Palmer Cole Hayden Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Palmer Cole Hayden Art Value Price Guide

Aug. 12, 2026
PALMER HAYDEN (1890-1973) The Nightingale 22 x 28 in. (55.9 x 71.1 cm.)
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890-1973) The Nightingale signed 'Palmer Hayden' (incised lower right) and inscribed with title (incised lower center) oil on canvasboard 22 x 28 in. (55.9 x 71.1 cm.)
Bonhams
Apr. 19, 2026
PALMER COLE HAYDEN (American, 1890-1973) OIL PAINTING
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
street musicians sgn. l.r. Palmer Hayden; verso titled and sgn. Street Musicians/Palmer Hayden oil/canvas (laid down on cardboard); 4 by 5 in.; framed 4.75 by 5.75 in.
CRN Auctions
Dec. 13, 2025
Palmer Cole Hayden, 1890-1973, untitled , Concarneau, France
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
Palmer Cole Hayden 1890-1973 untitled , Concarneau, France c. 1940 oil on board 13 x 18 inches signed
Black Art Auction
Dec. 13, 2025
Palmer Cole Hayden, 1890-1973, St Patrick's Cathedral, New York City
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
Palmer Cole Hayden 1890-1973 St Patrick's Cathedral, New York City c. 1950 oil on canvas board 32 x 25 inches signed This is an important example of Hayden's work: an iconic image for him and an important New York subject.
Black Art Auction
Oct. 07, 2025
Palmer Hayden (1890-1973), New York Marine, circa 1932-40.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Palmer Hayden (1890-1973) New York Marine. Oil on linen canvas, circa 1932-40. Signed in oil, lower center recto. Signed and titled in oil across the verso.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 05, 2025
PALMER COLE HAYDEN (Virginia/New York, 1890-1973)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Fishing Day sgn. l.r. Palmer Hayden; sgn. and titled verso, Fishing Day/Palmer Hayden oil/artist board; 16 by 20 in.; framed 17.5 by 21.5 in. Hayden was associated with the New York Harlem Renaissance movement. NOTE: We cannot approve bidders during the auction. Please register as soon as possible.
CRN Auctions
Jun. 14, 2025
Palmer Cole Hayden, 1890-1973, St Patrick's Cathedral, New York City
Est: $35,000 - $55,000
Palmer Cole Hayden 1890-1973 St Patrick's Cathedral, New York City c. 1950 oil on canvas board 32 x 25 inches signed This is an excellent example of Hayden's work.
Black Art Auction
Apr. 26, 2025
Palmer C. Hayden 1968 oil Performer Seated at a Piano
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Hayden, Palmer Cole (Hedgeman), (African-American, 1890-1973), Performer Seated at a Piano, 1969, oil on canvas, 34 x 28 inches, signed and dated lower right, with a thin painted wood strip frame. Provenance: A Pittsburgh Family since the early 1980s. Palmer Hayden was born November, 9th 1890. He was an African American painter whose work became well known during the Harlem Renaissance. Born Peyton Cole Hedgeman in Wide Water, Virginia, he was a prolific artist of his era. He depicted African American life, painting in both oils and watercolors. As a young man, Hayden studied at the Cooper Union in New York City and also practiced independent studies at Boothbay Art Colony in Maine. He created one of his first famous pieces in 1926, a still life called Fetiche et Fleurs, which won the esteemed Harmon Foundation’s Gold Award, prompting his patrons to support him so he could live and study in France. Over the next five years in Paris, Hayden was very productive, trying to capture elements of Parisian society. On his return to America, Hayden began working for the United States government. He worked for the U.S. Treasury Art Project as well as the Depression-era government-funded Works Progress Administration (WPA). Hayden took his inspiration from the environment around him, focusing on the African American experience. He tried to capture both rural life in the South, as well as urban backgrounds in New York City. Many of these urban paintings were centered in Harlem. The inspiration for The Janitor Who Paints came from Cloyd Boykin, a friend of Palmer’s. Boykin was also a painter who supported himself through janitorial work. Hayden once said, I painted it because no one called Cloyd, a painter; they called him a janitor. He exhibited widely including exhibitions, at the New Jersey State Museum and the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris. This painting may be Hayden paying homage to the black Vaudevillians he would have seen in Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s. He died on February 18, 1973.
Concept Art Gallery
Apr. 03, 2025
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Le Thonier à Basse Marée Concarneau.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Le Thonier à Basse Marée Concarneau. Oil on linen canvas, circa 1927-30. 552x457 mm; 21¾x18 inches. Signed, lower left recto. Titled and dedicated "With fondest regards to The Harold Neals from the artist", verso. Provenance Gift from the artist. Mr. and Mrs. Harold M. Neal, Pittsburgh. Luise Ross Gallery, New York. Private collection, Connecticut (1994).
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 03, 2025
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Bus Stop.
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Bus Stop. Watercolor on wove paper, circa 1935. 470x315 mm; 18x12⅜ inches. Signed lower left. Provenance Private collection, Washington, DC.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 20, 2024
PALMER HAYDEN (AMERICAN, 1890-1973)
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Stroll in the Park, four figures in a landscape by a pond, sgn. l.l. Palmer Hayden; also verso sgn. and titled u.r., o/artist board; 12 in by 10 in; framed 13.5 in by 11.5 in, Hayden is associated with the Harlem Renaissance movement. Born in Virginia, he was initially self taught. Around 1920 Hayden went to New York City and studied with Victor Perard at Cooper Union, and then later in Boothbay Harbor, Maine at the Commonwealth Art Colony. From 1927-1932 he studied and painted in Paris, focusing more on genre scenes, less on seascapes. Returning to New York City, his focus was African-American subject matter. He died in New York City. NOTE: Apologies, we cannot approve bidders during the auction.
