BOSTON, Mass. – November 6, 2001 -- Skinner, Inc., a leading full-service auctioneer and appraiser of antiques and fine art, will hold an auction of American and European Paintings and Prints on Friday November 16, 2001 at 7 p.m. in Boston. Previews will be held November 14, 12-5 p.m., November 15, 2-7 p.m., and November 16, 2-7 p.m.

The featured painting in the sale is a Robert Spear Dunning still life entitled “Cherries/A Still Life with Self Portrait Reflected in a Silver Compote,” estimated at $75,000 - $125,000. The work of another local artist, Robert Salmon, is also offered in the sale. Salmon’s “Vessels in a Harbor” depicts most probably the Royal Naval Fort at Milford Haven, England. Painted in America, the painting is estimated at $25,000 - $35,000. A work entitled “The Shooting Trip/An Irish Landscape” by Ogden M. Pleissner (American) will also be offered (estimate $30,000-$50,000.)

The auction also features the work of several 18th and 19th century European artists including Giovanni Boldini (Italian), Vittorio Reggianini (Italian), and Christian Georg Schultz (German.) 20th century artists and modern artists Charles Demuth (American), William Zorach (Lithuanian/American), and Ludwig Blum (Israeli) are also represented.

Robert Spear Dunning, a native of Fall River, Massachusetts, was a one of the most prominent American painters in the latter half of the 19th century. The work, painted in 1871, is one of two commissioned by Mrs. George Washington Dean, a leading member of Fall River’s exclusive social elite of wealthy cotton industrialist families known as the “Seven Family Rule.” The painting descended through the Dean Family and was exhibited in Fall River in 1911 at an Exhibition of Drawings and Unfinished Works of Robert Spear Dunning. Artist and Dunning student, Bryant Chapin, reviewed the Dunning exhibition and described the painting as “composed of a gold lined silver dish overturned with cherries in front, with part of a mirror showing in the background.”

“The detail and precision of Dunning’s work is magnificent, and this painting is one of his strongest compositions,” notes Colleene Fesko, Vice President and Director of Skinner’s American and European Paintings department. The inverted self-portrait of Dunning seen in the reflection of the overturned compote demonstrates this quality of his work.”

Illustrated catalog #2115 is available for $29 ($35 for foreign requests) from the subscription department at Skinner/Bolton (978-779-6241 ext. 261). Prices realized at the auction will be available at www.skinnerinc.com following the sale. For more information, call 978-779-6241, or fax 978-779-5144.