Freeman’s American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists
December 4 at 2 pm
americanart@freemansauction.com
267-414-1253

PHILADELPHIA — In back-to-back sales this December, Freeman’s presents American Art Week with a strong emphasis on Twentieth Century canvases. Led by paintings by Robert Henri, Bo Bartlett and William Glackens, Freeman’s said the week offers important, fresh-to-market works, including two curated single-owner selections.
“We are very pleased to present such a wide range of American treasures this season, and once again put Philadelphia, and its longstanding artistic history, on the map,” said Alasdair Nichol, chairman and head of Freeman’s fine art department. “We are particularly honored to have been entrusted with the beloved Bowden and Rifkin art collections. Not only does it prove Freeman’s far-reaching influence across the country, from Pennsylvania to Texas, but it’s also a testament to the team’s dedicated and passionate work.”
American art and Pennsylvania Impressionists will be presented on December 4, featuring Bo Bartlett’s “The Promised Land,” a large-scale canvas that represents one of the artist’s most accomplished works to date ($200/300,000). The sale puts Twentieth Century women painters in the spotlight, including figures from the Philadelphia Ten, from Susette Keast’s “Atlantic City, Steel Pier” to Mary Elizabeth Price’s “Hollyhock and Delphinium Screen” and a group of five canvases by Emma Fordyce MacRae. With a selection of paintings by Daniel Garber, Edward Willis Redfield, Fern Coppedge and John Fulton Folinsbee, the sale confirms Freeman’s ongoing place as a premier destination for works by Pennsylvania Impressionists.
Freeman’s biannual sale is accompanied by a curated group of early Twentieth Century paintings, works on paper and sculpture from the collection of Charles and Virginia Bowden. The Bowdens, longtime residents of San Antonio, Texas, have amassed a collection that is as impressive as it is far-reaching, with striking selections from Jane Peterson, George Bellows and George Luks, among others. “Spanish Gypsy,” a portrait by Robert Henri executed at the height of his artistic powers, leads the collection at an estimate of $250/400,000.
Freeman’s presents A Beautiful Reality: The Fine Art Collection of Mr and Mrs Arnold Rifkin on December 5, which offers a selection of works by artists associated with the Ashcan School and its legacy, including William Glackens, John Sloan, George Luks, Reginald Marsh and Charles Burchfield. Glackens’ “Afternoon in Provence (Woman and Child on Donkey)” is a standout of the Rifkin collection ($60/100,000). The jewel-like canvas, a colorful vision of maternal and summer bliss, is balanced in composition but expresses a strong emotional intensity.
Arnold and Sandy Rifkin, longtime residents of Wilkes-Barre, Penn., developed a refined sensibility that developed a collection both innovative and wide-ranging. In addition to Ashcan School artists, the Rifkin collection also includes major figures within Modernism and illustration art, including Marguerite Zorach and Eyvind Earle.
On the heels of back-to-back auctions on December 4 and 5, Freeman’s presents Collect: American Art on December 6, with opportunities to collect works by major figures within American art, from Martha Walter and George Cope to Arthur Meltzer and Joseph Barrett. The auction features several prints by Daniel Garber, drawings by James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Mary Cassatt and five paintings and drawings by Bo Bartlett.
Freeman’s is at 2400 Market Street. For more information, www.freemansauction.com or 215-563-9275.

Featuring the Collection of Charles and Virginia Bowden
CONTACT
Raphaël Chatroux
267.414.1253 americanart@freemansauction.com
ILLUSTRATED
Jane Peterson (1876–1965)
Venetian Canal (Ponte dei Bareteri) (detail) $60,000-100,000