John Smibert Paintings & Artwork for Sale | John Smibert Art Value Price Guide

Oct. 29, 2024
John Smibert, Portrait of Joseph Crawford
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
(American/British, 1688-1751) Portrait of Joseph Crawford (1712-1776), oil on canvas, 30 x 25 in.; period carved giltwood frame 36-3/4 x 31-3/4 in. Provenance: Dr Crawford Allen, Newport, RI (related to the sitter); Charles Woolsey Lyon, NY; bought by Knoedler and Co., NY; Thomas B. Clarke, May 1918; bought by Knoedler at Clarke College sale January 7, 1919, Lot 43; Senator Frank B. Brandegee, 1919; CJ Sloane and Co. of Washington, Jan. 8, 1925; bought by Knoedler; put on consignment to Robert C. Vose Galleries, Boston, MA; purchased by Wadsworth Atheneum, July 1930; exchanged for another work with Robert C. Vose Galleries, May 1965; purchased by Elbert L. Whitley Jr., August 1999; Collection of JoAnn and Whit Whitley, North Carolina Notes: Joseph Crawford belonged to a family of early prominence in Rhode Island. He was descended from Giddeon Crawford who came to Providence from Lanark, Scotland. The story has it that Gideon Crawford came over through his friendship for and relationship with Governor John Cranston, both being said to be descendants of James Lindsey, Earl of Crawford. The lot is accompanied by provenance, exhibition history, and an old photograph. Exhibitions: Boston, MA, Robert C. Vose Galleries - Early American Portraits, 1926; Buffalo, NY, Albright Art Gallery - Colonial Portraits, 1926; Boston, MA, Robert C. Vose Galleries - Masterworks by Deceased American Artists, 1930; Newark, NJ, Newark Museum Association, 1930; Northampton, MA, Smith College Museum of Art, 1936, label verso Literature: 1927 Annual, Art News, May 27, 1927; Wadsworth Atheneum Bulletin, October 1930
Brunk Auctions
Feb. 07, 2024
Attributed to John Smibert
Est: $800 - $1,200
Portraits of Francis Balch and his Wife: a pair Oil on canvas Each 29 x 24 inches (73.7 x 61 cm) Provenance: Ivey-Selkirk, St. Louis, Missouri, Mar. 15, 2003, lot 320 (i) The Gentleman: Craquelure; glue-relined; scattered spots of inpainting primarily at contours. (ii) The Lady: Craquelure; glue-relined; scattered spots of inpainting primarily at contours.
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Nov. 08, 2023
Attributed to John Smibert
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Attributed to John Smibert Portraits of Francis Balch and his Wife: a pair Oil on canvas Each 29 x 24 inches Provenance: Ivey-Selkirk, St. Louis, MO Mar. 15, 2003, lot 320
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Apr. 18, 2021
Painting, John Smibert
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
John Smibert (American/British, 1688-1751) "Portrait of Judge Dr. Willam King In Robes," c. 1705, oil on canvas, titled lower right, artist label with partial signature and title affixed stretcher bar verso, canvas: 30"h x 25"w, overall (with frame): 37"h x 32"w
Clars Auctions
Jan. 16, 2020
PORTRAIT OF NATHANIEL HENCHMAN BY JOHN SMIBERT (1688 - 1751). OIL ON CANVAS. CIRCA 1740.
