A rare and exceptional oil portrait on panel by the early Nineteenth Century Vermont/ New York State itinerant artist Sheldon Peck soared past presale estimates at Fairfield Auction this past Sunday, November 22. Discovered in a cache of historical prints and a variety of other artwork during a consignment call, the primitive oil on panel, which had cracked in half vertically and separated, was modestly estimated at $3/5,000. The auction gallery displayed the painting with the two halves rejoined, although no restoration or attempt to permanently secure the pieces had been made.

Depicting a woman in a black dress with a red book in her hand and seated in a stenciled Sheraton fancy chair, the painting was in excellent overall condition suffering only very minor paint loss. Bidding on the lot opened at $21,000 with nine telephone bidders on the line. The telephones dominated the early action until Woodbury, Conn., dealer David Schorsch hit the lot at $32,500. From there Schorsch battled with several in the crowd, including Connecticut collector Tom Tafuri, until things settled down to just two bidders in the room.

Rapid bids were executed by Schorsch, standing at the left rear corner of the gallery, and a gentleman seated at the right rear of the gallery, from the $50,000 mark to a final selling price of $241,500, where the painting was hammered down to Schorsch.

Another folk portrait from the same estate depicted a young child in a dress standing next to a ladder back chair and holding a basket of flowers in one hand a floral sprig in the other. Suffering substantial paint loss, the painting opened at $3,000 and sold to the underbidder on the Peck at $40,250. A complete review of the auction will appear in a future issue.

⁄SS