Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Gilbert Stuart Gets $1m in Rochester

March 29, 2010 by Marion Maneker

A regional auction house in Rochester, NY sold a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington owned by Oliver Chanler for $1.06m. The work was estimated in $200-300,000 range with the final bid coming in at $950k before commission:

“I thought it was going to go for more from what I’ve been reading, but it’s fine,” said Chanler, a Geneseo resident who discovered the value of the painting about 10 years ago. Bidding opened at $250,000 and quickly escalated to more than $700,000, when the action slowed down. […] Jeff Bridgman, the owner of Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques in York County, Pennsylvania, was the winning bidder. Bridgman, who deals in antique American flags and American folk art, said that he knew the painting would sell for much more than the estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. While Stuart reportedly painted more than 100 portraits of Washington, they aren’t available on the open market very often.

“There hasn’t been one sold for five years,” said Bridgman. “I’m very pleased.”

Chanler discovered the portrait’s worth when appraisers came to value his mother’s estate 10 years ago. He can only definitively trace his family’s ownership of the painting to his great-grandfather John Winthrop Chanler, who served in the House of Representatives from 1863 to 1869. However, the portrait could conceivably date all the way back to his great-great-great-great-grandfather John Jacob Astor, who also at one time had his portrait painted by Stuart.

Washington Portrait Goes for $1m in Rochester (WGRZ.com)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Keno Sells $912,500 Revolutionary Era DocumentKeno Sells $912,500 Revolutionary Era Document
  • Esmerian Sale sets Record at $12.95mEsmerian Sale sets Record at $12.95m
  • Keno Auctions Americana = $3.3mKeno Auctions Americana = $3.3m
  • Sotheby’s Americana = $13.5mSotheby’s Americana = $13.5m
  • The Fabled & Forgotten Furniture Makers of Rhode IslandThe Fabled & Forgotten Furniture Makers of Rhode Island
  • Keno Sells Butterworth, Tiffany and WegnerKeno Sells Butterworth, Tiffany and Wegner

Filed Under: Auction Results Tagged With: Americana, Gilbert Stuart

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor