Fern Isabel Coppedge (1883-1951) The Frozen Canal at Hughes Fine Art Auction
Fern Isabel Coppedge at Hughes Fine Art Auction
Hughes Auctions is thrilled to present for auction The Frozen Canal, circa 1924, by Fern Isabel Coppedge (1883-1951). Privately owned since 1937 and in storage since the 1970s, it would be impossible to overstate our excitement about bringing this spectacular oil painting back into Coppedge's repertoire.
An evocative winter landscape, The Frozen Canal was exhibited widely from 1924 to 1929, a period of Coppedge’s career filled with accolades and wide recognition. The painting received a warm response from critics beginning in 1925.
“Fern I. Coppedge does not always paint snow scenes… It must be admitted, however, that she is rather more successful in her winter pictures. Her “Winter Mist” and her “Frozen Canal” are two of the most attractive landscapes in the collection.”
- Francis J. Ziegler, The Philadelphia Record, 1925
Art Documentation
As documented on the back of the original Newcomb-Macklin frame with exhibition labels, The Palm Beach Rotary of Mrs. Cartwright (label on verso) as well as the Texas Rotary (label on verso) exhibited the painting as part of the traveling exhibitions that the Philadelphia Ten used to widen their audience and reach collectors around the country. In 1929, The Frozen Canal was acquired by the newly formed Witte Memorial Museum in San Antonio, Texas. At some point before 1937, the painting was deaccessioned by the museum and acquired by the Rutherford Family, who has owned it since then.
The painting was purchased by the current estate in 1937 and given as a wedding gift to a family member. The newlywed couple displayed the painting in their home until the 1970s when the piece went into storage. The stunning painting was rediscovered in 2011 when the wife of the couple passed away.
This is the first time this museum quality artwork has been offered for sale on the secondary market. Coppedge’s rich body of work is growing in stature and recent auction records reflect this resurgence of her work.
Hughes is thrilled to present The Frozen Canal for auction on January 17, 2021 with an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000.
Hughes Fine Art Auction
January 17, 2021 | 10 am
ONLINE & TELEPHONE BIDDING ONLY
The Frozen Canal in the original Newcomb-Macklin frame.
The Witte Memorial Museum purchased the painting in 1928 and deaccessioned it before 1937.
Signed verso.
Palm Beach Rotary label for Ten Philadelphia Painters Exhibit.
Texas Rotary label for Ten Philadelphia Painters Exhibit.
1925 and 1928 press reviews and reproduction of The Frozen Canal.
