It's one of the questions we hear most often at Steven Stern Fine Arts. Maybe you inherited a desert landscape signed by Maynard Dixon, with a mesa under towering clouds, or a painting of riders in open country has hung in your family for decades. Now you want to know what it's worth.

The honest answer is that it depends. Maynard Dixon (1875–1946) worked for more than fifty years as an illustrator, painter and muralist, and two works with the same signature can be worth very different amounts. The things that matter most are:

• Subject. Desert landscapes with big skies, and his Navajo and Hopi subjects, are his best-known themes. Cowboys, horses and his Utah landscapes have their own followings.
• Size, finish and medium. A large, finished oil on canvas, a small oil sketch, a watercolor and an illustration drawing are all valued differently.
• Quality and condition. Strong design and clear color stand out. Please don't clean or retouch a painting before it's looked at.
• Provenance. Gallery labels, exhibition records, receipts and family photos all help.
• Authenticity. Dixon's style is widely imitated, and a signature alone proves nothing. The whole painting has to fit his known work.

We explain each of these in detail, along with why auction results vary so much and how to get a reliable opinion, in our full guide: How Much Is a Maynard Dixon Painting Worth?

To learn more about the artist himself, visit our Maynard Dixon artist page. If you're thinking about selling, you can send us photos through our Sell Your Art page.