John Wesley Chumley Paintings & Artwork for Sale | John Wesley Chumley Art Value Price Guide

Mar. 27, 2025
JOHN CHUMLEY 'SEPTUAGENARIAN' WATERCOLOR PORTRAIT
Est: $600 - $1,200
John Wesley Chumley (American, (Virginia) 1928-1984). "Septuagenarian" - 1966, watercolor on paper, signed "Chumley" to UL, gallery label to verso for Maynard Walker Gallery, New York, NY. Framed. Note: Accompanied by Maynard Walker Gallery invoice, Nov. 1966. Provenance: The Estate of Louis & Helen Regenstein, Jr., Atlanta, GA. Louis Jr. was the eldest son of Louis & Venia Regenstein, Sr., founders of Regenstein's Department Store. Louis Jr. served as senior partner at the law firm now known as Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton. Helen served on many philanthropic committees and boards throughout her life including The Alliance Theatre, The High Museum, and The Temple, and also served as Parliamentarian of the Atlanta Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Approximate dimensions: sight h. 12", w. 9.75"; frame h. 21", w. 19", d. 1.25".
Ahlers & Ogletree Inc.
Jan. 29, 2022
John Chumley Watercolor Woodland Scene, Dark Forest, Exhibited
Est: $1,800 - $2,200
John Wesley Chumley (Virginia/Tennessee, 1928-1984), "Dark Forest," watercolor on bristol board painting depicting a lush woodland interior with orange Jack-O-Lantern mushrooms and white button mushrooms emerging around the base of tree along with vines and fern. John Chumley label with painting title and dimensions en verso. Housed in a molded giltwood frame with linen liner. Sight: 21 3/4" H x 27 3/4" W. Framed: 29 5/8" H x 35 1/4" W. Note: This painting was exhibited at the show "The World of Chumley" held at The Columbia Museum of Art (Columbia, SC) in 1977. A copy of the exhibit catalog is available to the winning bidder on this painting. Biography: John Wesley Chumley was born in 1928 in Rochester, Minnesota while his father, a Tennessee native, was in his surgical residency at Mayo Clinic. He attended McCampbell School and the Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater, Tennessee. His concentration on art quickly grew after a football injury. His post-graduate study under Walter Stuempfig at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts further convinced him that his field was realism and the rural countryside his stimulus. As he refined his work, there were other influential centers of art along the way -the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida, where he met his wife Bettye (Skip) Roberts; and the Fort Worth Center of Art, Fort Worth, Texas, where he was artist-in-residence from 1958-1961. In 1961 the couple moved to a 200-acre farm in Middleton, VA that provided scenery, wildlife, plants and inspiration for the artist. Chumley's character and personality were reflected in the choice of his chief medium -egg tempera, the most difficult and "slowest," although he also painted in watercolors and oil. His painstaking representation of scenery, plants, and lifelike human and animal subjects with tempera -a tedious process involving a mixture of pigment, egg yolk, and water which dried quickly -enabled him to express his perception of light. As John observed, "Light is my bag." (source: Adapted from Askart, taken from http://www.fountaincitytnhistory.info/People5-Chumley.htm with the permission of Fountain City Historian J.C. Tumblin).
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Jan. 29, 2022
John Chumley Painting,Toadstools in Sunlight, Exhibited
Est: $1,800 - $2,200
John Wesley Chumley (Virginia/Tennessee, 1928-1984), "Toadstools in Sunlight," watercolor on bristol board painting, depicting a lush woodland interior with orange Jack-O-Lantern mushrooms and white mushrooms emerging around the base of tree. A vine meanders along the trunk, which is highlighted with rays of sunlight emerging from the left side of the scene. Signed "Chumley" upper right. John Chumley label with painting title and dimensions en verso. Housed under glass in a molded giltwood frame with linen mat. Sight: 16 1/2" H x 27" W. Framed: 28 1/2" H x 38 1/2" W. Note: This painting was exhibited at the show "The World of Chumley" held at The Columbia Museum of Art (Columbia, SC) in 1977. A copy of the exhibit catalog is available with this painting. Biography: John Wesley Chumley was born in 1928 in Rochester, Minnesota while his father, a Tennessee native, was in his surgical residency at Mayo Clinic. He attended McCampbell School and the Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater, Tennessee. His concentration on art quickly grew after a football injury. His post-graduate study under Walter Stuempfig at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts further convinced him that his field was realism and the rural countryside his stimulus. As he refined his work, there were other influential centers of art along the way -the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida, where he met his wife Bettye (Skip) Roberts; and the Fort Worth Center of Art, Fort Worth, Texas, where he was artist-in-residence from 1958-1961. In 1961 the couple moved to a 200-acre farm in Middleton, VA that provided scenery, wildlife, plants and inspiration for the artist. Chumley's character and personality were reflected in the choice of his chief medium -egg tempera, the most difficult and "slowest," although he also painted in watercolors and oil. His painstaking representation of scenery, plants, and lifelike human and animal subjects with tempera -a tedious process involving a mixture of pigment, egg yolk, and water which dried quickly -enabled him to express his perception of light. As John observed, "Light is my bag." (source: Adapted from Askart, taken from http://www.fountaincitytnhistory.info/People5-Chumley.htm with the permission of Fountain City Historian J.C. Tumblin).