Est: $10,000 - $40,000
John Smibert is regarded as one of the most important painters working in the colonies during the first half of the eighteenth century. Born in Scotland, he moved to London at the age of twenty-one to study under the acclaimed baroque artist Sir Godfrey Kneller. Shortly after arriving in the colonies, Smibert began receiving the patronage of wealthy New Englanders, who were obviously impressed with his skill and formal training. In his first year he painted twenty-six commissioned portraits. Henry W. Foote considered Smibert "the most cultivated man [in the field of art] who came to America before the middle of the eighteenth century." Like Kneller, Smibert often painted larger canvases that depicted the sitter in a domestic setting, often with a landscape visible in the background. In the English tradition, Smibert used a variety of props including identifiable period seating forms and small still life pictures. He is known to have painted several ministers, most of whom are dressed in black gowns, have ministerial bands, and are set against a somber background. Smibert's portrait of Nathaniel Henchman is skillfully delineated and attests to the painter's attention to detail. The sitter is turned to engage the viewer with his left hand holding his Bible and his right hand turning a page. The chair visible in the foreground has scrolled arms and turned supports, and appears to be the same seating form depicted in other Smibert portraits. Nathaniel Henchman graduated from Harvard College in 1717 and was a minister in Lynn, Massachusetts from 1720 until his death on December 23, 1761. His son Daniel was a silversmith in Boston. In his will, Henchman left his wife "my large picture, so long as she shall be disposed to keep it" and bequeathed to his daughter "my small picture covered with glass." The minister's estate had a value of 3,000, a considerable sum for the time. His inventory listed the "testator's large effigies, curtain and rod" valued at four pounds and "small effigies" valued at 21s. 4d. CONDITION: The painting survives in untouched condition with its original stretcher and frame. PROVENANCE: Portrait may have passed from a Henchman descendant into the Sewell family through marriage. Nellie L. (Sewell) Bennet of Burlington, Massachusetts, sold the painting to M. Knoedler & Co. of New York. Joe Kindig Collection. Condition: Dimensions: Frame: 43" x 35 - 1/2".
Morphy Auctions
Jul. 21, 2019
(Style of) John Smibert (Scottish / American, 1688-1751) Oil on Canvas
Est: $250 - $350
(Style of) John Smibert (Scottish / American, 1688-1751) Oil on Canvas 18th Century, unsigned, formal portrait of a lady in a neoclassic gold frame Condition: Very Good, painting relined and remounted on old stretcher bars; small scratch in varnish on face; craquelure overall; not examined out of the frame Height: 28.75 inches, Width: 23.75 inches Category: Fine Art > European Paintings Shipping Status: Leonard Auction, Inc. will provide direct shipping for this lot. Please visit our website for a shipping estimate. Approximate Sale Time: 12:12 pm CST Links to High Resolution Images: Image #1 Image #2 Image #3 Image #4
Leonard Auction
Mar. 09, 2019
John Smibert Portrait Painting Benjamin Lynde Sr
Est: $700 - $900
John Smibert Portrait Painting Benjamin Lynde Sr. This antique oil on canvas painting of Benjamin Lynde Sr. "Etat: 72" is painted in the lower left. Attributed to artist John Smibert (Scottish, 1688-1751). Frame measures
Greenwich Auction
Aug. 19, 2018
PORTRAIT OF JUDGE EDMUND QUINCY OF BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS. ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT (1688-1751).
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Edmund Quincy (1681-1738), like his father and grandfather, was deeply involved in the affairs of the Massachusetts colony. Graduating from Harvard College in 1699, he returned to Braintree (now Quincy), where he served as a selectman and militia colonel before being appointed Judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court, a position he held from 1718-1737. In 1738 he traveled to London, representing Massachusetts in a border dispute with New Hampshire. Concerned about smallpox, he agreed to an inoculation but succumbed to the virus one month later. His youngest daughter, Dorothy, married John Hancock in 1775. According to family tradition, John Smibert painted two portraits of Judge Quincy, one now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and this portrait that remained in the family into the 20th century. Oil on canvas, 29 1/4 x 24 1/2 inches, sight. Unsigned. The reverse with labels for the Addison Gallery, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts; Fogg Museum of Art (#5885); and a temporary loan label for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (T.L.1085). In a gilt carved period frame. Provenance: By descent in the family to Edmund Quincy (1808-1877); to his son, Dr. Henry Parker Quincy (1838-1899), the sitter's great-great-great grandson, and thence to his wife, Mrs. H.P. Quincy (Mary Gardiner Adams 1845-1928); Frederick R. Nourse family, Dedham, Massachusetts, circa 1942-1995; Sotheby's Important Americana, New York, May 23, 2002, lot 214.Literature: Cited in the Frick Art Reference Library files as a Smibert portrait of Judge Quincy owned by Edmund Quincy, which quotes Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, Dec. 1878, pp. 398-99; recorded in Henry Wilder Foote, "John Smibert, Painter," 1950, p. 185, as Judge Edmund Quincy, No. 2; described as a replica or copy in Richard H. Saunders, "John Smibert: Colonial America's First Portrait Painter," p. 200, no. 125.
