Clark Mills Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Clark Mills Art Value Price Guide

Jul. 29, 2023
Clark MILLS: Bronze Life Mask of President Lincoln
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
Clark Mills (1810-1883). Bronze life mask of Abraham Lincoln taken on February 12, 1865. Stamped Gorham & Co. Founders. Inscribed "Abraham Lincoln 1865. Full details and photo of the plaster illustrated page 233 "Lincoln in Photographs," University of Oklahoma Press. In good condition.
Roland Auctions NY
Sep. 16, 2021
Clark Mills
Est: $300 - $500
Clark Mills (South Carolina/Washington, DC, 1815-1883) BUST OF JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN plaster cast, incised on verso H9 1/2" W5 1/4" D4" Provenance: Private collection
Charlton Hall
May. 31, 2018
Marble bust of John C. Calhoun, attributed to Clark Mills
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
Marble bust of John C. Calhoun, attributed to Clark Mills (Charleston and New York, 1810-1883) H30" W19" D9 1/2" Provenance: Descended through the Smythe family to present heir Literature: Rutledge, Anna Wells. TRANSACTION OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY: ARTIST IN THE LIFE OF CHARLESTON THROUGH COLONY AND STATE FROM RESTORATION TO RECONSTRUCTION. APS, 1949 p. 237. Clark Mills's works discussed. Other Notes: This marble bust of John C. Calhoun has descended through the Smythe family of Charleston, South Carolina to the current heir. The Smythe family is also known to have in its collection other busts executed by such prominent sculptors as Hiram Powers. John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) was born in the Abbeville district of South Carolina. Calhoun entered Yale and graduated with distinction in the class of 1804. As a United States political leader he was a Congressman, Secretary of War, seventh Vice President (1825 - 1832), serving under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, a Senator and Secretary of State of the United States. Clark Mills (1810-1883) operated a studio in Charleston South Carolina from 1839 to 1848 at 51 Broad St. It is here that he executed marble and plaster busts of many prominent South Carolinians. Clark Mills was the first American sculptor who did not study abroad and the first to cast his own bronzes. Also, he was the first sculptor of an equestrian figure to be erected in the United States. Mills's first major commission came in 1848 from the Jackson Monument Committee for a statue of Andrew Jackson, unveiled in 1853, in Lafayette Square, Washington D.C. His other commissions include a bronze of George Washington erected in Washington Circle, Washington D.C.
Charlton Hall
Jan. 19, 2017
Clark Mills (1810-1883) General Andrew Jackson on Horseback bronze with black patina 23 ¾ x 19 x 7 ¾ in. (60.3 x 48.3 x 19.7 cm.)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
CLARK MILLS (1810-1883) General Andrew Jackson on Horseback stamped ‘Patented/ May 15/ 1855 Cornelius and Baxter/ Philadelphia’ (on the base) bronze with black patina 23æ x 19 x 7.75in. (60.3 x 48.3 x 19.7 cm.)
Christie's
Nov. 25, 2016
Clark Mills Abraham Lincoln 1865 Plaster Cast Mask
Est: $4,000 - $8,000
Type of Item: Clark Mills (1815-1883) plaster cast from the original plaster life-mask of President Abraham Lincoln, taken in the White House, Washington, D.C., February 11, 1865, Date of cast unknown. Inscribed on top ofhead "A Lincoln Clark Mills 1865", Inscription is worn; Approximate Measurement: 11" x 8" x 7.5"; Approximate Weight: 5 lbs; Note: Lincoln sat for two life-masks, one by sculptor Leonard Volk in April 1860 and theother by sculptor Clark Mills, taken two months before Lincoln's assassination. Mill's mask is the only Presidential life mask and the only one that portrays Lincoln's entire head, as Volk has left the back open. Heachieved this by covering Lincoln's head with a cap, coating his beard and face with oil, applying a thin coat of plaster and, once dried, allowing it to fall off with a twitch of Lincoln's face. He then reassembled thebroken pieces to yield a perfect likeness, which carefully captures clear details of his face and skin, showing the affects of his Presidency when compared to the younger Volk mask. One copy of the mask is housed in the
J Levine Auction & Appraisal LLC
Sep. 06, 2013
Life mask of John C. Calhoun after Clark Mills
Est: $300 - $500
Life mask of John C. Calhoun after Clark Mills (South Carolina/Louisiana, 1815-1883) JOHN C. CALHOUN, 20th century casting plaster, inscribed: John C. Calhoun/by/Clark Mills H8" W10" D7 1/2" Provenance: Columbia, South Carolina private collection.
