This spring, Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers is presenting an excellent selection of fresh-to-market works during its May 2 Fine Art Auction. The sale will bring to collectors some of the most elite names in historic American artwork, including William Merritt Chase, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Maurice Prendergast, John Sloan and more.
William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), Portrait of Caroline Allport, 1897. Oil on canvas, 24¼ x 20 in., signed upper left: ‘Wm. M. Chase’. Estimate: $80/120,000
Collectors should be on the lookout for Chase’s 1897 oil on canvas, Portrait of Caroline Allport. “This portrait descended in the family of the sitter and was purchased by an important private collection. It has never been offered for sale at auction. We are excited to feature it this spring,” says Shannon’s owner Sandra Germain. “The lot is accompanied by a letter from Chase to Dr. Allport, [the father of the sitter], making arrangements to paint the portrait.” The piece has a presale estimate of $80,000 to $120,000.
Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874-1939), Dressing. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in. Estimate: $50/75,000
Another significant highlight is a 1901 watercolor and pencil by Prendergast, titled Low Tide, depicting two young girls standing on a rocky coastline. The painting is also expected to fetch around $80,000 to $120,000.
Germain notes that the market for abstract expressionist Alice Baber has recently soared as scholars begin to reevaluate her work. “In the ’50s and ’60s, Baber lived in Paris and traveled around the world organizing exhibitions of art by women artists,” she adds. Baber’s acrylic on canvas The Ringing and The Ringing has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000 in the upcoming sale and features vibrant splashes of color in oranges, yellows and blues.
Maurice Brazil Prendergast (1858-1924), Low Tide, 1901. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 20 ½ x 13 in. Estimate: $80/120,000
For fans of Frieseke, collectors should note the oil on canvas Dressing (est. $50/75,000), which will be on offer during the May 2 sale. “Our last auction featured an exceptional Frieseke, Lady Trying on a Hat from 1909, that sold for $450,000,” says Germain.
She continues, “Frieseke became an expatriate artist working in France and absorbed French impressionism living in Giverny where he rented a house next door to Claude Monet and previously occupied by Thoedore Robinson.”
Originally exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, a rare early, modern painting by Werner Drewes will also be included in the Fine Art Auction—the 1939 oil on canvas Composition 217 (est. $30/50,000).
David Johnson (1827-1908), Study from Nature, Warwick, New York, 1873. Oil on canvas, 18 x 26 in. Estimate: $40/60,000
A public preview of the auction will open at Shannon’s gallery weekdays from April 22 to May 1, and on Saturday, April 27. Bidding is available live on www.shannons.com, by telephone or by absentee.
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