Auction Industry, Press Release

Exceptional Old Master Paintings, European Art, and Auguste Rodin Sculptures to Appear at Freeman’s

Published on Feb 16, 22

A tender mother-and-child sculpture by Auguste Rodin, various European landscape paintings, and other masterpieces will soon cross Freeman’s auction block. The European Art and Old Masters sale, scheduled for February 22, 2022, presents over 50 lots from expert sculptors, painters, and artists of the last few centuries.

Auguste Rodin, Mère et Fille Mourante (Mrs. Merrill and her Daughter Sally), 1908-10. Image courtesy of Freeman’s.

Leading the catalog is Auguste Rodin’s Mère et Fille Mourante (Mrs. Merrill and her Daughter Sally), a bronze work with verdigris patina (lot #42; estimate: USD 250,000 – $400,000). Rodin conceived the piece between 1908 and 1910. American lumber baron Thomas Merrill and his wife Elizabeth commissioned this piece to commemorate their deceased daughter. The available work allegorically presents mother and child in a tender embrace. Only their faces and joined hands emerge from the sculpture’s irregular surface. This piece is one of two special bronze versions created from Rodin’s original marble group.

Auguste Rodin, La Main de Dieu (Petit Modèle), cast 1943. Image courtesy of Freeman’s.

This auction includes several other notable works from Auguste Rodin. La Main de Dieu (Petit Modèle) (lot #43) is available with an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. Cast by the Alexis Rudier Foundry in 1943, this sculpture evokes the hand of God cradling Adam and Eve in a misshapen globe. Additionally, collectors will find Rodin’s Maquette Préparatoire Pour le Bas-Relief du ‘Poète et La Muse’ (lot #44; estimate: $15,000 – $25,000). It is a preparatory study for the larger 1905 relief titled Le Poète et la Muse.

Auguste Rodin, Maquette Préparatoire Pour le Bas-Relief du ‘Poète et La Muse’. Image courtesy of Freeman’s.

Beyond Auguste Rodin, the catalog highlights a robust selection of Old Masters paintings. Among them is Jacopo Palma il Giovane’s The Adoration of the Magi (lot #7; estimate: $20,000 – $30,000). It shows the three astonished wise men presenting gifts to Mary and baby Jesus. A follower of Antonio Nigretim, Tintoretto, and Titian, Palma dominated the Venetian art scene during the Italian High Renaissance. Another notable Old Master work in this Freeman’s auction is Albrecht Dürer’s Saint Eustace engraving from circa 1501 (lot #1; estimate: $50,000 – $80,000). Pierre Mariette II, a major Parisian print dealer and collector, published the available edition in 1664.

Albrecht Dürer, Saint Eustace, c. 1501. Image courtesy of Freeman’s.

The auction also features the following works:

* Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s Le Rappel des Vaches (lot #27; estimate: $100,000 – $150,000)

* Salomon van Ruysdael’s Sailing by the Old Dutch Town (lot #2; estimate: $60,000 – $100,000)

* Eugène Boudin’s Étaples, Marée Basse (lot #36; estimate: $50,000 – $80,000)

* Adriaen Jansz van Ostade’s Man Smoking in an Interior; together with Woman Holding a Jug and a Cup: a pair of half-length portraits (lot #4; estimate: $40,000 – $60,000)

* Frédéric Soulacroix’s Derrière le Rideau de Satin (lot #31; estimate: $15,000 – $25,000)

Founded by Tristram Bampfylde Freeman in 1805, Freeman’s is America’s oldest auction house. The 216-year-old company has two locations in Philadelphia with an office in Richmond, Virginia. It serves an international client base through online sales and regional representatives. Freeman’s specializes in art and objects from the Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic regions.

The European Art and Old Masters auction at Freeman’s will begin at 12:00 PM EST on February 22, 2022. Interested collectors can find more information and register to place a bid on Bidsquare.