Pair of Japanese paintings
Ladies with kimonos and cherry blossoms
Muriel Leggett owned before
Inherited
Maybe
Thank you for contacting Mearto and I apologize for the delay. This is a pair of Japanese ukiyo-e prints. They are reproductions of two 1860 works by Utagawa Kunisada. Below are links to the originals at the Rijksmuseum and information about Utagawa.
Following these are hammer prices of similar pieces.
Original prints:
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/my/collections/1723604--yosi/kunisada/objecten#/RP-P-2008-162A,15
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/search/objects?set=RP-P-2008-162#/RP-P-2008-162C,3
Utagawa Kunisada bio:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunisada
Auction sales:
$15
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/102630939_japanese-woodblock-print-utagawa-kunisada
$35
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/104960926_japanese-woodblock-print-utagawa-kuniyoshi
$40
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/75329363_japanese-woodblock-print-utagawa-kunisada-ii
$50
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/70357962_japanese-woodblock-print-utagawa-kunisada
2 for $50
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/104932577_two-japanese-woodblock-prints
$80
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/90686170_shin-hanga-watanabe-reproduction-asakusa-utagawa-print
2 for $140
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/87368459_2-japanese-woodblock-prints-utagawa-kunisada
They are woodblock prints. The markings are on the front for these kinds of works. I think the frames are okay as they are and changing them wouldn't affect the price.
The original prints of yours that I linked to above use different ink colors. This is why I think that yours are not true originals. In person, there are clues to look for with ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock) prints. This might be interesting/helpful...
Here are examples of prices of originals...
Is this a painting, oil, or woodblock? Do you know what the value of the original is? Should I look at the back of the pictures for any particular markings? Will it effect the value if I change the frame?