Progress and Power

Eldred’s inaugural Women in the Arts Auction shines an important spotlight on women artists of the 19th and 20th centuries

October 28, 5 p.m.

Eldred's Auction Gallery
P.O. Box 796, 1483 Route 6A
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This October, Eldred’s holds its first Women in the Arts Auction, celebrating the many phenomenal works that women have contributed to the art world, both past and present. A portion of proceeds from the sale will benefit WE CAN, a women’s empowerment organization based on Cape Cod. Historic artists featured in the sale include Agnes McGuire McCahill, Olive Parker Black, Charlotte Buell Coman and many more. Olive Parker Black (1868-1948), Feeding the swans. Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in., signed lower left: ‘Olive P. Black’. Estimate: $4/6,000“The goal of the auction is to rediscover 19th- and early 20th-century female artists the market may be overlooking, and to provide a new sales channel for established contemporary female artists looking to expand their reach,” says Eldred’s president Joshua Eldred. “Early entries to the sale include works by Pauline Palmer, Fidelia Bridges, Jane Peterson and [contemporary artists] Anne Packard and Pamela Pindell.” He continues, “There has been great enthusiasm for the sale from the time we announced it, and our entire appraisal staff is out scouring for consignments.”Jane Peterson (1876-1965), Luxembourg Gardens. Oil on canvas board, 7¼ x 10¼ in., signed lower right: ‘Jane Peterson’; titled verso. Estimate: $2/3,000Among the highlights in the sale are paintings by Black, Palmer and Peterson. Black’s oil Feeding the swans is estimated to fetch between $4,000 and $6,000; Palmer’s oil Mother and child is estimated at $3,000 to $5,000; and Luxembourg Gardens, an oil on canvas board by Peterson, has a presale estimate of $2,000 to $3,000. In addition, a bronze bust by McCahill, possibly of Standard Oil founder Henry Flagler, is expected to bring in $1,000 to $1,500. Pauline Lennards Palmer (1867-1938), Mother and child. Oil on board, 10 x 13 in., signed lower right: ‘Pauline Palmer’. Estimate: $3/5,000

“When I was a young boy, every artist I knew was a woman—from my mother who drew for me, to my elementary school art teachers, to the neighbor who sold her paintings at local shows. When I envisioned an ‘artist,’ I envisioned a woman,” says Eldred. “The sad reality, however, is that women are hugely underrepresented in the art world. Women make up about half of working artists nationwide, but their work makes up only 10 percent of museum and corporate collections. More than 60 percent of MFA students are women, but gallery shows are only 30 percent women artists. The all-time highest price paid at auction for a work of art by a man was $450.3 million, for da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi. The highest price paid for a work of art by a woman? It was one-tenth of that, $44.4 million for Georgia O’Keefe’s Jimson Weed / White Flower No 1.”Ethelwyn B. Upton (d. 1921), Stealing a grape, after Léon Augustin L’hermitte. Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 in, signed lower right: ‘Ethelwyn B. Upton’ with further inscription. Estimate: $5/7,000Eldred’s is working to shift that dynamic. “While we know we won’t fix this overnight, we hope our Women in the Arts Auction starts us down a better path,” he says. “We’re excited about [what] we’ve unearthed thus far and think this is just the beginning of what will become an annual auction for us.”

The live auction takes place on October 28 at 5 p.m., with in-person, phone and absentee bidding available. Online bidding will be available at www.eldreds.com. —