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Jan. 29, 2022
John Chumley Winter Landscape, Foot Path, Exhibited
Est: $2,000 - $2,400
John Wesley Chumley (Virginia/Tennessee, 1928-1984), "Foot Path," watercolor on bristol board, winter landscape painting depicting rolling hills dotted with farmsteads and barns, under a blanket of freshly fallen snow. A footpath in the snow is visible far right foreground, leading to a house with large barren tree mid-ground. Signed "Chumley" lower left, titled and dated 1973 en verso. The Bonfoey Gallery (Cleveland, OH) label en verso. Housed under glass in a silver-gilt frame with linen matte and beaded wood liner. Sight: 13 3/4" H x 23 1/4" W. Framed: 24" H x 34" W. Note: This painted was exhibited at Hirschl Adler Galleries, located in New York City, in 1975, together with 18 other works. It is listed on page 6 of the gallery exhibition book, and a copy will be available to the winner of this lot. Biography: John Wesley Chumley was born in 1928 in Rochester, Minnesota while his father, a Tennessee native, was in his surgical residency at Mayo Clinic. He attended McCampbell School and the Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater, Tennessee. His concentration on art quickly grew after a football injury. His post-graduate study under Walter Stuempfig at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts further convinced him that his field was realism and the rural countryside his stimulus. As he refined his work, there were other influential centers of art along the way -the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida, where he met his wife Bettye (Skip) Roberts; and the Fort Worth Center of Art, Fort Worth, Texas, where he was artist-in-residence from 1958-1961. In 1961 the couple moved to a 200-acre farm in Middleton, VA that provided scenery, wildlife, plants and inspiration for the artist. Chumley's character and personality were reflected in the choice of his chief medium -egg tempera, the most difficult and "slowest," although he also painted in watercolors and oil. His painstaking representation of scenery, plants, and lifelike human and animal subjects with tempera -a tedious process involving a mixture of pigment, egg yolk, and water which dried quickly- enabled him to express his perception of light. As John observed, "Light is my bag." (source: Adapted from Askart, taken from http://www.fountaincitytnhistory.info/People5-Chumley.htm with the permission of Fountain City Historian J.C. Tumblin)
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Jul. 24, 2021
John Chumley Watercolor Woodland Scene, Bloodroot
Est: $1,800 - $2,200
John Wesley Chumley (Virginia/Tennessee, 1928-1984) watercolor landscape painting titled "Bloodroot". Depicting a woodland interior with flowering bloodroot plants emerging around a fallen tree with a rock wall background. Signed "Chumley" lower left and titled en verso. Housed under glass in a giltwood frame with linen liner. Sight: 16" H x 28" W. Framed: 25 1/2" H x 37 1/4" W. Biography: John Wesley Chumley was born in 1928 in Rochester, Minnesota while his father, a Tennessee native, was in his surgical residency at Mayo Clinic. He attended McCampbell School and the Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater, Tennessee. His concentration on art quickly grew. His post-graduate study under Walter Stuempfig at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts further convinced him that his field was realism and the rural countryside his stimulus. As he refined his work, there were other influential centers of art along the way--the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida, where he met his wife Bettye (Skip) Roberts; and the Fort Worth Center of Art, Fort Worth, Texas, where he was artist-in-residence from 1958-1961. In 1961 the couple moved to a 200-acre farm in Middleton, VA that provided scenery, wildlife, plants and inspiration for the artist. Chumley's character and personality were reflected in the choice of his chief medium--egg tempera, the most difficult and "slowest," although he also painted in watercolors and oil. His painstaking representation of scenery, plants, and lifelike human and animal subjects with tempera--a tedious process involving a mixture of pigment, egg yolk, and water which dried quickly--enabled him to express his perception of light. As John observed, "Light is my bag." (source: Adapted from Askart, taken from http://www.fountaincitytnhistory.info/People5-Chumley.htm with the permission of Fountain City Historian J.C. Tumblin)
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Jul. 18, 2019
John Wesley Chumley American, 1928-1984 Refuge, 1971
Est: $1,200 - $1,800
John Wesley Chumley American, 1928-1984 Refuge, 1971 Signed Chumley (lr) Tempera on board 25 1/2 x 40 inches Provenance: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York Exhibited: Shreveport, Louisiana, The R.W. Norton Art Gallery, John Chumley's Rural America, Oct. 1- Nov. 5, 1972 C Property of a Private Collector, Long Island
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Jan. 27, 2018
John Chumley Watercolor "Blizzard"
Est: $900 - $1,200
John Wesley Chumley (Virginia/Tennessee 1928-1984) watercolor snow scene painting titled "Blizzard" depicting two houses in the background (presumably the artist's homes) and a fence line in the foreground, both covered in deep drifts of winter snow. Signed "Chumley" lower right. Titled "Blizzard/ Chumley's House" en verso. Housed in a silvered gilt wood frame. Sight - 19 1/4" H x 29" W. Framed - 30 1/4" H x 40 1/2" W. Provenance: The Living Estate of Rita Whittle, Maryville, TN. Biography (courtesy Askart: The Artists' Bluebook/J.C. Tumblin): "John Chumley was born in Minnesota and grew up in Tennessee. His interest in realism flourished while studying under Walter Steumpfig at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; he also studied at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida and was Artist in Residence at the Fort Worth Center of Art in Texas from 1958-1961. Chumley moved with his family to the Shenandoah Valley in 1961. Scenes from his native East Tennessee were a frequent source of inspiration. He had one man shows at the Dulin Gallery of Art (predecessor of the Knoxville Museum of Art, Fort Worth, Norfolk, Va., Pennsylvania and New York. His New York exhibits were very successful and earned him national recognition and comparisons with Hopper and Wyeth. He is buried in Winchester, Virginia". (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com.)
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Feb. 27, 2016
John Wesley Chumley (1928 - 1984).
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Church Bell Watercolor 34" x 40". Provenance: Adelson Galleries, New York City.
Morphy Auctions
Jun. 09, 2011
*John Wesley Chumley, (American, 1928-1984), Blossoms on Windowsill
Est: $600 - $800
John Wesley Chumley (American, 1928-1984) Blossoms on Windowsill watercolor signed (lower right) 25 x 31 3/4 inches.
Hindman