oil painting on tin....civil war soldier and wife? how can i tell?

Question

I found this painting on tin at a yard sale, and i know it is very old, but can i date it by figuring out the uniform on the soldier? the woman looks victorian..was the civil war in the late 1800's? what did their uniforms look like? if it is picture of a civil war soldier and his wife (portrait style), is it neccesarily worth anything?

Answer 1

Just because it looks old, doesn't mean it is as old as you think. You can't necessarily date a painting by looking the people in it. It could be a painting that someone did after the fact years later. You need to find out the what pigments were used to paint it. You need to find the composition of the tin itself. Take it to an antiques dealer who specializes in this kind of painting to be sure. It could worth something, but it could be something done recently that someone tried to make it look old. Good luck in your search.