Lot 8079

AMERICAN SCHOOL (Circa 1830,), "A View in Medford"., Oil on panel, 19.5" x 22.5". Framed 23" x 26".

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AMERICAN SCHOOL (Circa 1830,), "A View in Medford"., Oil on panel, 19.5" x 22.5". Framed 23" x 26".

Estimate: $70,000 - $100,000

Starting Bid: $35,000

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by Eldred's
July 21, 2026 9:30 AM EDT
Live Auction
1483 Route 6A
PO Box 796
East Dennis, MA, US 02641

AMERICAN SCHOOL
Circa 1830
"A View in Medford".

A remarkable and important piece of American folk art depicting the town of Medford, Massachusetts, circa 1830. Four finely dressed figures standing in the foreground are engaged in conversation as they gaze out toward Middlesex Canal on the left, Medford Pond (then Mystic Lake) on the right flowing into Mystic River, a train crossing bridges over the waterways, four buildings in the distance and a yellow hot air balloon floating above. Unsigned. Housed in its original frame, most likely made by the artist.

  • Provenance:
    Marguerite Riordan, Stonington, Connecticut, July 16, 1990.
    The Collection of Nancy & Larry Dickson.

    Reference:
    Discussed and illustrated in American Fancy: Exuberance in the Arts, 1790-1840 by Sumpter Priddy (The Chipstone Foundation/Milwaukee Art Museum, 2004), p. 124, fig. 213.

    A similar work, "The Junction Formed in Medford by the Meeting of the [Mystic] River, Canal, and Railroad", with a note indicating it was painted in 1835, sold at Skinner, Inc., Boston, March 3, 2013, Lot #68 for $144,000. The catalog noted it descended in the Brooks-Wheeler families of Medford and surrounding towns.This painting is possibly described in "The Medford Historical Register", Vol. XXVI, No. 1, March, 1923.

    Illustrated:
    Featured in a Marguerite Riordan advertisement in "The Magazine Antiques", September 1987. Featured in "Architectural Digest", December 1989, and used as the publication's holiday greeting card, 1989.
    Featured in a Middlesex Canal Association poster commemorating the bicentennial of the construction of canal, 1992.
    Featured in the Middlesex Canal Association and the Lowell National Historical Park Canal Heritage Days promotional publications, 2003.

    Notes:
    "A View in Medford" provides a valuable glimpse of pre-urbanized life in New England. The town, located along the Mystic River about five miles northwest of Boston, was settled by English colonists in 1630. The first bridge across the river was built in 1637 and became a major route of traffic coming into Boston from the north. It was also the subject of the children's ditty "Over the River and Through the Wood", written by Medford resident Lydia Maria Child in 1844 about the trip across town to her grandparents' house.

    Medford and the Mystic River were also part of the vitally important Middlesex Canal, a 27-mile barge canal connecting the Merrimack River in Merrimack, New Hampshire to Boston, built between 1793 and 1803 and in operation until 1851. The canal was one of the first civil engineering projects of its type in the United States and was a key element in developing economic expansion beyond the New England coastal cities.

    The population of Medford rose from just over 200 in 1700 to about 1,100 in 1800. In the Mid-19th Century, just a few decades after this view was painted, farmland was divided into lots for residential and commercial purposes, Tufts University and the Crane Theological School opened, and the town became a manufacturing center for tiles and bricks and supported a shipbuilding industry and rum distillery. The population rapidly expanded after 1880 and reached nearly 20,000 by 1900.

    In a 1990 correspondence, Joe Valeriani, head of the Medford Historical Society, identified various buildings and other points of interest seen in "A View in Medford". A canal lock is upstream of the stone bridge, and the train tracks were part of the Boston-Lowell Railroad. The yellow building on the left is Mystic Hall, which became Mystic Hall Seminary in 1855, and the smaller one to its right was a store that later became Everett Hall. The red brick home atop the hill is an almshouse built in 1812 that became known as Mystic Mansion.

    All the buildings were eventually part of Mystic Hall Seminary, a highly regarded day and boarding school for girls, which operated from 1854 to 1859 and was owned by the widowed Mrs. Thomas P. Smith. According to a speech by former student Mrs. Jennie Peirce Brigham to the Medford Historical Society in 1908, the plan of education comprised four departments: the physical, the moral, the mental and the graceful. "We had the best of instructors procurable [...] this was the only seminary in the country where the two branches of physical education, swimming and horsemanship, were taught". Brigham also noted Mrs. Smith was a talented painter and taught art classes.

    Beyond the scope of its importance as a record of the town, "A View in Medford" also provides a unique depiction of Early 19th Century American transportation, including an early train, a horse pulling a canal barge, a row boat and an early hot air balloon. Marguerite Riordan noted "Showing a balloon in an American primitive painting is extremely rare, and since the balloon is gilded, there is a good possibility the artist may have been a sign painter.".
  • Dimensions: Oil on panel, 19.5" x 22.5". Framed 23" x 26".
  • Condition: Overall exceptional condition. UV light examination revealed some varnish inconsistencies and a couple of tiny spots of in-painting in the black at the bottom. One visible iron nail head in the extreme upper right corner. Some very minor and unobtrusive craquelure.

    The absence of a condition report does not imply an object is free of defects. All items may have normal signs of age and wear commensurate with their age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact Eldred's before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction. 

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $49 $5
$50 $99 $10
$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
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