff below the picture...beginning with img...and paste it into the body of your message on this forum.
No one can see the pictures in YOUR photobucket account without a password.
Linda C

Here we go

Sorry about the size. There must be a way to put up something a bit smaller.

Size is good for me....helps to see the deatil....
But I still don't know what they are!!
Linda C

Though I don't know if it was possible then to print a photo on canvas this looks very much like the painted photographs that were popular during this time period.

Here is a link to a book on the topic as well.

http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/0-271-01507-1.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Painted photographs

This looks like a hand colored photograph, except that it is painted on canvas. I'm not sure if they did that back in the 1800's or not, but that's what it looks like to me. My dad was doing hand-coloring of photographs at one time back in the early 40's but all of his work was on paper images. If this was a relative of mine I would be inclined to spend some bucks to have it restored and also to find out through geneological research all I could about the subject person and possibly the painter/photographer. The wood mounting block appears to be mahogany.

The damage is so extensive on the canvas under the picture, it will not likely ever be worth anything other than as a family heirloom. But it sure would be nice to know something about it. I find it fascinating. Also I would have it restored to it's original frame. That's just me, though, I like old stuff to look like it did originally, even if it costs money to make it so.

My dad bought an antique press-back chair at a garage sale for $2 and I paid $108 to have the seat recaned. There were much less expensive ways to have it done, but the way it was originally done was the old weaving method and I wanted the restoration to be authentic. Was it worth it? To me it was, even though I don't know anything else about the chair except that it's really, really old and very, very pretty. I guess you'd have to decide how much this item means to you. Personally, I think you have a priceless family treasure and if it were mine I'd probably be a little excited about it.

(yeah, right, just a little - YAHOO!!!!! ZOWEEEEEE, EEEEYAAAAA, YOWZAAA, IT'S MINE ALL MINE ALL MINE Mwaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! (doing!! the!!! happy!!! dance!!), etc, etc)

But that's just me.

Cheryl

Thanks. I guess posting it set me thinking. I wrote to the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian, who gave me four places to check. Tonight I wrote to the California Historical Society as a start because I'm pretty sure the subject lived in California. The contact at NPG said he thinks it dates from 1850-1900 as I suspected. Another suggestion is American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, whose web address looks like it must be related to Stanford University, which is close to where the subject probably lived.

And, seamommy, I think I may well return it to the original frame. But it looks like it will take some time to get there. Sure wish I could find the companion piece: there are two frames and I'm sure there was another portrait, but my cousin, who has the other frame (at least, her mother had it and I'm hoping she kept it) said she had never seen the painting. I'm assuming the other portrait would be a woman.

I'll report back if I get anything interesting.

It is possible to develop a photograph on canvas if the canvas is treated with the same stuff that photo paper is treated.

Then you take the black and white print and paint over it with oils for a "portrait" that doesn't involve much skill.

trekker; great picture. Don't assume it is not an oil painting just because you can see no brush strokes. My 2x great grandfather painted between 1860 and 1930 and none of his oil paintings have any visible brush marks. It took great skill using very thin paint and a delicate hand and was not all that uncommon. He also made alot of his own frames as artist did back then esp. if they needed to be frugal and spend their money on the paints. The back of your frame looks very much like something my grandfather would have put together had he wanted an oval frame. Get someone to take a look at it so yo'll know for sure if it is oil or a painted photgraph. Hope you find out who it is, good luck!

Thanks. Still haven't learned anything but will post it when I do.