Estate Sale Antique and Vintage Art Haul

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If you follow me on INSTAGRAM, you know how much I adore going to estate sales. I'm not sure how long I've shopping them, but I know it's the be, better part of two decades. I get asked lots of questions about them, that I've never properly answered, so stay tuned for a follow-up post with all my tips and tricks!

Until then, though, I want to share a recent antique and vintage art haul from an amazing estate sale I went to a couple of week ago. My friend Brooke was going and asked if I wanted to come along. This was very generous of her, because she's definitely all-business when sourcing and we sometimes look for similar things...including art. She got even more than I did, though, so I think she still did ok.

This sale was a bit different from most that I go to. The first thing is just the quantity of stuff. I've been to many packed sales, so it wasn't so shocking to me, but still so much... The second thing that set it apart is that the family of the man whose estate was being sold is who put on the sale. Through chit chat in line, I discovered that the family had been working on getting the house ready for six months!! They had pulled everything out of the house, built shelves in every room, and then put it all back in...like a store. The man apparently had such a large collection that he stored it in several places, not just the house. Normally when families put on the estate sales, the pricing is quite reasonable...they just want to get rid of things. The family at this sale, however, had definitely utilized the internet and priced a lot of the items at retail. Not a bad thing if you're buying for yourself, but not good if you're buying to resell.

We got to the sale first, so we really were getting first pick of things. There were maybe 10-15 other people there when we went into the house (after waiting for over an hour) and we all sort of scattered to the small rooms throughout the house. One tip for shopping estate sales is to study the pictures for items that you want. Then you'll know where to go in the house once you gain access.

At this sale, there was art scattered throughout, but it was concentrated in a bedroom and the garage. Strangely, all the art seemed to be of the same quality, but it was priced much higher in the house and bedroom, versus what was displayed in the garage. The only difference I could glean is that there was more work involved in finding the gems in the garage since there was so much, so the prices were better for those pieces.

The unfortunate part of people having such large collections (or hoards) is that they often can't manage them with any degree of quality. This can mean items can have cracks or broken pieces or even be damaged by water and mold. This doesn't mean that they're worthless by any means, especially for antiques or vintage, but it is something to be aware of. Estate sales are normally stressful, as there are usually a lot of people all looking for treasures, and they can be hard to maneuver in, considering a lot of inventory and smaller spaces.

I know when I'm at an estate sale, I have to be very focused or I miss things I'm looking for and can make bad choices in the items I pick up...not paying attention to damage they might have. I usually try to gather all my items and do a final look over all of them before I check out, making sure I'm getting only the best of the pieces I've found. Even with all of this care, it's easy to come home with pieces that don't look exactly like what you thought when you pick them up at the sale. Again, not to say that this is always bad, considering the age of the pieces, but just be aware so you don't waste your money or get too disappointed when you get things cleaned up and have a better look. This was especially true of the art from the sale I'm sharing because everything was packed in very tightly and was extremely dirty.

After I scored all this gorgeous art, we went out of town and then I was sick for over a week! I finally felt better this week and was able to do a bit of cleaning on each of the pieces. I didn't want to damage them at all, so I careful dabbed and wiped with a damp cloth. I'm by no means an expert in art preservation, but this method has done well by me over the years. Another tip is to use canned air to remove dust and lint from the canvases.

Now, I bought all of this art with the goal of reselling, but I think we all know that I'm going to be keeping a few of the pieces for myself. My goal is to go through our house and switch out any prints that I'm not totally in love with for the original art I picked up at the estate sale. I would much rather have the real deal, after all. The best part of being a vintage treasure hunter is that there is always something "new" and exciting waiting around the bend. There are some things that I will always keep, but honestly...the list of those things is pretty short. Instead, I like to think of myself as their temporary keeper until their forever home is found.

I'm so happy that I was able to go to the estate sale of this man. I brought home only a small snippet of his beloved collection, but I'm so happy to show each of the pieces some love and attention. Whether I keep the art or it goes to a new home, it's so much better off now than being all crammed into shelves...never to be seen. Art is meant to be loved, felt, and enjoyed...not hidden away en masse.

I hope that you enjoy seeing these pieces of antique and vintage art. I know each one of them has made me smile, knowing they hold so much history...not only of the people who painted them, but also of those who owned them along the way. Do you enjoy shopping estate sales? Have you ever been to one with this much inventory?

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