John Hemming Fry Paintings & Artwork for Sale | John Hemming Fry Art Value Price Guide

Aug. 12, 2026
FINE CLASSICAL SIGNED PAINTING, C. 1890
Est: $500 - $1,000
FINE CLASSICAL SIGNED PAINTING, C. 1890 John Hemmings Fry (American 1860-1946) A Temple Offering – circa 1890 Oil on canvas Signed lower right 28 x 15 inches. Overall, including period gilt press molded frame, 39 x 26 inches John Hemming Fry was a classical painter and a well-known foe of modern art. He was born in Indiana, where he worked on a farm until he was 20 years old. He then studied for four years at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts (where he would later become an instructor) before going to Paris, where he spent three years at the Academie Julian under Boulanger, Lefebvre, and Cormon. A prolific artist, Mr. Fry chose his subjects largely from the classics of poetry and mythology. His two entries for the Paris Salon of 1931 were entitled "Thetis" and "Ode to Sappho," the latter receiving honorable mention. Two years later, he was elected a corresponding member of the fine arts section of the French Institute. A collection of color reproductions of Mr. Fry's paintings, with text by Lilian Whiting, was published in 1927 as "Greek Myths and Other Symbols." His writings include "L'Evangile de la Laideur" (in French) and "The Revolt Against Beauty," in English and French. Mr. Fry was an officer of the Legion of Honor and a Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy. The latter decoration was awarded to him in April 1933, on the recommendation of Mussolini, in recognition of Mr. Fry's aid in advancing the excavations at Herculaneum. In 1891, Fry married Georgia Timken, daughter of Henry Timken, a St. Louis carriage manufacturer who, with his sons, developed the Timken Roller Bearing Company. Mrs. Fry died in 1921, leaving him an estate worth $10,000,000. Provenance: The lifetime estate collection of the late Dr. Boris Frid (1930-2017) and Dr. Germaine Frid (1932-2025) Palm Springs, California. See introduction to catalog.
Jackson's International
Mar. 21, 2026
John Hemming Fry (American, 1860-1946) drawing
Est: $200 - $400
Youthful Male Nude graphite on paper. 25 x 16 1/2" (sheet)
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Jun. 15, 2024
John Hemming Fry (1860-1946) American
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
John Hemming Fry (1860-1946) Oil on canvas, signed lower left and labeled illegibly on back, piece measures 22 x 18 and 30 x 26 inches w/ frame. Born in Indiana to a prominent family, John Hemming Fry lived through an incredible era in art: Romanticism through the Salon; Impressionism to Modern Art in France; and the Hudson River School to Modernism in America. Fry studied at Washington University in St. Louis before following the lead of many young American artists by studying in Paris. The influence of the academicians of the Ecole des Beaux Arts helped to form Fry’s aesthetic principles that he carried throughout his life and work. In 1890, Fry returned to St. Louis where he taught life class at Washington University. There, he met Georgia Timken who became his wife. They studied and worked together throughout their marriage and enjoyed a life of travel and painting until she passed in 1921. John Fry is known for Genre, figure, allegory-floral viewFry was classical painter well known as a foe of Modernism in art, Revolt being his argument in text on weakness on abstraction in art.
Cutler Bay Auctions
Apr. 18, 2024
John Hemming Fry (1860 - 1946) American
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
John Hemming Fry (1860 - 1946) Oil on canvas, signed lower left and labeled on back, measures 22 x 18 and 30 x 26 inches w/ frame. John Fry is known for Genre, figure, allegory-floral view.
Cutler Bay Auctions
Feb. 17, 2024
John Hemming Fry (1860 - 1946) American
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
John Hemming Fry (1860 - 1946) Oil on canvas, signed lower left and labeled on back, measures 22 x 18 and 30 x 26 inches w/ frame. John Fry is known for Genre, figure, allegory-floral view.
