I would like some information on Samuel Luke Fildes. And I would like to know what the Value of his Print "The Doctor" is worth. Its in ex cellent condition.. Thanks Dolores

-- D. Pilipow (airways@spreda.sk.ca), February 27, 1999

Answers

Sir Samuel Luke Fildes, 1844-1927, a British genre painter, member of the Academy. I'm sure there is more to be gained from the standard artist reference books available at most university and larger public libraries. Ask the Reference Librarian.

All my life I was given to understand that my great great grandfather posed for that painting. It turned out to be not true; he posed for the American genre painter, T.W. Wood, for a painting titled "The Country Doctor" (which I am still looking for, if anyone out there has any leads...). Over the years, however, we purchased copies of the Fildes image for numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, et. al. It's a relatively common print, in all sizes and printed by many, many different sources. I have paid as little as $3, for a small, modern print, and as much as $60, twice, for large (20x26+) period prints in period frames. In all cases, the errant familial association aside, I think it's fair to say that I paid for the frame; the print, per se, probably has little or no value. It seems that it may have hung in every GP's office in the country (and apparently Canada, as well) from 1890-1950, and I still occasionally see it on a physician's office wall, though its sentimentality is rather out of vogue at this time.

I hope you can be content to simply enjoy it.

-- Charles Gardiner (cgard@rclink.net), March 04, 1999.