Letters to the Editor
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An additional idea
Cary offered very good suggestions. I would add one more thought. Rather than feeling that you must display all of your mother's paintings, designate one area of wall space for her. Then hang a painting that has special meaning to you or maybe one your daughter loves. It doesn't have to be in the middle of a room either. It could be a nook in your home that becomes a place for you to "visit" with your mother through her art. If you do keep all or at least a portion of her work, you could rotate the paintings. This way you can enjoy them all, but one at a time. They won't overwhelm you or the aesthetic of your home.
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cary you missed the boat
the issue here isn't what the paintings are worth, or even taking an inventory of them.
the issue is honoring both her mother and herself.
they should go into storage even if they have zero monetary worth, because they have sentimental value, and because the lw's daugher or siblings may want them some day, and because she should not throw them out or sell or give them to people who didn't know and love her mother. and because she doesn't want them on her walls.
maybe pick out one or two paintings that you love the best, and put them in an unobtrusive place, or in one place of honor, and either store the rest for your daughter to inherit some day, or ask your siblings if they would like to have them.
what they appraise at is really irrelevant, because even if their monetary worth is zero, they are still worth storing.
and if she doesn't want the expense of storing them, then throw a big, belated party celebrating her mother's life and invite those who knew and loved her to pick out the paintings they would like to own and cherish.
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Get Creative
Cary's advice is wonderful. It's important to take some time and figure out which of these are most important to you, and which ones you might be willing to let go.
If, after you have that chat with the appraiser, you discover that they're not worth the cost of storage, here are a few things you might consider doing:
1. Assign a place or two in your house where you won't mind keeping one of your mother's pieces on display. Select three or four pictures to display in this space, and rotate them seasonally (or occasionally). Put the others in storage -- since it's only a few, it shouldn't be hard to find a space in a closet or garage.
2. Consider the benefits of re-framing. I've got some older family art that became quite easy to live with once I added a matte and updated the frame to work better with my more contemporary decor.
3. Figure out which ones you might be willing to get rid of, and then get creative about where they go. First, ask your half-brothers and sisters to come look at them, and let them each choose one or two (or more, if they want them). They might be delighted. You never know.
4. Then, contact your mother's surviving friends (church? clubs? neighbors?) and ask if they'd like to come choose one. They'd probably be beyond delighted to have a memento of her.
5. If there are any left after all this, look for places in the community that might benefit from a nice painting. A lot of hospitals, care homes, and public clinics are dreary places; your mother's paintings might be just the thing to add some joy to a common room or hallway. Of course, you make the offer in a way that it's totally refuseable; but you might be surprised at how happy they'll be to have a well-made original to hang. If you have some idea of the valuation, you can take it as a tax deduction.
6. Likewise, a lot of community groups have charity auctions. This kind of thing makes a wonderful donation, and you can be sure the person who takes it home will love it.
As you can tell, I've had to find new homes for family art in the past. It can be done in a way that makes you feel really good about letting them go.
(Note to Cary and Salon's tech staff: This letter was written as nine separate paragraphs, separated as usual by a double-line break. However, the Preview function took out all the paragraph breaks, creating a single solid block of text. If it actually publishes this way, that's a bug, and it should be fixed. Thanks.)
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LW, even if they are not your taste, store them...
Who knows, your child, who never got to know your mother, may want them someday. Some of the things that I treasure most are things that belonged to my grandparents that my parents may not have wanted for themselves, but they kept. And now, I have these things. And unlike (possibly) your Mom's art, these vases and knick knacks and end tables aren't worth much of anything monetarily. But they mean the world to me.
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Letting Go
My parents both died when I was fairly young, and so I also had to deal with all the "stuff" they left. I also live in a small apartment, so I couldn't just put it all in a closet or attic. I just couldn't keep everything, and I had to pick just a few things that I had room to keep.
I would suggest keeping just a few of the paintings. Two or three paintings will help you remember your mother just as well as twenty or thirty. You don't have to hang them all - you could just hang one and then switch it for a different one every few months. Paintings store nicely in the space behind your sofa, if you have it up against a wall. Or you might want to ask at an art store for a better way to store them.
Take pictures of the other ones. You will still have the memories of these items, even though you don't actually have the paintings - you can show them to your daughter one day. And then let them go. You might want to donate them - the art store or an art school might have suggestions on who might want them. It may be painful to let them go, to think of the paintings being given away to someone who doesn't value their history the way you do. But try to remember, they're just things. The real value is in your memories, not in the canvas and paint.