I would start at the Museum of Art. They are, after all, in the job of appraising art work as well as collecting it, conserving it and restoring it. They also have contacts with many other museums and conservators of art (not dealers per se) who could find the most obscure of artists, their history and a list of their works to help you learn about your art work. Do not just take your artwork to the museum, call first, Explain to the person you speak to that you have a bit of art explain what kind of art (painting/photo/printing/etc) Paintings are most often signed. Some (not all) artists are not so much ashamed of their name but care to not to detract from the work itself and either sign on the edge either the extreme edge of the front, of on the side of the support frame that the canvas is attached to (where it is covered by the frame) or the back. Art that is properly framed will not be bare on the back, it will either have a cloth material or paper material stabled/tacked sometimes sewn to the back of the frame - you would need to see under that for a name. Although you have that information do not rush off to rip open the backing. Dealers and Museums have a lot of strange notions about older items. Like refinishing an antique table usually ends up dropping the value from thousands to hundreds, a back that is opened up on a bit of art can also reduce the 'worth' of the artwork. If there is no name that you can see, tell who ever you speak too. In many cases that alone can be of interest and be a key to the history or details of the artwork. Either the person you speak to will tell you to bring it in, or they will tell you of an office you can take and have it appraised. Museums do try to deal with reputable dealers and appraisers. Insurance companies are your second choice. Getting art appraised through an insurance company usually will get you the right top dollar amount estimated for the work this way. It may reveal information about the painting for you, since that is part of what appraising a bit of art is all about. Take it to a dealer only if you want it to be appraised for the lowest possible 'worth'. Dealers will (and often do I fear) lie, cheat and rip people off. Art Dealing especially of pieces worth anything is a business and part of that business is to get you to sell that art cheaper than it is worth so they can turn over a profit. A museum is usually not interested in buying works of art unless it is a well known artist. Museums also have trained staff that conserve and restore pieces of art - there are out of office staff, contracted individuals sometimes hired by museums that do this kind of work. Meaning that if the museum staff can not help you, they could direct you to a person who would give an honest assessment of your artwork. Insurance companies will usually protect their ass....etts and insure that the right appraisal is done. They to deal with the right kind of art specialists. Appraisal is not just for the $$$ worth of the art, they also appraise for who they think the artist is, and if it is a rare piece, its history, etc. If it is a medium to large piece of art hauling it around from place to place may not be a good idea. Find, borrow or buy a decent 35mm film (not cd, not disk, not chip, not digital real film) camera and take several shots. like 5 full image shots and the rest of the 36 on the roll close up doing a sector by sector shot so where when the film is developed you can place the close ups side by side and "build" the whole image larger. Why film? film still picks up minute details that digital cameras do not or can not. Digital deals in pixels. Film can also be blown up a lot more than digital. Use a bright steady light Not directly on the painting, off to the side to reduce potential glare, and a fast film shutter speed (400 speed) plus a tripod. To relist in order of attempts and importance: Museum First - Either they will come out and appraise, or ask you to bring it in, or they will have a short list of qualified appraisers who will not cheat you. Insurance company. They to deal with the reputable kind of dealers/appraisers. Oh, and the next time the Road Show http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/ is in the bay area.