Eldred's is pleased to announce our annual Spring Americana Auction will take place April 8th and 9th. This year's auction is highlighted by two remarkable discoveries: a gold ring made by a father of the American Revolution and a lost painting by a master of the Hudson River School. 

Popularized in the 19th Century by poet Henry W. Longfellow, Paul Revere is best remembered for his famous midnight ride and his contributions to the rebellion against the crown, but he was also a gold and silversmith of the highest caliber. In 1783 Revere was believed to have made eight gold mourning rings for the Reverend Samuel Dunbar, a Patriot from Stoughton (now Canton), Massachusetts, following Dunbar's death. Mourning rings were common to the time period as a way to memorialize close friends, but many were later melted down to make other rings. As such, it is exceedingly rare to find surviving mourning rings from the late 18th century, let alone one made by one of the most famous names in American history. Conservatively estimated, the ring is bound to be one of the star lots of the auction.

The auction will also include a canvas by John Frederick Kensett. Kensett, a leader of the Hudson River School, is considered one of the most important landscape artists of the 19th Century. His curving coastal canvases have become icons of American art. The painting to be offered is a finished oil study for one his masterpieces, The Beach At Beverly, Mass 1860 (Santa Barbara Museum of Art). The composition is a quintessential example of Kensett's coastal work. Its softly curving shoreline gives way to imposing rock formations before leading the viewer's gaze over an expansive sea. Classic views like these are extraordinary finds, and the painting should easily surpass its conservative $30,000 to $50,000 pre-sale estimate. 

In addition to these two lots the sale will offer fine American furniture, silver, Native American items, Oriental carpets, folk art, decoys, more than 150 paintings by listed American artists, and much more. An illustrated catalog and online bidding is available at www.eldreds.com and www.artfact.com