East Dennis, Mass. – Works from a Private North Shore Collection and the Kelton Collection of Marine Art and Artifacts will highlight Eldred’s American Paintings Auction, to be held Thursday, May 21 at 11 a.m. at the firm’s headquarters in East Dennis, Mass., on Cape Cod. The sale includes more than 150 paintings, ranging from pastoral 19th Century landscapes to bold contemporary compositions.  

Most of the 39 paintings in the Private North Shore Collection feature scenes of Cape Ann, an area that has long appealed to artists for its rugged coastline, picturesque towns and the color trappings of the fishing industry. Works by contemporary Massachusetts artists T.M. Nicholas, Jeff Weaver, Kenneth J. Knowles and Donald Mosher are included, as are earlier Rockport School examples by William Lester Stevens, Paul Strisik, Antonio Cirino and Anthony Thieme. A jewel-like gouache depicting two women sitting on a stone bridge by Jane Peterson (1876-1965), a summer resident of Ipswich, Mass., carries a $15,000/25,000 pre-sale estimate, the highest in the sale. Estimates for the remainder of the collection range from $300/500 for a Frank Beatty (1899-1984) view of Rockport’s Carnegie Library to $7,000/10,000 for a portrait of the schooner Thomas E. Lannon at dock in Gloucester Harbor by Donald Mosher (1945-2014), and most fall within the $3,000/5,000 range.

“The majority of the Northshore Collection is made up of living artists that are carrying on the traditions of the Cape Ann Art Colony,” said Joshua Eldred, president of the firm and head of its Fine Art department. “I have never seen so many of these artists represented so well one collection, making this an incredible opportunity for buyers to add to their own collections.”

Highlights from the other featured collection, the Kelton Collection of Marine Art and Artifacts, include “Dreams, Fairhaven” and “The Drydock, Fairhaven”, both by Joe Duncan Gleason (1881-1958), estimated at $12,000/18,000 and $4,000/6,000. Works by contemporary artists David Thimgan and Mark R. Myers are also included. Eldred’s will be offering items from the Kelton Collection over a series of auctions throughout 2020, though the bulk of the material will be included in the firm’s annual Marine Sale, scheduled for August 13-14. 

Other anticipated top lots in the American Paintings Sale include “Signac Bridge in Winter 1932” by Hayley Lever (New York/Massachusetts, 1876-1958), estimated at $3,000/5,000, an academic still life of brass and ceramic vessels by Robert Douglas Hunter (Massachusetts, 1928-2014), estimated at $3,000/4,000, and two winter scenes by Aldro Thompson Hibbard, estimated at $3,000/5,000 and $2,500/3,500.

“With the current generation of North Shore artists so well represented, we were fortunate to add works by Aldro Hibbard and Emile Gruppe to the sale to provide a more complete view of Cape Ann’s rich artistic legacy,” Eldred said.  The Gruppe, a quintessential harbor scene, is estimated at $3,000/4,000.

In addition to these Cape Ann School works, Marine paintings and Boston, Cape Cod and Provincetown School paintings are also included. A bucolic scene of trees along a river back by Franklin B. De Haven (1856-1934), estimated at $1,500/2,000 and three stark but vividly colored works by Michael McGuire (b. 1953), estimated at $2,000/3,000, show the breadth of material in the sale.

All lots in both sales can be viewed on Eldred’s website, www.eldreds.com. Online and absentee bidding is available. A Floor bidding and public exhibition hours are to be determined, pending Massachusetts advisories to limit the spread of COVID-19. Interested bidders are encouraged to get up-to-date information by visiting the firm’s website.

About Eldred’s

The Robert C. Eldred Co. is New England's oldest established antiques and fine arts auction house, now in its third generation of ownership within the Eldred family. In addition to its headquarters on Cape Cod’s historic Old King’s Highway in East Dennis, Mass., the firm also has an office at 5 Roosevelt Avenue in Mystic, Ct. Eldred’s conducts approximately 25 auctions per year encompassing Americana, paintings, Asian art, European decorative art, maritime antiques, sporting art and collectibles. Eldred’s, the nation’s leading marine art auction house, conducts approximately 25 auctions per year encompassing Americana, paintings, Asian art, European decorative art, sporting art and collectibles in addition to marine art. It was recently named one of the top worldwide auction houses by Art + Auction and holds auction records across a wide range of collecting areas.  

For more information please call (508) 385-3116 or email info@eldreds.com. 

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