Charlton Hall
Dec. 01, 2012
[Lincoln, Abraham] Plaster Life Mask by Clark Mills, 1865
Est: $500 - $1,000
[Lincoln, Abraham] Plaster Life Mask by Clark Mills, 1865. 11 x 7 1/2 x 8 1/2". Bronze color. Signed on top of the head, "Abraham Lincoln / Clark Mills / 1865." Mills (1815-1883)- made his life mask of Lincoln on February 11, 1865, the day before Lincoln's 56th birthday and two months before his assassination. Mills' life mask was the second one made of Lincoln. Leonard Volk made the first one in April 1860, before Lincoln received the Republican nomination for president. Mills' mask reflects the toll taken on Lincoln by the Civil War. It shows Lincoln's entire head, and not just the face, as Volk's does.Lincoln's secretary, John Hays, compared the two masks and described the changes wrought by five years: "...The first is a man of fifty-one, and young for his years. The face has a clean, firm outline; it is free from fat, but the muscles are hard and full; the large mobile mouth is ready to speak, to shout, or laugh; the bold, curved nose is broad and substantial, with spreading nostrils; it is a face full of life, of energy, of vivid aspiration. The other is so sad and peaceful in its infinite repose that the famous sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens insisted, when he first saw it, that it was a death-mask. The lines are set, as if the living face, like the copy, had been in bronze; the nose is thin, and lengthened by the emaciation of the cheeks; the mouth is fixed like that of an archaic statue; a look as of one on whom sorrow and care had done their worst without victory is on all the features; the whole expression is of unspeakable sadness and all-sufficing strength. Yet the peace is not the dreadful peace of death; it is the peace that passeth understanding." Estimated Value $500 - 1,000.
Goldberg Coins & Collectibles
Nov. 15, 2011
[LINCOLN, Abraham]. MILLS, Clark (1810-1883), American sculptor . Plaster cast from the original plaster life mask of President Abraham Lincoln, taken in the White House, Washington, D.C.,11 February 1865, date of cast unknown. 11 x 8 x 7 in.
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
[LINCOLN, Abraham]. MILLS, Clark (1810-1883), American sculptor. Plaster cast from the original plaster life mask of President Abraham Lincoln, taken in the White House, Washington, D.C.,11 February 1865, date of cast unknown. 11 x 8 x 7 in. approximately, minor rubbing at extremities, small repair at top rear (3/8 x 5/8 in.), otherwise in excellent condition. LINCOLN'S TRAGIC LIFE-MASK, VIVIDLY SHOWING THE EFFECTS OF FOUR YEARS OF WAR: "THE LOOK OF ONE ON WHOM SORROW AND CARE HAD DONE THEIR WORST WITHOUT VICTORY" Lincoln sat for two life-masks, one by sculptor Leonard Volk in April 1860 and one by Clark Mills, taken just two months before Lincoln's assassination Mills's striking mask is the only mask of presidential date and is far less common than the Volk mask, which was reproduced in large numbers. The Mills mask is also unique in portraying the entire head of Lincoln, while Volk left the entire back of the head hollow. The Mills mask carefully preserves clear details of skin and hair. Mills employed an unusual technique for the President. He put a cap over Lincoln's hair and coated Lincoln's face and beard with a light oil, to prevent the plaster sticking. He then applied a thin coat of plaster which dried in about 15 minutes. When dry, Mills asked the subject to twitch his face. The caused the plaster to break neatly into large pieces which Mills carefully gathered up. Later, the pieces were reassembled to yield a perfect likeness. When he saw this mask, the great sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens at first thought it was a death mask. Volk's 1860 mask, he commented, "captures a young, vigorous man, while Mills's mask, is very sad," shockingly portraying the effects of stress and trouble over the last few years. Lincoln's former secretary John Hay, who owned a copy of the Mills life-mask, wrote in 1890 that "the nose is thin, and lengthened by the emaciation of the cheeks; the mouth is fixed like that of an archaic statue; a look as of one whom sorrow and care had done their worst without victory...the whole expression is of unspeakable sadness and all-sufficing strength. Yet the peace is not the dreadful peace of death; it is the peace that passeth understanding" ("Life in the White House in the Time of Lincoln," in Century Illustrated Monthly, November 1890). Mills planned to use the mask in a monumental Civil War memorial sculpture, never completed. His son Theodore A. Mills cast an unknown, but presumably small number of casts after his father's death. (Examples are in the Library of Congress, bequest of Clarence Hay; the Smithsonian, the Carnegie Museum and elsewhere). One example, possibly owned by John Hay, was sold Bonhams, 23 November 2004, lot 9116, $93,250); another was sold here 12 February 2009, lot 38, $35,000. Provenance: Ellis Mills Frost, M.D., of Pittsburgh, gift from Theodore A. Mills, who was employed by the Carnegie Institute and Museum -- The present owner, by descent.
