A Lost Gertrude Abercrombie Masterwork Resurfaces After 75 Years — Heading to Auction at Freeman's
Landmark rediscovery of Alderman Merriam’s Shells (1951), found at a Michigan estate sale for $30, to be offered October 1 with an estimate of $150,000–250,000
NEW YORK— Freeman's, in its Post-War & Contemporary Art Auction on October 1 in New York, will offer a remarkable and only recently rediscovered painting by celebrated Chicago Surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie (American, 1909–1977): Alderman Merriam’s Shells, 1951 (Lot 3, Estimate: $150,000 - $250,000). The work, missing from public view for decades, resurfaced this summer at an estate sale in Michigan, in a story of chance, instinct, and remarkable timing.
A Discovery Worthy of Abercrombie Herself
Pictured Above: Original Press Clipping of the Work Featured in The Chicago Tribune
The painting's rediscovery reads like something out of Abercrombie's own enigmatic canvases. Its finder, a longtime hunter of record albums and mid-century furniture, arrived late to an already picked-over estate sale this past July. Tucked in a dark corner of a hallway leading to the garage — overlooked by every other buyer that day — hung a quiet, strange still life of seashells. A closer look revealed a signature: Abercrombie. Uncertain but intrigued, the buyer paid $30 to find out.
That instinct paid off. Inspired by the possibility that the painting was genuine, the new owner altered a family vacation to visit The Whole World is a Mystery, the acclaimed Abercrombie retrospective on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum. There, while studying the exhibition catalogue, the owner found an archival photograph of the very painting — a reproduction of a September 14, 1952, Chicago Tribune review of Abercrombie's exhibition at Newman Brown Gallery, illustrated with the painting still in its original frame, the actual shells it depicts arranged in front of it. The find was later authenticated by leading Abercrombie scholar Dr. Susan Weininger. Recognizing Freeman's as a sponsor of the Milwaukee exhibition, the owner contacted the house directly and entrusted the painting to Freeman's for its next chapter.
"Little did I know that one of those 'once in a while's would occur less than a month later," said Zachary Wirsum, SVP and Head of Department, Post War and Contemporary Art at Freeman's, recalling how he had told visitors on an exhibition tour just weeks earlier that Abercrombie paintings occasionally still surface at estate sales. "We could not be more thrilled to now steward this magnificent rediscovery to the next chapter of its fascinating story.”
About the Painting
Alderman Merriam’s Shells pre-conservation
Alderman Merriam’s Shells post-conservation
Painted in 1951, during one of the most prolific and formative periods of Abercrombie's career, Alderman Merriam’s Shells depicts an arrangement of nine sensitively rendered seashells resting on a stark, slate-gray surface, with a single conical shell suspended by a thread against a black wall — appearing to levitate above the rest. The shells belonged to Robert Merriam, Alderman of Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, where Abercrombie lived and worked. The painting is a rare instance of Abercrombie working directly from life, and offers new insight into her celebrated recurring shell motif: the smaller central nautilus shell bears a hole and crack echoed in her later solitary shell paintings, long presumed to be an invented motif but now confirmed as drawn from direct observation and memory.
For Abercrombie, the shell carried deep symbolic weight — a vessel of both protection and confinement, and a relic of a life once lived, transformed into an object of fascination. With its hypnotic spiral form, the shell often served as a talisman of friendship, typically gifted to those closest to her.
Alderman Merriam’s Shells was exhibited extensively during Abercrombie's lifetime, appearing in six of her solo exhibitions in 1952 and 1953, including shows at the Newman Brown Gallery and Steven Gross Studios in Chicago, the Edwin Hewitt Gallery in New York, the Bresler Gallery in Milwaukee, the Contemporary Arts Gallery in Evanston, and the Illinois Design Center in Chicago. In early 1952, Abercrombie gave the painting to Dr. John Reynolds of Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for medical services. The work remained in Dr. Reynolds's collection for the rest of his life and was passed down through his estate — remaining unseen publicly for 75 years until its rediscovery this year, selling for a small fraction of its original $150 price tag.
Auction Details
- Lot: Gertrude Abercrombie (American, 1909–1977), Alderman Merriam’s Shells, 1951
- Estimate: $150,000 – $250,000
- Provenance: Property from a Private Collection
- Sale: Post-War & Contemporary Art Auction
- Date: October 1
- Location: Freeman's, 32 East 67th Street, New York, NY
- Viewing: TBD
Watch a video on this rediscovery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsB2Yac1JZs
Media Inquiries
Zachary Wirsum SVP, Head of Department, Post-War and Contemporary Art zacharywirsum@freemansauction.com
About Freeman’s
Freeman’s is a premier American auction house offering services in multiple categories including fine art, jewelry, design, books and manuscripts, furniture, decorative arts, antiquities, couture, and Asian works of art. With 16 regional locations nationwide, the firm provides auctions, appraisals, private sales, and art advisory services, connecting clients to the global art market. Freeman’s strives to bring art, history, and design to life by connecting people with extraordinary objects through exceptional service and expertise.