Thomas Eakins albumen print, circa 1871, $51,750.

By Carol Sims

GREENWICH, CONN. – On October 25 at 6 pm, Shannon’s conducted their semi-annual art auction at the Greenwich Civic Center. Sentiment among collectors ran high on Guy Wiggins’s “Trinity Church” oil on canvas board. The diminutive painting measured only 9 by 12 inches, but figured large in the hearts of bidders, inspiring them to bid well beyond the presale estimate of $25/35,000 to a hammer price of $52,000.

The painting shows Trinity Church, New York’s oldest parish at Broadway and Wall Street, very near the site of the former World Trade Center buildings in lower Manhattan. Trinity Church came through the devastation of September 11 “remarkably sound” according to a letter written by the Reverend Dr. Daniel Paul Matthews on September 13.

Wiggins painted three American flags waving cheerily amidst a snowstorm. The church steeple raises its spire skyward in the muted greys of distance. The buildings in the foreground all lead to the church. The pedestrians appear to all be headed in that direction as well, with only the cars coming the other direction. The painting’s estimate, and the decision to put it on the cover of the Shannon’s catalog were made well in advance of the terrorist attack on New York City.

For a full review of Shannon’s Fine American and European Paintings, Drawing, and Sculpture, see next week’s paper.