Freeman’s Auction
December 5, 2 pm EST
2400 Market Street
Philadelphia PA
www.freemansauction.com

PHILADELPHIA — Freeman’s will present the collection of Virginia and Stuart Peltz — featuring a group of paintings by leading Pennsylvania Impressionists — in its December 5 American art and Pennsylvania Impressionists auction.
Virginia and Stuart Peltz, collectors with longtime roots in Pennsylvania’s Bucks County, began amassing their collection of works by Pennsylvania Impressionists in the 1980s. Well before the current market demand for such works, the Peltzes were buying paintings by Pennsylvania-based artists from Morgan Colt and Fern Coppedge to Edward Redfield and Daniel Garber. Sixteen of these works — never before sold at auction and representing many of the famed New Hope School — will be on offer at Freeman’s.

Said Freeman’s chairman Alasdair Nichol, “We are proud and honored to have been asked to present Virginia and Stuart’s collection at auction. Their name has long been associated with the history of Pennsylvania Impressionism and is deeply respected in the Bucks County community. There is already strong interest in the Peltz collection among our bidders — no surprise, given its incredible quality and freshness.”

Works by the renowned Fern Coppedge appear twice in the collection: “Snowy Country Side” (Lambertville in Winter) ($60/100,000) displays the pastel-like tones characteristic of her early career output, whereas “December Afternoon” (Carversville) ($80/120,000) is representative of her later bold, broad and colorful period. Another quintessential New Hope School painter, Daniel Garber, appears in the Peltz collection; his “Up the River, Winter,” depicting an expansive view of the frozen Delaware River, will be offered at an estimate of $150/250,000.

Three paintings in the collection are by Morgan Colt, Kenneth Nunamaker and John Folinsbee. Colt’s “The Butcher Wagon” ($40/60,000), is the finest example by the artist to be offered at auction and a rarity in itself; Colt’s output was limited and many of his works were destroyed after his death. The largest canvas in the collection is Nunamaker’s “River Road at Centre Bridge” ($60/100,000), which the Peltzes fell in love with when it was displayed at the Swan Hotel in Lambertville. “Mother and Daughter,” a touching portrait by Folinsbee of the artist’s wife and their first daughter, was acquired directly from the artist’s widow, Ruth Folinsbee. Offered at an estimate of $20/30,000, Virginia Peltz describes this intimate portrait as her favorite painting among the collection. These three works, among others, are illustrated in Pennsylvania Impressionism, co-published by the University of Pennsylvania Press and the James A. Michener Art Museum, considered to be the foremost text on the subject.

In addition to the works already listed, collectors of Pennsylvania Impressionists will be pleased to find examples by Harry Leith-Ross, Arthur Meltzer, William Francis Taylor and Walter Baum in Freeman’s December 5 auction.
Freeman’s is at 2400 Market Street. For information, www.freemansauction.com or 215-563-9275.

PHILADELPHIA — This December, Freeman’s presents American Art Week, a unique collector’s opportunity featuring three back-to-back sales of American painting, prints, sculpture and works on paper. American art and Pennsylvania Impressionists featuring the collection of Virginia and Stuart Peltz begins at 2 pm on Sunday, December 5, followed by Simply American: fine art from a private Texas collection and Collect: American art begin at 11 am and 1 pm, respectively, on Tuesday, December 7.
In American Art Week, Freeman’s brings selections from the Nineteenth C1entury with paintings by Albert Bierstadt and George Inness; illustration art with Stevan Dohanos, James Philip Falter and Jessie Willcox Smith; works by Andrew and Jamie Wyeth; an oil by the celebrated folk artist Grandma Moses; and leading artists from the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania region, including Robert Kulicke, Hobson Pittman, Arthur Beecher Carles and Pennsylvania Impressionists Daniel Garber, Edward Redfield and Fern Coppedge, among others.
The collection of Virginia and Stuart Peltz, featured in Freeman’s December 5 auction, is an esteemed collection of paintings by leading Pennsylvania Impressionists bought by the collectors well in advance of the market’s rise. Sixteen of these works — never before sold at auction —will be on offer at Freeman’s, among them Garber’s expansive Delaware River landscape “Up the River, Winter” ($150/250,000) and “River Road at Centre Bridge,” a monumental canvas by Kenneth Nunamaker ($60/100,000). A rare example of Morgan Colt’s work, “The Butcher Wagon,” will also be on offer ($40/60,000), as will “Mother and Daughter,” a touching portrait of the artist’s wife and their first daughter by John Folinsbee ($10/15,000).
Also on offer in the December 5 sale will be works by leading American artists, including Jamie Wyeth’s “Saltwater Ice” ($200/300,000) and “The Johnson Place” by his father Andrew ($40/60,000), which had been on long-term loan at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. Freeman’s will offer important sculptural works, like William Zorach’s bronze “Spirit of the Dance” ($100/150,000) and two sculptures by Donald De Lue, as well as landscapes like Albert Bierstadt’s “Estes Park Morning, Colorado” ($30/50,000), and portraits like “Angèle” from Philadelphia-based painter Arthur Beecher Carles ($20/30,000).
Highlights from Simply American: fine art from a private Texas collection include “A Winter Day” (The Old Bridge – Richmond, Vermont) by the venerated folk artist Grandma Moses ($25/40,000), Bruce Crane’s “The Autumn Hills” ($15/25,000) and “Winter in the Country, A Cold Morning” by George Henry Durrie ($20/30,000).
Also on offer will be examples of Western art, including three paintings by Charlie Dye, including “The Scouts” ($6/10,000), as well as Edgar Samuel Paxson’s portrait of a “Native American Chief” ($8/12,000). Sweeping Nineteenth Century landscapes include “Arkville, New York” by Alexander Helwig Wyant ($10/15,000) and Joseph Christian Leyendecker’s “Young Girl Feeding Her Dog” ($10/15,000).
Collect: American art is led by a single-owner section featuring illustration art from a private California collection, including four oils by Bruce Kurland, whose work is rarely offered at auction. Also included in the collection are two quintessential fishing scenes, “Trout Fisherman” by Frank B. Hoffman ($6/10,000) and untitled (Fishing) by Oliver Kemp ($5/8,000).
The December 7 sale also features four watercolor Christmas cards by Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth ($4/6,000), a watercolor by Harry Leith-Ross, and several works by Philadelphia- and Pennsylvania-based artists, from Robert Kulicke’s “Carnations” ($5/8,000) to Hobson Pittman’s “Still Life with Poppies” ($3/5,000) and Christopher Willett’s “New York Stock Exchange” ($1,5/2,500).
For additional information, www.freemansauction.com or 215-563-9275.

Daniel Garber (American, 1880-1958) Sycamores, 1923 oil on canvas, 52 x 56 in. (132.1 x 142.2cm) In a Frederick Harer frame. $300,000-500,000
Property from a Private Philadelphia, PA Collection
American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists
Featuring the Collection of Virginia and Stuart Peltz
INQUIRIES:
Raphaël Chatroux, 267.414.1253
americanart@freemansauction.com