Freeman’s American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists
June 4
2400 Market St Philadelphia PA
www.freemansauction.com
americanart@freemansauction.com
267-414-1253

PHILADELPHIA — On June 4, Freeman’s will bring to market a single-owner collection of American paintings, including several rare and sought-after Pennsylvania Impressionist canvases. Pride of Place: Works from the Estate of Sydney F. Martin, a 26-lot sale, highlights the passionate collecting activity and discerning eye of Sydney Martin, an avid and early collector of Pennsylvania Impressionists and other Pennsylvania-related works who has largely contributed to the newfound curatorial interest in this collecting niche through loans to local institutions.

“We’re delighted and honored to bring the esteemed collection of Sydney F. Martin to market,” said Freeman’s chairman Alasdair Nichol. “The selection itself is remarkable, having been carefully collected by Martin and his wife Sharon over several decades, and reveals the couple’s deep Pennsylvania roots. It’s also an occasion to bring together the strengths for which Freeman’s is best known: sales of Pennsylvania Impressionists and single-owner collections.”

The sale is led by Edward Redfield’s “Spring Veil,” offered at an estimate of $300/500,000, which represents one of the most powerful springtime scenes ever executed by Redfield; the enormous canvas depicts the Valley of Point Pleasant in full bloom. Widely exhibited, this canvas constitutes the pinnacle of Pennsylvania Impressionist collecting opportunities.

The auction brings the leading visionaries of the New Hope School to market, including Daniel Garber’s “The Delaware River,” a newly rediscovered and fresh-to-market landscape depicting a bend in the river near New Hope itself. Fern Coppedge’s “Winter from Skillman’s” offers a quintessential view of Lambertville, N.J., as seen from New Hope, one of the artist’s sought-after winter scenes.

The auction presents “A Glorious Day,” a summer Bucks County scene by Morgan Colt, a founding member of the New Hope School whose work remains a desirable market rarity. The sale also features several works by John Fulton Folinsbee, including the one-of-a-kind “Golden Afternoon,” an autumnal triptych commissioned in 1920 that displays the artist’s masterful brushwork.

Alongside Martin’s Pennsylvania Impressionists collection is a selection of seven works by William B.T. Trego, a Pennsylvania painter best known for his military works; Pride of Place includes several American Civil War scenes.

Sydney and Sharon Martin, longtime Doylestown, Penn., residents, were driven by a deep sense of loyalty and love for their region and its rich history and artistic traditions. This is amply reflected in their personal collection, which offers a window into this history, as well as the artistic luminaries who have settled in and taken inspiration from the area.

A longtime patron and collector of Pennsylvania art and artists, Sydney F. Martin spent most of his adult life in Doylestown, Penn., and was an active member of the Bucks County art community. A man of many talents and interests, Martin was also one of the world’s leading experts on early American coins, a collector of pocket watches, and, following engineering studies at MIT, enjoyed a long career in the defense and intelligence industries.

Sydney and Sharon Martin were active philanthropists in and around Bucks County, as well as avid collectors of some of the region’s most distinguished artists. Pride of Place: Works from the Estate of Sydney F. Martin presents a lifetime of devoted collecting from one of Bucks County’s most respected collectors.

Freeman’s is at 2400 Market Street. For more information, www.freemansauction.com or 215-563-9275.

PHILADELPHIA — In back-to-back sales of fine art and rare books and manuscripts June 4-8, Freeman’s presents American Week, bringing American art and printed matter to market. With a strong emphasis on Twentieth Century canvases and first editions, the week’s sales highlight Freeman’s dedication to this dynamic market segment.

Led by paintings by Horace Pippin, Daniel Garber, Edward Redfield and Robert Henri, as well as literature and Americana by Walt Whitman, Thomas Paine and Henry David Thoreau, American Week offers a slate of fresh-to-market works, including two curated single-owner selections.

“This season’s Pennsylvania Impressionist selection is particularly dynamic, with offerings across genres and collecting categories,” said Alasdair Nichol, chairman and head of Freeman’s fine art department. “We are particularly honored to have been entrusted with the beloved Martin and Papageorge art collections, which will bring not-to-be-missed opportunities to collectors of American painting.”

A 26-lot sale highlights the passionate collecting activity and discerning eye of Sydney F. Martin, an avid and early collector of Pennsylvania Impressionists and other Pennsylvania-related works. The sale is led by Edward Redfield’s “Spring Veil,” offered at an estimate of $300/500,000, one of the most powerful springtime scenes ever executed by the artist, and includes highlights from leading visionaries of the New Hope School, including Daniel Garber, Fern Coppedge, Morgan Colt and John Folinsbee. Pennsylvania Impressionist offerings are complemented by seven works by William B.T. Trego, a Pennsylvania painter best known for his military scenes.

Freeman’s biannual sale of American art and Pennsylvania Impressionists is led by two portraits in oil: “Portrait of Katie McNamara” by Ashcan School pioneer Robert Henri, and Horace Pippin’s striking painting of Major-General Smedley D. Butler, the most decorated Marine in United States history. The sale’s single-owner selection presents esteemed works from the Papageorge collection from Carversville, Penn.: more than a dozen works by Robert Spencer, Garber, Folinsbee, John Singleton Copley, among others.

With additional selections from the Martin collection, the firm’s June 6 sale features works by Walter Emerson Baum, George Gardner Symons, David Burliuk, Frederick William MacMonnies, among others — as well as prints and drawings by Garber and Folinsbee from the artists’ respective estates.

Freeman’s June 8 auction is led by a rare 1855 first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass with impressive provenance. In addition to nearly 30 other Whitman titles, the sale features works by the likes of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Standout highlights include a rare American 1776 edition of Thomas Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet Common Sense, a first edition of Thomas McKenney and James Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of North America and a rare 1787 first edition of the leading anti-Federalist attack on the United States constitution, Observations Leading to a Fair Examination of the System of Government Proposed by the Late Convention.

Freeman’s is at 2400 Market Street. For more information, www.freemansauction.com or 215-563-9275.

CONTACT: Raphaël Chatroux
267-414-1253 americanart@freemansauction.com
Emma Fordyce MacRae (1887-1974) The Dreamer (detail)
$10,000-15,000