Bourgeault-Horan Antiquarians
Nov. 18, 2017
POSSIBLY JOHN SMIBERT (SMYBERT) (BRITISH, 1688-1751) POSSIBLY FREDERICK, LORD BALTIMORE AS A CHILD Portrait brooch miniature in gold...
Est: $600 - $900
POSSIBLY JOHN SMIBERT (SMYBERT) (BRITISH, 1688-1751) POSSIBLY FREDERICK, LORD BALTIMORE AS A CHILD Portrait brooch miniature in gold frame with pearls: 1 x 7/8 in. Verso inscribed: F. Calvert/ Lord Baltimore/ drawn from life /1751/ by Smybert Provenance: Breckinridge Long Sale, October 3rd, 1959; Descended in the family of Howard and May Joynt, Alexandria, Virginia
Potomack Company
May. 13, 2017
†Circle of John Smibert (1688-1751, American), "Half-Length Portrait of a Woman in Pale Blue Within a Painted Oval," oil on canvas, f..
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Circle of John Smibert (1688-1751, American), "Half-Length Portrait of a Woman in Pale Blue Within a Painted Oval," oil on canvas, framed, H.- 30 in., W.- 25 in.
Crescent City Auction Gallery
Apr. 05, 2017
Oil on Canvas, Portrait of British Nobleman
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Attributed to John Smibert (Scottish, 1688-1751), appears to be unsigned. Sight size: 49-1/2"h x 38-1/2"w
Nye & Company
Jan. 19, 2017
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT (1688 - 1751) | Portrait of a Lady with Pearls
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
oil on canvas
Sotheby's
Jul. 22, 2016
PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT (MASSACHUSETTS, 1688-1751).
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT (MASSACHUSETTS, 1688-1751). Oil on canvas, unsigned. Young woman with basket of pears. 36"h. 28"w., black frame with gilding, 53/5"h. 42"w.
Garth's Auctioneers & Appraisers
Jan. 21, 2016
JOHN SMIBERT 1688 - 1751 | PORTRAIT OF A CLERGYMAN
Est: $8,000 - $10,000
Possibly painted in Rhode Island.
Sotheby's
Dec. 15, 2015
Oil on Canvas, Portrait of British Nobleman
Est: $5,000 - $8,000
Attributed to John Smibert (Scottish, 1688-1751), appears to be unsigned. Sight size: 49-1/2"h x 38-1/2"w
Nye & Company
Sep. 22, 2015
Oil on Canvas, Portrait of British Nobleman
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Attributed to John Smibert (Scottish, 1688-1751), appears to be unsigned. Sight size: 49-1/2"h x 38-1/2"w
Nye & Company
Nov. 08, 2014
MINIATURE OIL ON COPPER WITH IMPORTANT PROVENANCE - Italian Renaissance Oval Full-Length Portrait of a Child Saint, seated on a cushion
Est: $3,000 - $4,000
MINIATURE OIL ON COPPER WITH IMPORTANT PROVENANCE - Italian Renaissance Oval Full-Length Portrait of a Child Saint, seated on a cushion and holding a diadem, oil on copper, in molded mahogany frame. 5" x 4 1/4" overall. Inscribed verso in ink "J. Smibert, Rome, 1719". John Smibert (1688-1751), from Edinburgh, went to Italy that year, and studied by copying the Old Masters, especially Titian and Raphael. It seems this was acquired on that trip. Also while on this trip he met George Berkeley (1685-1753) who invited Smibert to go to the Colonies, where he married and established himself in Boston.
