The Case of the Mysterious Sargent Painting

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Sep 13th 2007 at 3:03PM

Often the "name" paintings go to the bigger auction houses like Christies and Sothebys but this lovely lady is being auctioned off at Gallery 63 in Atlanta on September 23. And she comes with a bit of mystery.The painting is an original oil-on-canvas portrait of Jenny Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill), by John Singer Sargent. The problem is that no record of the finished portrait exists, making provenance hard to establish. Studies of Lady Churchill are known but not an oil painting. In the press release, Paul Brown of Gallery 63 says that "with the right research, this painting could be worth millions." The person who buys the painting will be responsible for establishing the true history of the painting which is signed John S. Sargent but is undated. The painting has been in the possession of the current owner since 1970, when he purchased it from the Estate of Leroy Ireland, a well known art collector associated with the American artist, George Inness.

The sale also includes the American furniture collection of the curator of the Michael Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta, a 1932 Chevrolet Super Confederate Roadster, a Civil War reunion medal commemorating the West Virginia Militia members, Civil War documents, bronze fountains and a massive Baccarat chandelier.

Tags: art, auction, john singer sargent, JohnSingerSargent, painting