The Enid Blyton Society

I don't know what anybody things about this painting on ebay. I wouldn't bid on it myself, but obviously there are some who do think it is genuine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beautiful-Ori ... 5673dc87cd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very interesting. The date seems to be 9 April but the year is difficult to make out. It could possibly depict Enid and her father on one of their beloved walks together when she was a child. I would need to know a bit more before bidding on it though. And the seller doesn't seem to know much about it so I don't know where we could get more information; especially if Tony is also unsure.

I guess what we really need to know is that signature genuine.

The 'E' is not like her usual way of writing it. I would not bid on it - it isn't that interesting to me.

I agree with Daisy, the "E" isn't right. I wouldn't bid for it.

I'm not saying it's genuine, I wouldn't have a clue, but in defence of the signature, it was obviously signed when the paper (?) was still wet, as you can see that the ink/paint has bled slightly, and you can see the pale colour wash on that part of the picture, so if Enid (?) was using a brush to sign it or a pen that she wasn't used to, particularly a special pen designed for art work rather than normal writing, her signature would definitely vary slightly and look different, because she was using a different tool, and on wet paper. Its actually incredibly difficult to sign your name with a paintbrush, and it very rarely looks the same as your normal signature that you get with a normal pen.

That is interesting, even though we can't be sure it's really by Enid Blyton.

Lucky Star wrote:Very interesting. The date seems to be 9 April but the year is difficult to make out.

It could be April 3rd, with a 9 or a G over on the left. If it's a G rather than a 9, it could perhaps (if genuine) stand for "Gillian" and be a sketch of Gillian with Hugh or even Kenneth. It looks like a day out or a holiday.

Or it could be 9 April as you said, John, and the last word could be the name of a place or a person if it's not the year.

Would Imogen be familiar enough with her Mother's painting style to verify its authenticity?

Somehow it has a touch off the watercolour that Enid did subject her garden.

It is light watercolour, without too much depth, and I think Enid's watercolour was of a similar style. I'm not at home sadly, so cannot look at the book in which the painting is.

It's a nice painting regardless.

Although I'm surprised it went for 51 pounds, I didn't think it would fetch this high a price.

ETA: Actually, I'm surprised it went for 51, it sounds suspiciously low!!

You must be joking! It's hideous. Our own Julie's paintings and sketches are far better. Of course, she hasn't got the Enid Blyton name to trade on.

Thanks for the compliment, old thing. As least Enid's (if it is Enid's) has sold.

Mine sadly don't.

Could it be a Cover for a Book of Enid. Maybe for a book, that owns nothing? Could it be a situation in a story of her? (Maybe somebody lost his cover etc.)

The painting actually reminds me of Arthur Ransome's illustrations for his Swallows and Amazons series - they seem similar because in this picture, we see two characters with their backs to us: which is the same technique as Arthur Ransome seems to have used quite often in his books.

Is that technique called lack of skill?