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries
Jul. 15, 2014
FOLLOWER OF JOHN SMIBERT, (AMERICAN 1688-1751), PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
FOLLOWER OF JOHN SMIBERT (american 1688-1751)/span PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN Oil on canvas 30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5cm) provenance: /spanPrivate Collection, Pennsylvania.
Freeman's | Hindman
Aug. 25, 2013
Studio of John Smibert (British, 1688-1751)
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
A portrait of two children, the younger child holding a parrot and a bunch of grapes oil on canvas 30 x 25in
Bonhams
Jun. 30, 2012
Portrait of Two Children, manner of John Smibert
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
American School oil on canvas, manner of John Smibert (Scottish/American, 1688-1751), depicting two finely dressed children posing with a dog, the girl holding a flower garland with flowers adorning her hair. Housed in an elaborate carved gilt wood and composition frame with leaf and dart decoration. Edges of canvas visible on relined stretcher appear to possibly be 18th century. Sight - 24 1/2" H x 29 1/4" W. Framed - 35 1/2" H x 40" W. Provenance: Private Middle Tennessee collection; purchased from the estate of the late T. Scudder Winslow.
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Mar. 03, 2012
JOHN SMIBERT (ANGLO/AMERICAN 1688-1751). PORTRAIT OF A CLERGYMAN.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches.
Bourgeault-Horan Antiquarians
Sep. 29, 2011
CIRCLE OF JOHN SMIBERT (1688-1751) A half-length
Est: £500 - £1,000
CIRCLE OF JOHN SMIBERT (1688-1751) A half-length portrait of a gentleman wearing a brown waistcoat and red headscarf, the frame with a label ascribing the sitter as 'James Farewell of Pennsylvania', oil on canvas, 26" x 24". See illustration Provenance: Private collection, West Dorset.
Duke's
Sep. 28, 2011
SCHOOL OF JOHN SMIBERT (1688-1751)
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
SCHOOL OF JOHN SMIBERT (1688-1751) Portrait Miniature of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore watercolor on ivory 3 in. high
Christie's
Aug. 07, 2011
JOHN SMIBERT (ANGLO/AMERICAN 1688-1751). PORTRAIT OF THE REVEREND JOSHUA GEE, PASTOR OF THE SECOND CHURCH OF BOSTON, CIRCA 1734-36.
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
Joshua Gee (1698-1748), a member of the Harvard class of 1717, was a colleague and successor to the Puritan minister, Cotton Mather. He lies buried in the Copps Hill Burying Ground in the North End of Boston. Oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches. Provenance: By descent in the family of the sitter, to Miss Alice Neilson (d. 1952); Vose Galleries, Boston,1953; to the present owners.Literature: Listed in "The Notebook of John Smibert" p. 91, no. 76 (Massachusetts Historical Society, 1969). For another illustration and full listing of provenance, see Richard H. Saunders "John Smibert: Colonial America's First Portrait Painter," pp. 90, fig. 88 and 180, no. 85. Saunders states that an 18th century copy of this portrait is owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Bourgeault-Horan Antiquarians
Mar. 09, 2010
Circle of John Smibert (Edinburgh 1688-1751 Boston)
Est: -
Circle of John Smibert (Edinburgh 1688-1751 Boston) Portrait of Elizabeth Kettle (1730-1800), full-length, in a blue dress, a parakeet resting on her right hand, standing beside a fountain in a wooded landscape oil on canvas 47½ x 38 in. (121 x 96.5 cm.)
Christie's
Jan. 29, 2010
JOHN SMIBERT
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN
Sotheby's
Jan. 03, 2010
18th century portrait, three-quarter portrait of
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
18th century portrait, three-quarter portrait of woman in blue gown, hand in a basket of flowers, view into garden with fountain, unsigned, similar to works by John Smibert, Scottish/American, 1688-1751, oil on canvas, European or American, circa 1730, 50 x 40 in.; early 19th century neoclassical deep cove molding wood and composition frame with leaf and dart decorated cove and shell corner decoration. Restretched, 19th century lining, scattered retouch in face, arms, chest, hands, upper right background, bottom two corners and edge, abrasions, craquelure, stretcher marks, areas of overcleaning with loss to foliage upper left and to pigment at neck; frame resurfaced, loss to composition, abrasions. Estate of the Late Wyatt W. Childs, Barnesville, Georgia.
