You never know what a simple yard sale find could be worth. Just this past summer, a longtime collector of records and mid-century furniture discovered Gertrude Abercrombie’s Alderman Merriam’s Shells at an estate sale in Michigan for $30. On October 1, the piece sold for a record-breaking $1,352,600 at Freeman’s, setting a new world auction record for the artist.
The bidding opened at just $80,000, but quickly rose in value as five phone bidders and several online bidders competed for the work. The auction as a whole achieved a total of $3,449,560, with an 88% sell-through rate by lot and 154% by value. The sale also brought 23% new buyers to the firm, with participation from 12 countries. Alderman Merriam’s Shells ultimately sold for more than five times its high estimate of $250,000 and became the first work by Abercrombie ever to hammer for more than $1 million.
Gertrude Abercrombie (1909–1977) was a prominent figure in Chicago’s art scene in the mid-20th century and continued to be so until her death. Her paintings were deeply psychological, often depicting cats, owls, masked figures, doors, shells, and other unusual objects, resulting in works that carry a shroud of mystery.
Painted in 1951, Alderman Merriam’s Shells had been missing from public view for nearly 75 years before it was rediscovered at the estate sale. The 8-by-11-inch still life depicts nine seashells resting on a slate-gray surface, with a single conical shell suspended by a thread against a dark background. It has a solitary, calm feeling, with the seashells catching the light from somewhere out of sight. The shells belonged to Robert Merriam, who represented Chicago’s 5th Ward from 1947 to 1955. This included Hyde Park, where Abercrombie lived and was a prominent member of the city’s art and music communities.
In 1952, Abercrombie gave the painting to Dr. John Reynolds of Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for medical services. It was exhibited in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Evanston throughout 1952 and 1953, with its final known public showing taking place at the Illinois Design Center in Chicago. Afterward, it remained in Reynolds’ family, disappearing from public view until its unlikely rediscovery more than seven decades later.
The reappearance and subsequent success of Alderman Merriam’s Shells proves that sometimes it really does pay to take a second look at what others might pass by. What sat unnoticed in a dark hallway for just $30 is now not only a million-dollar painting, but a rediscovered piece of Abercrombie’s history.
Mid-20th century artist Gertrude Abercrombie’s painting Alderman Merriam’s Shells was found at an estate sale for $30 and has now sold for a record-breaking $1.35 million at auction.
Gertrude Abercrombie, “Alderman Merriam’s Shells,” 1951. (Photo: Courtesy of Freeman’s)
Source: From $30 Estate Sale Discovery to $1.35 Million: Gertrude Abercrombie’s Alderman Merriam’s Shells Sets New World Auction Record at Freeman’s
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