Gertrude Abercrombie Painting Bought for $30 Sells for $1.3m, Setting Auction Record
A modest artwork by Gertrude Abercrombie, acquired for $30 during an estate sale in Michigan, achieved a remarkable $1.3 million at Freeman's in New York on 1 October, establishing a new auction high for the artist. The piece, titled Alderman Merriam's Shells and created in 1951, measures 8 by 11 inches, with a presale estimate ranging from $150,000 to $200,000. This sale eclipses Abercrombie's former record of $1 million, which was set at Sotheby's in November 2022. The painting was exchanged with Dr. John Reynolds in Kalamazoo in return for surgical services. Zack Wirsum of Freeman's uncovered the artwork after receiving an email on 4 July. Abercrombie (1909-1977) was known for her friendships with jazz musicians and did not have formal gallery representation.
Key facts
- Gertrude Abercrombie's painting Alderman Merriam's Shells (1951) sold for $1.3m at Freeman's in New York on 1 October.
- The work was bought for $30 at a Michigan estate sale in summer 2024.
- The sale set a new auction record for Abercrombie, surpassing the previous $1m for Message for Mercy at Sotheby's in November 2024.
- The painting measures 8 by 11 inches and had a presale estimate of $150,000 to $200,000.
- Abercrombie traded the painting to Dr. John Reynolds in Kalamazoo, Michigan, for surgical services.
- Freeman's head of post-war and contemporary art Zack Wirsum discovered the painting after receiving an email with an image on the weekend of 4 July.
- Auctioneer David Weiss, a Freeman's senior vice president, said, "Keep going to those estate sales."
- A 2018 exhibition at Karma in New York, curated by Dan Nadel, helped revive interest in Abercrombie's work.
Entities
Artists
- Gertrude Abercrombie
- Dizzie Gillespie
- Charlie Parker
- Dan Nadel
- Jenny Gibbs
- Karl Wirsum
- Zack Wirsum
- David Weiss
- John Reynolds
- Susan Weininger
- Zachary Wirsum
- Robert Merriam
- Dr. John Reynolds
- Thomas Busciglio-Ritter
- Julian Baumgartner
- Katie White
- Amy Crawford
- Sarah Kuta
Institutions
- Freeman's
- Sotheby's
- Arthur Analytics
- Karma
- Elmhurst Art Museum
- Marshall Fields
- The Art Newspaper
- Milwaukee Art Museum
- Freeman’s
- Newman Brown Gallery
- Chicago Review
- Carnegie Museum of Art
- Colby College Museum of Art
- Chicago Tribune
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- American Academy of Art
- Federal Art Project
- Works Progress Administration
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Illinois Design Center
- Roosevelt University
- Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration
- Artnet
- Smithsonian magazine
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Michigan
- Chicago
- Hyde Park
- Kalamazoo
- Arkansas
- Hot Springs Mountain
- Milwaukee
- Austin
- Texas
- Illinois
- Wisconsin
- Evanston