Emily Sartain (1841-1927) Landscape Oil Painting on Canvas
Oil painting of a forest scene 10" x 10 1/2" (19" x 20" framed) on canvas signed ES 1882. Emily Sartain, the only American woman known to have worked as a mezzotint engraver prior to 1900; she came from a family of artists. In the early 1870's she went to Parma Italy with Mary Cassatt. They studied with Carlo Raimondi (1809-1883); Sartain then went to Paris where she studied painting with Evariste Vital Luminais (1822-1896). She returned to Philadelphia in 1875. By 1886 she was highly regarded among her fellow professional artists, influential in the Philadelphia art community, participating in several artist's organizations, exhibiting painting and prints, organizing major exhibitions. - - She exhibited her engravings for the first time in the 1876 U S Centennial Exposition Women's Pavilion, where one of her paintings was also exhibited. In the 1875 Paris Salon as la piece de Conviction, hers was the only painting by a woman hung in the main Art Department of the Centennial Exposition to win a medal. She exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy, American Exhibition in London 1887, World's Columbian Exposition on in Chicago 1893, and more. Later, her 35 year career as the Principal of the School of Design overshadowed her earlier career and reputation as an artist. In addition, she suffered the fate of most nineteenth century women artists: few of her paintings and prints were saved or collected because women were not yet acknowledged then as professionals making worthwhile art. Nowadays, Emily Sartain's contributions are being examined and evaluated. SOURCE: Full text of ARTISTS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN PORTRAITS: EMILY SARTAIN, from the files of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection; Journal of the American Historical print Collectors Society, Vol 9, No 2 Autumn 1984; Phyllis Peet. SIGNATURE MATCH: SEE painting entitled "Portrait of a Young Girl" ... also signed "ES". Another painting, a study of a woman, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts ... signature is fully written "Emily Sartain" ... E and S match the others.
This was purchased at an estate sale in Lambertville NJ, which is close to Philadalphia where the Sartain family lived and Emily Sartain was raised, lived and worked.
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This is an antique, late 19th century, Victorian era, small 10" x 10.5" original oil on canvas painting of a wooded winter landscape in a gilded molded plaster gesso on wood frame. The painting is initialed E.S. and dated 1881 and presented as a work by the American female artist and engraver Emily Sartain (1841 - 1927). She is primarily known for printmaking and her paintings were principally portrait and genre. Landscape works are not generally in her oeuvre. This assessment does not serve as an authentication of the work monogrammed E.S. as being by Emily Sartain. The estimate is based on actual recent past recorded auction sales of comparables. Retail 'asking prices' can be higher and vary.
The estimate is based on actual recent past sold painting of known paintings by Emily Sartain. Her works simply do not sell for very much and they are not widely sought after by the collector market. The estimate is a realistic fair market value. Even if authenticated, it still would not exceed $200 - $400.
WHAT recent past known paintings??? Emily Sartain is a pretty major & pioneering figure as a woman artist in the late 19th century. Her painting Portrait of a Young Girl sold for $410 in 2009, a pastel not even an oil. Know of any others? Doubtful. Her prints have gone for a few hundred. But her work is RARE and few have come up. There is another Emily Sartain, Canadian, 1903-1990 who did cheesy watercolors of flowers ... HER paintings are listed WITH Emily Sartain’s, Philadelphia, 1846-1927!!! The Canadian watercolorist’s are the recent ones sold; they go for very little. So it looks like Emily Sartain (1846-1927) paintings command very little when, in fact, it’s not even her work. These art websites are unverified, often just user submitted information & unreliable. Awful. And the “art experts” just believe what they read online. Case in point: read (Meadville PA Tribune, Jean Shanley reporter “Local ambassador..”) , an article about Kanute Edwin Felix (Swedish American) VS Karl Eugen Felix (Austrian) ... all the American’s paintings were being credited to the Austrian before I discovered and corrected the travesty through genealogical research. Even all the big name auction houses had it wrong! Even now, some of Kanute’s are sold as the Austrian’s (Karl) ... both signed their work
“K E Felix”. I submitted a very fine and rare painting to Mearto for appraisal. I do not believe Mearto used accurate criteria to arrive at the $200-400 appraisal. This painting should be in a museum (once it is authenticated by a real art expert).
Ironically, I grew up in Meadville and subscribe to the Tribune. I see you are passionate about the history of Emily Sartain. Though she may be touted as a 'first' American female mezzotinter, her art skills were subpar at best. You have ascribed subjective importance to the painting you own; a painting that may not even be by Sartain herself. Appraisers, do however, have to remain objective. A true 'fine and rare' painting would be an Old Master work by Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer etc.
This appraisal is deficient. Any novice can look up “actual recent past recorded auction sales of comparables” (auction houses, Artnet, Askart etc) however there ARE SCANT FEW, if any, Emily Sartain paintings and “comparables” in existence. So this estimate is a sham based on incongruous records, that is, records that don’t exist. Agreed 1) $200-400 if based on some generic Victorian landscape painting by an unknown artist so often seen in antique stores, but these are not “comparable” and 2) the painting is not authenticated (just 99% certain based on signature/ monogram alone!) ... so I could accept a conditional appraisal on the painting “attributed to Emily Sartain” or appraisal assessment IF authenticated ... and it would certainly exceed $200-400 by a LOT. This appraisal told me NOTHING I didn’t know already. Very UNHELPFUL, a waste of my time and money.