Cutler Bay Auctions
Feb. 05, 2023
Signed John Hemming Fry, 'The Fates'. Provenance: Knoedler and Canton Art Institute. Oil Painting on Canvas
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
John Hemming Fry, 'The Fates'. Oil Painting on Canvas. Provenance: Canton Art Institute John Hemming Fry (American, 1860-1946) 'The Fates'. Oil painting on canvas in giltwood tabernacle frame. Provenance: Deaccession from Canton Art Institute, Canton, Ohio. Bearing various labels and notes to verso. Written on moulding, 'donated by J.H Fry'. Please refer to photos. This painting was exhibited at Knoedler & Co., in February of 1916 at their Exhibition of Feminine Themes from Classic Myths by John Hemming Fry. https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll8/id/7122/ Fry created epic imagery in a dreamscape romanticized style, borrowing from classical greek, roman and celtic folklore and imagery. The painting depicts the three fates, clotho, lachesis and atropos, the three greek/roman goddesses who presided over the course of mankind, with every person's destiny symbolically represented as a thread spun, measured, and cut by the three fates. Prior to the artists' studies in paris, he meets his wife, the artist Georgina Timken Fry at the st. louis school of art and they both travel to paris, where the influence of the academicians of the ecole des beaux arts helped to form his aesthetic principles that he carried throughout his life and work. In paris he studied under Gustave Boulanger, Jules Lefebvre, Fernand Cormond, and Benjamin-Constant. Upon returning to the us he returns to teaching at saint louis school of fine arts, 1887-1892, serving on the jury of painting for the chicago exposition, 1893. His work is shown at the st. louis expo in 1898; the art institute of chicago, 1903-05; and the pennsylvania academy of fine arts in 1922. In 1916, the Frys, along with painter Lawton S. Parker, founded Rodin Studios, a cooperative apartment building in new york city intended to provide housing and studio space for artists. The building, designed by Cass Gilbert, opened the next year, with the Frys occupying a large apartment on the top floor. He later publishes 'The Revolt Against Beauty: The Source and Genesis of Modernistic Art', as a critique of modern art in 1934. Select awards/honors include the chevalier legion of honor, 1928, officer, 1932; commander of the crown of italy, 1933; The painting 'Ode to Sappho', is awarded honorable mention at the paris salon, 1931. Elected corresponding member section of fine arts, institute of france, 1933.
Collective Hudson, LLC
Nov. 13, 2022
Signed John Hemming Fry, 'The Fates'. Provenance: Canton Art Institute. Oil on Canvas
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
John Hemming Fry, 'The Fates'. Oil Painting on Canvas. Provenance: Canton Art Institute John Hemming Fry (American, 1860-1946) 'The Fates'. Oil painting on canvas in giltwood tabernacle frame. Provenance: Canton Art Institute, Canton, Ohio. Bearing various labels and notes to verso. Written on moulding, 'donated by J.H Fry'. Please refer to photos. This painting was exhibited at Knoedler & Co., in February of 1916 at their Exhibition of Feminine Themes from Classic Myths by John Hemming Fry. https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll8/id/7122/ Fry created epic imagery in a dreamscape romanticized style, borrowing from classical greek, roman and celtic folklore and imagery. The painting depicts the three fates, clotho, lachesis and atropos, the three greek/roman goddesses who presided over the course of mankind, with every person's destiny symbolically represented as a thread spun, measured, and cut by the three fates. Prior to the artists' studies in paris, he meets his wife, the artist Georgina Timken Fry at the st. louis school of art and they both travel to paris, where the influence of the academicians of the ecole des beaux arts helped to form his aesthetic principles that he carried throughout his life and work. In paris he studied under Gustave Boulanger, Jules Lefebvre, Fernand Cormond, and Benjamin-Constant. Upon returning to the us he returns to teaching at saint louis school of fine arts, 1887-1892, serving on the jury of painting for the chicago exposition, 1893. His work is shown at the st. louis expo in 1898; the art institute of chicago, 1903-05; and the pennsylvania academy of fine arts in 1922. In 1916, the Frys, along with painter Lawton S. Parker, founded Rodin Studios, a cooperative apartment building in new york city intended to provide housing and studio space for artists. The building, designed by Cass Gilbert, opened the next year, with the Frys occupying a large apartment on the top floor. He later publishes 'The Revolt Against Beauty: The Source and Genesis of Modernistic Art', as a critique of modern art in 1934. Select awards/honors include the chevalier legion of honor, 1928, officer, 1932; commander of the crown of italy, 1933; The painting 'Ode to Sappho', is awarded honorable mention at the paris salon, 1931. Elected corresponding member section of fine arts, institute of france, 1933.
Collective Hudson, LLC
Feb. 19, 2022
John Hemming Fry Oil, Semi-Nude Female
Est: $300 - $500
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946) Semi-Nude Female, oil on canvas, signed and inscribed verso, framed. Bearing labels verso, ex-collection Canton Museum of Art, Canton,Ohio, donated to the museum by the artist in 1946.Â Â Dimensions: 24 x 18 in. canvas size, 31 x 25 in. as framed. Condition: Unstable with loose, tenting and flaking paint, patch repair in upper left.
