Picture this

This painting of mine has the signature of George Inness on the lower right-hand side, and the style looks very much like his. However, it’s been done on cardboard, which is unusual for this artist, I believe. I would appreciate any insight on its authenticity.

Yuliya Taveira, via email

This is not, sadly, a work by the famous 19th- century American painter George Inness. It was, in fact, painted in the mid- tolate 20th century, probably in China. The signature actually reads ‘C. INNESS’, which appears to be a pseudonym used by a group of artists who worked in one of the large Chinese painting factories, specialising in decorative pictures for the mass export market. This type of painting o$en shows a generic landscape scene and is painted in arti "cially bright colours. Numerous works signed ‘C. INNESS’ have appeared at auction over the last decade and typically sell for anything up to £ 50.