Fresh-to-market rarities at Thomaston Place weekend auction

18 May 2010

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Garden of Eden by Erastus Salisbury Field, (MA/NY, 1805-1900). Oil on canvas, laid to panel as a fireboard. Sight: 27 1/2" x 35"

(Thomaston Place Auctions)

A canvas-on-panel fireboard depicting a fantastical Garden of Eden scene, by naïve Revivalist Erastus Salisbury Field (1805-1900), has been plucked for auction from a Brunswick, Maine, home.

This re-discovered piece of Americana, with a pre-sale estimate of $25,000 to $35,000, was made by a man who sought solace after his wife died by creating religious-themed fantasy paintings in a cave. Two similar versions of "Garden of Eden" are in the collections of the Shelburne Museum and The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

In a three-day sale, May 21-23, Maine auctioneer Thomaston Place is also featuring a handsome Andrew Wyeth painting titled "Ridge Church," purchased directly from the artist by the consignor; several ship portraits; and a wide swath of paintings, antiques, decorative arts, jewelry, and more.

Read more at Village Soup

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