Eldred’s – THE SUMMER SALE
JULY 27-28, 2023  CAPE COD
Both sessions starting at 9:30 am
1483 Route 6A, East Dennis, Mass. I 508-385-3116 I eldreds.com

EAST DENNIS, MASS. — Eldred’s annual summer sale, its preeminent auction of important paintings, furniture, Americana, Oriental rugs and more, will be conducted on Thursday and Friday, July 27 and 28. This year’s auction will feature an array of paintings by New England artists, notably a single-owner collection of works by the Lynn Beach Painters and a selection of Provincetown School pieces. The nearly 800-lot auction will take place at the firm’s headquarters on Cape Cod, with both sessions starting at 9:30 am Eastern.

At the end of the Nineteenth Century, the coast of Boston’s North Shore, from Revere to Marblehead, was home to a school of American marine Impressionists known as the Lynn Beach Painters, who were drawn to the area’s picturesque shoreline, fish shacks and tidal marshes. These seven painters — Nathaniel L. Berry, Edward Burrill, William Partridge Burpee, C.E.L. Green, T. Clark Oliver, Edward A. Page and Charles H. Woodbury — developed a distinctive regional style of Impressionism.

The 20-lot, single-owner collection offered in the sale includes a range of works by the group, highlighted by a Woodbury (1864-1940) seascape ($5/7,000), “Fish houses … Swampscott” by Page (1850-1928) ($2/3,000) and a view of a rocky shoreline by Green (1844-1915) ($1/1,800).

“It is rare, if not unprecedented, to have such a diverse and fine quality collection of works related to the Lynn Beach painters,” said Joshua Eldred, president of the firm and head of the paintings department. “I am excited to offer this fine group to new and veteran collectors alike, as it is a unique opportunity to add to an established collection or jumpstart a new one.”

At the other tip of the Massachusetts coastline, on the outermost shores of Cape Cod, is the bustling fishing village of Provincetown, home to one of the largest art colonies in the world, established at the turn of the century by Charles Webster Hawthorne and located not far from Eldred’s headquarters. While the firm’s summer sales traditionally include a large selection of Provincetown and Cape Cod art, this year the crop is particularly bountiful, with more than 100 works set to cross the block. Featured artists include Anne Packard, Arthur Cohen, Vollian Burr Rann, Margaret Jordan Patterson, Donald Frederick Witherstine and Henry Hensche, and anticipated top lots include “Circus Days, Beachcomber’s Ball” by John Whorf (1903-1959) and a portrait of a woman in yellow by Hawthorne (1872-1930), both estimated at $12/18,000.

“Widow Walks,” a domed vignette of wives looking out to sea surrounded by scrimshaw motifs, is one of three paintings by Ralph Eugene Cahoon Jr, ranging in estimate from $30,000 to $80,000. Contemporary Cape Cod artists are also included, represented by “Kitchen Garden in the French Countryside” by Joseph McGurl (b 1958), estimated at $10/15,000, and “The Side-Wheeler South Shore” by William R. (b 1952-) ($20/30,000).

Nearly half the sale comprise paintings, and other top examples include a luminous seascape by Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908) ($20/30,000), a watercolor of a white-winged scoter by Frank Weston Benson (1862-1951) ($10/15,000) and “Portrait of an English Stallion” by contemporary American artist Julie A. Wear, one of the leading equine portraitists ($10/15,000).

Eldred said that a Hayley Lever (1876-1958) harbor scene, probably France, is one of the finest the firm has handled, explaining that the work hints at Van Gogh’s influence on Lever and shows the artist at his most confident, with bold and dramatic brushwork and masterful understanding of light ($10/15,000).

Highlights in other collecting areas include an include a dramatically modeled sculpture of a troika by Eugene Lanceray (1848-1886) ($40/60,000), a Charles Hart (1862-1960) carved penguin ($3/5,000), a photographic trade album from the Chicago Fire Extinguisher Manufacturing Co ($8/12,000) and a six-board sea chest with painted decoration of an eagle and landscape, probably the Elizabeth Islands ($5/10,000).

A rare stoneware crock with cobalt blue decoration of Abraham Lincoln is expected to fetch $20/30,000. “One of the most exciting and gratifying parts of what we do is discovering rare objects. Even more wonderful is unearthing a true one-of-a-kind item like the Lincoln crock. To me this represents ‘Americana’ at is best — a powerful and emotional piece of art depicting one of America’s greatest icons executed on a utilitarian crock,” Eldred said.

Top furniture lots include a Sheraton worktable attributed to Thomas Seymour ($10/15,000), a Boston dressing table ($2/3,000) and a wide variety of Wallace Nutting and Eldred Wheeler period reproduction furniture.

The summer sale will take place at the company’s headquarters at 1483 Route 6A. The auction preview exhibition will be conducted Wednesday, July 26, from 10 am to 5 pm, and by appointment. For further information, www.eldreds.com or 508-385-3116.

Preview July 26 and by appointment
Our preeminent annual auction, this year featuring an array of paintings by New England artists, including a very strong Provincetown School selection and a singleowner collection of works by the Lynn Beach Painters. Americana, sporting art, Oriental rugs, contemporary art and design, and noteworthy furniture and folk art are also included in this wide-ranging sale.
CLOCKWISE TOP RIGHT: Hepplewhite bowfront bureau, circa 1790 | Hayley Lever (1876-1958) harbor scene | “Widow Walks” by Ralph Eugene Cahoon, Jr. (1910-1982) | Feraghan Sarouk rug, detail | Extraordinarily rare stoneware crock depicting Abraham Lincoln | Evgeni Lanceray (1848-1886) bronze | Tod Lindenmuth (18851976) street scene | Charles Herbert Woodbury (1864-1940) Lynn Beach scene
Cape Cod I Greater Boston I Mystic, Ct. I Naples, Fl.
Headquarters I 1483 Route 6A, East Dennis, Mass. I 508-385-3116 I eldreds.com