Bessie Pease Gutmann Prints

Q: I inherited 13 Bessie Pease Gutmann prints when my cousin died. They are all framed and look very old. Some are named and several are not. I would like to know how to find out what they’re worth.

A: Bessie Pease Gutmann (1876–1960) was an American artist who did illustrations for advertisements, books, magazines, postcards and calendars. She is best known for her prints of babies and young children. She stopped working in 1947. Her prints have been mass-produced. Original prints were done on matte paper and include the print number and the name and city of the publisher, “Gutmann and Gutmann, New York, N.Y.” Titles on early prints were written in block letters. Later prints had titles in script. Original prints can be worth a few hundred dollars, while copies sell for as little as $10 to $15 each.