Tennessee Museum Fends Off Private Rivales for Wiley

A Tennessee auction brought $107k for a painting by Anna Catherine Wiley which will go to a local museum instead of a private buyer as some feared:

“This is a world auction record for a painting by a female Tennessee artist, and it puts Catherine Wiley up there with Gilbert Gaul, William Edmondson and Beauford Delaney in terms of top-selling Tennessee artists,” said Sarah Campbell Drury, vice president of decorative arts for Case Antiques Auctions & Appraisals. […]

She suffered a mental breakdown, was institutionalized in 1926 and never painted again. Wiley remained hospitalized until her death in 1958.

David Butler, executive director of the Knoxville Museum of Art, said securing the winning bid was a top priority given Wiley’s East Tennessee ties, the quality of the painting and the limited number of her known works.

“Catherine Wiley was not prolific, and her paintings rarely come on the market,” said Butler.

“This is one of her greatest works, from her best period, and shows why she is ranked among America’s premier impressionists. We are pleased and grateful that this masterpiece will stay here.”

Knoxville museum fetches rare painting for $107K (Knoxville News)