$35,280
Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000
Fine Art from The Estate of Angela Gross Folk
Auction: September 20, 2023 2:00 PM EDT
Signed 'M ELIZABETH PRICE' bottom right; also signed, titled and located 'NEW HOPE/PENNSYLVANIA' verso, oil with silver leaf on Masonite
20 x 18 in. (50.8 x 45.7cm)
Executed in 1932.
The Artist.
By descent to the Family of the Artist.
Acquired directly from the above.
Property from the Estate of Angela Gross Folk, New Jersey.
Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio, n.d. (per label affixed to verso).
An early member of The Philadelphia Ten and a significant contributor to the American Arts & Crafts movement, Mary Elizabeth Price’s works remain highly sought-after by collectors. Price studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Hugh Breckenridge and Daniel Garber and received private lessons from William Lathrop. Known for her floral still lifes in which she utilized traditional painting techniques, including silver and gold leaf gilding, Price drew great inspiration from medieval and Renaissance art which she blended with European Art Nouveau influences. Her commitment to preserving the use of largely forgotten traditional methods contributed to a revival of interest in historical artistic practices. Her philosophy largely aligned with the principles of the Arts & Crafts movement–at its core a reaction against the industrialization and mass production that characterized the Victorian era–which emphasized craftsmanship, conventional techniques, and the integration of art into everyday life.