Shannon's To Auction Masterpiece By John White Alexander, One Of America's Most Celebrated Artists

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Shannon’s announced their Spring Fine Art Auction scheduled for Thursday, April 30th at 6pm Eastern Time. The auction will feature over 150 lots of quality paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture, beginning promptly at 6pm Eastern Time.

With an emphasis on quality American art and fresh-to-the-market offerings, the Shannon’s spring sale will be a treasure trove of unique and exciting offerings. Bidding will be available on shannons.com, through their mobile app, by telephone, or by absentee. All of the works will be available for preview at their Milford, Connecticut, gallery.

A grandiose composition by John White Alexander, titled Her Birthday (1913), towers at almost 7 feet tall. Done late in his career, the work is a detailed example of the artist's mature style, picturing three vignettes of women arranging a vase of flowers. This piece is being offered at an estimated price of $300,000-$500,000.

In addition to the Alexander, other Gilded Age portraiture includes a William Merritt Chase of Miss Mary Shepherd Lukens, titled Lady with a Rose. Offered at $80,000-$120,000, this large-format, 48 inch ...
... by 36 inch canvas depicts a woman in a ruffled white dress holding a pink rose. Chase won a prestigious Temple Gold Medal for this work when he exhibited it at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1901.

A rare Victorian sculpture bust of Beatrice Cenci by Harriet Hosmer will be included at an estimate of $30,000-$50,000. Hosmer became the first professional American female sculptor of the 19th Century. Most of her works are in museum collections, including a celebrated full-length sculpture of the same subject. Of her work, Susan B. Anthony commented, "Harriet Hosmer has done more to ennoble and elevate women than she possibly could have done by mere words."

American Impressionism is prominently featured in the auction, led by a double portrait of two women idling in the summer shade by Louis Ritman, which will be offered at $40,000-$60,000. The painting exhibits Ritman’s skill at depicting a favored Impressionist motif of figures in dappled sunlight and shadow. The two women on the balcony seem totally at rest, one sewing and the other casually watching as the sun illuminates a summer garden behind them.

A Charles Courtney Curran titled Spring on the Mountain depicts a woman standing on rocks with pink flowers in the foreground. The painting uses the typical pastel palette that characterizes Curran’s works, painted in Cragsmoor, where he spent his summers. This fresh-to-the-market artwork is offered at $40,000-$60,000.

Other American Impressionist highlights include large paintings from the Rockport School by Emile Gruppe and Anthony Thieme. An exceptional 30 inch by 36 inch Thieme, titled Cleaning the Nets, will be offered at $20,000-$30,000. The painting, sold by Shannon’s in 2008, has been in a private collection ever since. Gruppe’s Bailing the Fish will be offered at $12,000-$18,000. The painting captures the action as fishermen pull in netted fish in choppy waters. Other paintings by Gruppe in the auction include a view of Motif #1, offered at $10,000-$15,000, and a landscape of Waterville, Vermont, est. $10,000-$15,000.

A screenprint of Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol leads the Contemporary American art offerings at $70,000-$90,000. From an edition of 250, this screenprint is signed by both Warhol and Jagger.

The two creative artists had a close friendship that started in 1969 when the Rolling Stones asked Warhol to design the cover for their album Sticky Fingers.

A 41 inch by 53 inch painting by female Abstract Expressionist Mary Abbott will be offered at $30,000-$50,000. Prices for Abbott’s work have been rising, with a top auction record achieved in 2025. Only a handful of her works have surfaced in the market. Yellow Diamond I, a fresh-to-the-market example, will be offered from a private collection in Connecticut.

Other contemporary highlights in the auction include a bright, bold still life by Paul Wonner titled “Bucket of Flowers and a Red Stool”. The 48 inch by 48 inch canvas is a striking composition with a colorful bucket of flowers rendered in extraordinary detail. The painting will be offered at an estimate of $25,000-$35,000.

Other featured artists in the Contemporary American art category include Jim Dine, Oscar Bluemner, Dale Chihuly, Wolf Kahn, Milton Avery, Louise Fishman, Anthony Thieme, Ernest Lawson, Richard Hayley Lever, and Arthur B. Carles.

For the full details of the auction, please visit www.shannons.com or contact the gallery by phone at 203-877-1711 or via email at info@shannons.com

About Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers:
Regular sale updates are posted on shannons.com, and the full catalog of the sale is available online now. Printed catalogs are available for order by contacting the gallery. For the full details of the auction, please visit www.shannons.com or contact the gallery by phone at 203-877-1711 or via email at info@shannons.com.