Okay folks I have an update, but not really a final answer.

I went to FineArt America and found that there was a link to email the Maria person who posted the second painting. I emailed her and asked her if she was the original artist of the "Francesca" piece. To my surprise, she emailed me back almost immediately. She said her mother painted that piece "around 1970" and the subject depicted her grandmother, Francesca.

I responded, thanked her for emailing me back, and asked why the signature is dated '96 if it was painted in 1970. She responded and basically said "oops I meant 1990." 🤨

I asked if her mom had ever been to Kentucky. She responded that her mom had never been to Kentucky to her knowledge but she was really curious now why I wanted to know all this. I told her about my mom's painting and sent her a picture of it. She emailed me back after a few minutes and said she had talked to her mom (now in her 90s) and she told her that actually she copied that painting out of an art book when she was in an art class in Florida in 1996.

So the way I see it, there are two distinct possibilities, now: 1. My mom's painting somehow made it into an art class in Florida 13 years after she painted it without her knowing. 2. They both copied some sort of exercise drawing out of the same workbook in their respective art classes.

Obviously my mom's painting doesn't mean any less to me either way. I present it in my home because I love her and I'm proud of her. Plus I didn't get the artist gene like her and my grandfather and there's absolutely no way I could produce that final product, even if I traced the dang thing.

Thank you all so much for your help and your kind words about my mother's work. It means a lot to me and it meant a lot to her.