Christie's
Feb. 12, 2009
[LINCOLN, Abraham]. MILLS, Clark (1810-1883), American sculptor . Plaster cast from the original plaster life mask of President Abraham Lincoln, taken in the White House, Washington, D.C., in February 1865.
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
[LINCOLN, Abraham]. MILLS, Clark (1810-1883), American sculptor. Plaster cast from the original plaster life mask of President Abraham Lincoln, taken in the White House, Washington, D.C., in February 1865. 11 x 8 x 7½ in. approximately. Top of skull inscribed "A Lincoln Clark Mills 1865." Minor rubbing at extremities, slight dust-soiling. LINCOLN'S TRAGIC LIFE-MASK, VIVIDLY DOCUMENTING THE EFFECTS OF FOUR YEARS OF WAR: "THE LOOK OF ONE ON WHOM SORROW AND CARE HAD DONE THEIR WORST WITHOUT VICTORY" Lincoln sat for two life-masks; one, the best-known, was taken in April 1860 in Chicago, by sculptor Leonard Volk. The Mills mask, taken two months before the assassination, is the only mask of presidential date, but is far less common than the Volk mask, which was reproduced in large numbers in later years. The Mills mask is also unique in portraying the entire head of Lincoln, while Volk left the back of the head hollow. The Mills mask is notable in preserving details including age wrinkles and pores. Mills employed a curious technique for his mask of the President. He put a cap over Lincoln's hair and coated Lincoln's face and beard with a light oil, to prevent the plaster sticking to skin or hair. He then applied a thin coat of plaster which dried in about a quarter hour. When dry, Mills asked the subject to twitch his face. When he did so, the plaster broke neatly into large pieces which Mills carefully gathered up. Later, the pieces were reassembled, yielding a perfect likeness. When he saw this mask, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens at first thought it was a death mask. Volk's 1860 mask, he commented, captures a young, vigorous man, while Mills's mask, is very sad," shockingly portraying the effects of stress and trouble over the last few years. Lincoln's former secretary John Hay, who owned a copy of the Mills life-mask, wrote in 1890 that "the nose is thin, and lengthened by the emaciation of the cheeks; the mouth is fixed like that of an archaic statue; a look as of one whom sorrow and care had done their worst without victory...the whole expression is of unspeakable sadness and all-sufficing strength. Yet the peace is not the dreadful peace of death; it is the peace that passeth understanding" ("Life in the White House in the Time of Lincoln," in Century Illustrated Monthly, November 1890). Mills had planned to use the mask in a monumental Civil War memorial sculpture, but never completed the work. His son, Theodore A. Mills, cast an unknown, but presumably small number of casts after his father's death. A well-documented example, possibly that owned by Hay, was part of the Ostendorf collection (sold Bonhams and Butterfields, 23 November 2004, lot 9116, $93,250).
Christie's
Oct. 11, 2008
A Very Rare American Bronze Patinated Zinc Figure
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
A Very Rare American Bronze Patinated Zinc Figure of Andrew Jackson, 19th c., after the 1853 original in Washington D.C. by Clark Mills (American, 1810-1883), with brass foundry plaque from Cornelius and Baker, Philadelphia on base, inscribed "Patented, May 15, 1855" on side of sculpture, height 19 1/2 in., length 18 1/2 in., width 5 in., on a stone-shaped base, overall height 23 1/2 in.
Neal Auction Company