Hello Damon,

Thank you very much for your appraisal inquiry!

The presented object is a watercolor on paper painting titled "The Village Smithy" (inscription bottom left), which measures 27 x 50 cm. and depicts a village blacksmith with a thatched roof, horses and hunting dogs in the foreground of a winter scene. The artwork is not signed. It is in relatively good condition with some signs of foxing.

You mention that the work is "in the style of" Heywood Hardy (British, 1842-1933) but aside from the subject matter, it shares little stylistic similarity to this artist's known body of work.

Though it is a nice decorative piece, it has the look of a Chinese factory painting and is therefore, unfortunately not of great value. Based on recently achieved auction results for similar items, I would estimate the current fair market value of this piece between $100 and 200 USD.

If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

Thank you!

Kind regards,
Anne