Neue Auctions
Feb. 19, 2022
John Hemming Fry Oil, Orpheus & Eurydice
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)Â Orpheus & Eurydice,Â oil on canvas, in gilt wood tabernacle frameÂ bearing labels verso, ex-collection Canton Art Institute, Canton Ohio, donated to the museum by the artist in 1946. Dimensions: 63 x 39 in. canvas size, 80 x 51 in, as framed. Condition: Relined. Touch up to figures fluorescing under UV light.
Neue Auctions
Feb. 19, 2022
John Hemming Fry Oil, The Fates
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946) The Fates, oil on canvas, in tabernacle frame bearing labels verso, ex-collection Canton Art Institute, Canton Ohio, donated to the museum by the artist in 1946.Â Dimensions: 31 x 20 in, canvas size, 39 x 30 in. as framed. Condition: Relined. Scattered touch-up throughout, approximately 20%.
Neue Auctions
Feb. 19, 2022
John Hemming Fry Oil, The Elemental Drift
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946) The Elemental Drift, oil on canvas, in tabernacle frame,Â bearing labels verso, ex-collection Canton Art Institute, Canton Ohio, donated to the museum by the artist in 1946. Dimensions: 17 x 34 in., canvas size, 26 x 42.5 in. as framed Condition: Scattered overpaint and touch-ups throughout, approximately 20-30%.
Neue Auctions
Sep. 18, 2019
Oil on Canvas, J H Fry, Woman
Est: $600 - $900
John Hemming Fry (American 1861-1946) Portrait of a standing woman within an elaborate frame trimmed in velvet. 29"h x 15"w
Nye & Company
Aug. 02, 2019
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN HEMMING FRY, Indiana, 1860-1946, Portrait of Mattie Edwards Hewitt,, Oil on canvas, 14" x 12". Framed 19" x 17".
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN HEMMING FRY Indiana, 1860-1946 Portrait of Mattie Edwards Hewitt, a professional photographer of East Coast architecture, landscape and design. Old label on stretcher marked "H.N. Kirch 6 Mt. Vernon Place". Oil on canvas, 14" x 12". Framed 19" x 17".
Eldred's
Jan. 24, 2015
John Hemming Fry (American, 1861-1946)
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Portrait of a Young Woman holding a jug. Watercolor on paper. Signed (l.l.). Sight size 23 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches. Matted and framed. Provenance: Sotheby's New York, Sale 6949, January 24th, 1990, Lot 10.
Capo Auction
Dec. 13, 2014
John Hemming Fry (American, 1861-1946)
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Portrait of a Young Woman holding a jug. Watercolor on paper. Signed (l.l.). Sight size 23 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches. Matted and framed. Provenance: Sotheby's New York, Sale 6949, January 24th, 1990, Lot 10.
Capo Auction
Oct. 23, 2010
John Hemming Fry
Est: $400 - $600
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)- Shepherd in Moonlight''- oil on canvas, signed J.H. Fry lower left, very good condition. 15 x 12 1/2''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oct. 23, 2010
John Hemming Fry oil
Est: $400 - $600
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)- Bathing Girls- oil on canvas, signed J.H. Fry lower right, very good condition. 13 x 8''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oct. 23, 2010
John Hemming Fry oil
Est: $600 - $900
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)- ''Springtime''- oil on canvas, one area of paint loss along lower edge. 27 x 21''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oct. 23, 2010
John Hemming Fry oil
Est: $500 - $800
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)- Le Pecheuse De Crevettes- oil on canvas, repaired tear and 1'' tear in sky. 23 x 14 5/8''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oct. 23, 2010
John Hemming Fry oil
Est: $600 - $900
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)- ''Thetis''- oil on canvas, signed J.H. Fry lower left, two areas of paint loss and flaking. 18 x 14''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oct. 23, 2010
John Hemming Fry oil
Est: $600 - $900
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)- ''Le Pain Quotidian''- oil on canvas, signed J.H. Fry lower right, several repaired tears. 33 x 21''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oct. 23, 2010
John Hemming Fry oil
Est: $700 - $1,000
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)- ''Heloise''- oil on canvas, signed J.H. Fry lower left, very good condition. 30 1/2 x 21''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oct. 23, 2010
John Hemming Fry oil
Est: $800 - $1,200
John Hemming Fry (American 1860-1946)- ''The Lorelei''- oil on canvas, signed J.H. Fry lower left, very good condition. 29 x 21 1/2''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Oct. 23, 2003
JOHN HEMMING FRY American (1861-1946)
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
oil on canvas on masonite, signed lower left.Exhibited: A New Haven, Connecticut estate.
Shannon's