Brunk Auctions
May. 14, 2009
Circle of John Smibert (Edinburgh 1688-1751 Boston)
Est: £3,000 - £5,000
Circle of John Smibert (Edinburgh 1688-1751 Boston) Portrait of Elizabeth Kettle (1730-1800), subsequently the wife of John Scott, as a child, full-length, in a blue dress, holding a parakeet with her right hand, beside a fountain, a wooded landscape beyond oil on canvas 47½ x 38 in. (121 x 96.5 cm.) in an early 18th Century bolection frame
Christie's
Mar. 12, 2008
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT (Anglo-American)
Est: £1,000 - £1,500
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT (Anglo-American) (1688-1751) Half length portrait of a gentleman wearing a, powdered wig, lace cravat and gold braided brown tunic, oil on canvas, 31" x 24 1/2" (see illustration).
Mallams
Oct. 03, 2007
Attributed to John Smibert 1688-1751 , Portrait of a gentleman oil on canvas, in a painted oval
Est: £3,000 - £4,000
oil on canvas, in a painted oval
Sotheby's
May. 23, 2006
Attributed to John Smibert (1688-1751), early 18th Century
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
Portrait of a Gentleman oil on canvas 29 3/8 x 24 3/4 in.
Christie's
Nov. 24, 2005
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT 1688-1751
Est: £4,000 - £6,000
PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN measurements note 75 by 62 cm., 29 1/2 by 24 1/2 in. half length, wearing a grey coat and waistcoat oil on canvas, in a painted oval
Sotheby's
Nov. 11, 2004
John Smibert (1685-1793)
Est: £3,000 - £5,000
Portrait of Judge Dr William King (1663-1712), bust-length, in robes oil on canvas 76.2 x 63.5 cm. (30 x 25 in.)
Christie's
Jan. 21, 2004
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT EDINBURGH 1688-1751 BOSTON
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG LADY
Sotheby's
Jun. 18, 2003
Portrait of Mary Dudley Wainwright Atkins
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
John Smibert (1688-1751) Portrait of Mary Dudley Wainwright Atkins oil on canvas 30 1/8x25 1/4 in. painted February 1730
Christie's
Jun. 18, 2003
Portrait of a Gentleman
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Possibly John Smibert (1688-1751)* Portrait of a Gentleman oil on canvas 29 3/8x24 3/4 in.
Christie's
May. 23, 2002
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMIBERT 1688 - 1751
Est: $50,000 - $100,000
oil on canvas Edmund Quincy was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in1681, graduated from Harvard in 1699, and became aSupreme Court judge in 1718, a position he held until his1738 death from smallpox in London. His family foundedwhat is now the Boston suburb of Quincy, Massachusetts.John Smibert was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, workingfirst as a coach painter in London, then as a copyist. Helearned to draw through that experience, refining histechnique at Sir James Thornhill's Academy. In 1719 hewent to Italy, where he studied and copied the OldMasters, especially Titian and Raphael. He became amoderately successful portrait painter in London, taughtfine arts to the Indians in Bermuda, and wound up inBoston, marrying an heiress and rapidly becomingsuccessful. By the age of 40 he was considered one of thebest portrait painters in Colonial America, painting some275 portraits in 17 years.As noted in Henry Wilder Foote's biography ofSmibert, this portrait of Judge Quincy was painted circa1733, "according to family tradition, corroborated bythe apparent age of the subject...Smibert painted twoportraits of Edmund Quincy in his official dress. One,inherited by President Quincy (John Quincy Adams), [is] inthe Art Museum in Boston; the other...was given to EdmundQuincy, youngest son of the President. It was muchinjured by the British."
Sotheby's