Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers
April 28, 2022 at 6pm
49 Research Drive Milford, Connecticut, 06460
shannons.com
info@shannons.com
+1 203-877-1711

MILFORD, CONN. — Shannon’s Fine Art Auction planned for April 28 at 6 pm Eastern time will include leading lots by Charles Burchfield, Francis A. Silva, Guy C. Wiggins and more. A public preview begins on April 18 at Shannon’s galley. The full catalog, preview hours and sale information are available now at shannons.com.

Headlining the auction are three works by Charles Burchfield (American, (1893-1967). “Nighthawks and the Moon,” (1965) was exhibited at ACA Galleries in New York in 1970. The watercolor work is a nocturnal scene of nighthawks circling the moon. In the foreground trees and flowers vibrate in the moonlight, lending a mysterious air to the composition. ($200/300,000).

Another Burchfield,” Fires of Spring in Big Woods” has a poetic title that comes from the artist’s journal entry, “There had been forming in my mind an idea of showing deep winter in a woods, but with openings at the top of a hill showing the fires of spring.” Indeed, the trees look as though they are on fire, with the sunlight foretelling the emergence of spring ($150/250,000).

The last Burchfield in the group is from the artist’s self-proclaimed “golden year,” 1917, when he was most prolific. This work illustrates a scene from Burchfield’s native Ohio just after a rainstorm. Loosely associated with the Regionalist artists, Burchfield found inspiration in his immediate surroundings. He painted primarily in his native Ohio before he established his studio outside Buffalo, N.Y. ($50/75,000). A large painting by Dale Nichols, another artist associated with the Regionalists, will also be offered at $40/60,000.

In the category of Nineteenth Century American art, marine artist Francis A. Silva (1835-1886) leads the group. “By the Seaside, New Jersey Shore” was painted in 1883 and depicts the beach at Keyport, N.J., where the artist first met his wife ($200/300,000).

Other Nineteenth Century highlights include a large oil painting by Walter Launt Palmer, “Winter Landscape with Stream” ($70/90,000); a Luminist view titled “Shipping at Sunset” by Edward Moran ($20/30,000); and paintings by Hermann Herzog, Robert Spear Dunning, William Louis Sonntag and others.
New York City dwellers will recognize the architecture in four impressionist cityscapes. Birge Harrison’s “Madison Square Looking Towards the Flatiron Building” is the earliest from this group, depicting the city at dusk with horse carriages and glowing gas lamps ($50/75,000).

There are three paintings by Guy C. Wiggins (American, 1883-1962), an artist celebrated for his ability to paint New York City in the snow. An early example, “Fifth Avenue Snowstorm,” is dated circa 1925 ($60/80,000). “Broad Street and the Sub Treasury” is an important example from the peak period in the artist’s career, complete with waving flags, colorful pedestrians and taxi cabs going about their day undeterred by the falling snow ($100/150,000). The third painting, “Washington Square,” is the view from the artist’s studio, a scene he depicted in many canvases throughout his long career ($30/50,000).
Among American Impressionist paintings in the auction are a still life by Edmund Tarbell (American, 1862-1938), of “Peonies” ($30/50,000) and a Julian Alden Weir “Rhododendrons” ($20/30,000). There are also examples of Pennsylvania Impressionism by John Folinsbee, “Huckster’s Cart” ($50/75,000) and Walter Schofield, “The Farmhouse and Pond” ($15/25,000).

More featured paintings in the American art category include a lively park scene, “Picnic,” by Maurice Prendergast (American, 1858-1924), that depicts women and children in vivid watercolor and pastel sharing a picnic and strolling in the park ($50/75,000); an Arthur Wesley Dow view of a haystack by marshes, likely near Newburyport, Mass., ($50/75,000); a watercolor by Andrew Wyeth, “Gate Chain,” once exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art ($25/35,000); a John Marin watercolor “Marin Island, Small Point, Maine” dated 1928 ($25/35,000); and a view of “Evening in the Berkshires” by George Gardener Symons ($30/50,000).

There are a handful of European offerings in the auction. A rare oil painting by Jean Dufy will surely attract interest from both American and European collectors. Titled “La Ville,” the scene is lively and full of color ($40/60,000). Another notable French painting in the sale is a Camille Bombois work depicting musician clowns, “Les Forains” ($20/30,000).

Previews will be conducted by appointment April 18-27, weekdays from 11 am to 6 pm Eastern time, and Saturday, April 23, from 10 am to 3 pm, closed Sunday. For additional information, www.shannons.com or 203-877-1711.

PREVIEW DATES & TIMES: April 18-27th (weekdays from 11AM-6PM) and Saturday, April 23rd (10AM-3PM, closed Sunday)
UPCOMING:
Walter Launt Palmer Maurice Prendergast Birge Harrison
Arthur Wesley Dow John Fulton Folinsbee George Gardner Symons Edmund Charles Tarbell John Marin
Andrew Wyeth Lennart Anderson Edward Moran Julian Alden Weir Winfred Rembert John Fabian Carlson Hermann Herzog Jonas Lie
Walter Elmer Schofield John F. Francis
David Burliuk
Charles Ethan Porter Francis Coates Jones John Carlton Atherton Mercedes Matter
Jane Peterson
Rene Rimbert
Harry Aiken Vincent Robert Vickrey
Robert Spear Dunning John George Brown
Emile Albert Gruppe Harriet Whitney Frishmuth Edmund Darch Lewis Anthony Thieme
John Joseph Enneking William Louis Sonntag …and more!
Clockwise from upper left:
GUY CARLTON WIGGINS | “Broad St. and the Sub Treasury” DALE NICHOLS | Evening Chores
CHARLES BURCHFIELD | “Nighthawks and the Moon” FRANCIS AUGUSTUS SILVA | By the Seaside, New Jersey Shore