MOUNT CRAWFORD, VA. — Diverse collections crossed the block at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates as the firm conducted its 42nd Semi-Annual Premier Americana auction on June 24-25. The two-day event featured consignments from several important collections as well as a large selection of choice objects from various individuals, estates and institutions. Leading the nearly 1,400 lots of fresh-to-the-market material sold over the weekend was a pair of Charles Peale Polk (1767-1822) portraits, which rose to $72,900, including buyer’s premium and fees. The pair went to an East Coast dealer who was bidding against a Virginia institution, both on the phone. The pair of portraits comprise one of three versions painted Polk in 1799 at the request of Gerard Briscoe (1737-1801), a wealthy landowner in Frederick Co., Va. It is presumed that Briscoe commissioned the three copies from Polk in order to give each of his daughters a pair. Eleanor, one of the Briscoe daughters, received this pair from her father and mother, and brought them with her to Staunton, Va., upon her marriage to Archibald Stuart. The portraits have since descended directly in the Stuart family. More highlights from this sale will follow.