PHILADELPHIA, PA.- 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 2pm on Sunday, December 5, followed by Simply American: Fine Art from a Private Texas Collection and Collect: American Art begin at 11am and 1pm, respectively, on Tuesday, December 7.

In American Art Week, Freeman’s brings fine selections from the 19th century 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.

Over the past three years, Freeman’s has sold in excess of $20M solely in the sale of single-owner collections, surpassing pre-sale estimates by 168%. With each sale containing a single-owner collection, Freeman’s continues to bring focused, narrative-driven collections to buyers and produce excellent results on behalf of clients.

AMERICAN ART AND PENNSYLVANIA IMPRESSIONISTS FEATURING THE COLLECTION OF VIRGINIA AND STUART PELTZ

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 (estimate: $150,000-250,000) and River Road at Centre Bridge, a monumental canvas by Kenneth Nunamaker (estimate: $60,000-100,000). A rare example of Morgan Colt’s work, The Butcher Wagon, will also be on offer (estimate: $40,000-60,000), as will Mother and Daughter, a touching portrait of the artist’s wife and their first daughter by John Folinsbee (estimate: $10,000-15,000).

Also on offer in the December 5 sale will be works by leading American artists, including Jamie Wyeth’s Saltwater Ice (estimate: $200,000-300,000), and The Johnson Place by his father Andrew (estimate: $40,000-60,000), 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 elegant bronze Spirit of the Dance (estimate: $100,000-150,000) and two sculptures by Donald De Lue, as well as landscapes like Albert Bierstadt’s Estes Park Morning, Colorado (estimate: $30,000-50,000), and portraits like Angèle from Philadelphia-based painter Arthur Beecher Carles (estimate: $20,000-30,000).

SIMPLY AMERICAN: FINE ART FROM A PRIVATE TEXAS COLLECTION

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 (estimate: $25,000-40,000), Bruce Crane’s The Autumn Hills (estimate: $15,000-25,000), and Winter in the Country, A Cold Morning by George Henry Durrie (estimate: $20,000-30,000).

Also on offer will be fine examples of Western art, including three paintings by Charlie Dye, including The Scouts (estimate: $6,000-10,000), as well as Edgar Samuel Paxson’s portrait of a Native American Chief (estimate: $8,000-12,000). Sweeping 19th-century landscapes include Arkville, New York by Alexander Helwig Wyant (estimate: $10,000-15,000) and Joseph Christian Leyendecker’s Young Girl Feeding Her Dog (estimate: $10,000-15,000).

COLLECT: AMERICAN ART

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 (estimate: $6,000-10,000) and Untitled (Fishing) by Oliver Kemp (estimate: $5,000-8,000).

The December 7 sale also features four watercolor Christmas cards by Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth (estimate: $4,000-6,000), an elegant watercolor by Harry Leith-Ross, and several works by important Philadelphia- and Pennsylvania-based artists, from Robert Kulicke’s Carnations (estimate: $5,000-8,000) to Hobson Pittman’s Still Life with Poppies (estimate: $3,000-5,000) and Christopher Willett’s New York Stock Exchange (estimate: $1,500-2,500).

FREEMAN’S: PENNSYLVANIA IMPRESSIONISTS DESTINATION

As Philadelphia’s auction house, Freeman’s boasts ongoing strong successes in the sale of Pennsylvania Impressionists. Freeman’s sold more paintings by Edward Redfield in 2020 than any other auction house (indeed, Freeman’s has offered more works by the artist than any other house), and a December 2020 sale included the sale of seven paintings by Daniel Garber for a remarkable $1.55M total. Eight of the top ten results achieved for works by Fern Coppedge have been at Freeman’s auctions and Freeman’s continues to hold the world auction record for a Coppedge painting.

Freeman’s December 2021 auctions offer plentiful opportunities for collectors of Pennsylvania Impressionists; in addition to the works already listed, American Art Week will include fine examples by Arthur Meltzer, William Francis Taylor, and Walter Baum, among others.