CRN Auctions
Oct. 08, 2024
PALMER COLE (HEDGEMAN) HAYDEN, AMERICAN, NEW YORK, MAINE AND FRANCE 1890-1973, PORT LOUIS MORBIHAN, BRITTANY, Watercolor on paper mounted on card, Sheet: 12 x 18 1/2 in. (30.5 x 47 cm.); Sight: 10 1/4 x 16 3/4 in. (26 x
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
PALMER COLE (HEDGEMAN) HAYDEN AMERICAN, NEW YORK, MAINE AND FRANCE, 1890-1973 PORT LOUIS MORBIHAN, BRITTANY Watercolor on paper mounted on card Lower center titled: Port Louis Morbihan; lower right signed: Palmer Hayden
Potomack Company
Oct. 08, 2024
PALMER COLE (HEDGEMAN) HAYDEN, AMERICAN, NEW YORK, MAINE AND FRANCE 1890-1973, FISHING BOAT AT ANCHOR, Oil on canvas, 14 1/4 x 17 1/4 in. (36.2 x 43.8 cm.), Frame: 16 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (41.9 x 49.5 cm.)
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
PALMER COLE (HEDGEMAN) HAYDEN AMERICAN, NEW YORK, MAINE AND FRANCE, 1890-1973 FISHING BOAT AT ANCHOR Oil on canvas Lower right signed: Palmer Hayden
Potomack Company
Sep. 19, 2024
PALMER HAYDEN (1890-1973) Bus Stop.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890-1973) Bus Stop. Watercolor on wove paper, circa 1935. 470x315 mm; 18x12⅜ inches. Signed lower left. Provenance Private collection, Washington, D.C.
Swann Auction Galleries
Sep. 14, 2024
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden, 1890-1973, Concarneau Fish Houses
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden 1890-1973 Concarneau Fish Houses 1960 watercolor on paper 17 x 22-1/2 inches signed and dated Provenance: Christies, March 4, 2010, Fine American Paintingsâ¦, lot 69 https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-5290764
Black Art Auction
May. 18, 2024
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden, 1890-1973, Prayers before Bedtime (untitled)
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden 1890-1973 Prayers before Bedtime (untitled) c. 1940 oil on canvas board 14 x 12 inches signed
Black Art Auction
May. 18, 2024
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden, 1890-1973, untitled, Figure in an Interior
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden 1890-1973 untitled, Figure in an Interior 1950-1960 oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches signed Provenance: private collection, Kansas City, MO Illustrated: The Parkway Collection of Important 20th Century African-American Works of Art, 2010; p. 19. This work relates stylistically to the artist's most well-known work, The Janitor Who Paints (collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum).
Black Art Auction
May. 18, 2024
Palmer Cole Hayden, At Dock, Oil on Artist Board
Est: $1,000 - $1,200
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden (American, 1890-1973), at dock, oil on artist board, signed L/R, 16" x 20". Provenance: Westbury, New York collection.
Kaminski Auctions
Feb. 03, 2024
AMERICAN PAINTING ON BOARD BY PALMER COLE HAYDEN
Est: $100 - $150
An American oil painting on board by Palmer Cole Hayden, titled Marina. The painting depicts boats on the water in a small town between houses, painted in a calm, realistic manner. The artists signature is lower on the right. Framed. Palmer Cole Hayden, 1890 to 1973, was an American painter who depicted African American life, landscapes, seascapes, and African influences. Collectible American Fine Art.
Antique Arena Inc
Jan. 25, 2024
PALMER HAYDEN (1890-1973) On the Jersey Side.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890-1973) On the Jersey Side. Oil on linen canvas, circa late 1930s. 762x924 mm; 30x36 3/8 inches. Signed and titled in pencil on the left stretcher bar, verso. Provenance: the estate of the sitter's sister; private collection, New Jersey. This reclining nude is an unusual subject for Palmer Hayden. Following his return to New York from Paris in 1932, Hayden worked on the United States Treasury Art Project and the WPA Art Project from 1934 to 1940. He returned to painting nautical scenes along the waterfront of boats and dockyard activity. In 1937, Hayden married the teacher and writer Miriam Huffman. Hayden also painted scenes of African American life including his best known works The Janitor Who Paints, circa 1937, and Midsummer Night in Harlem, 1936.
Swann Auction Galleries
Nov. 14, 2023
PALMER COLE HAYDEN, BOATYARD WATERCOLOR
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Palmer Cole Hayden, Boatyard Watercolor. FUG 2010 auction invoice attached on reverse. Provenance: Private Philadelphia Estate. Frame: 25" x 30.75" Scene: 16.5" x 22.5"
Ashcroft and Moore
Oct. 19, 2023
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) The Western Range.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) The Western Range. Oil on linen canvas, circa 1950. 610x762 mm; 24x30 inches. Signed in oil, lower right recto. Signed and titled in oil, upper right verso. Provenance: acquired at Heritage Auctions, May 10, 2014; private collection, Philadelphia (2014). This richly colorful scene of a black cowboy and a herd of cattle is an excellent example of one of the Western scenes that Palmer Hayden sketched on his 1940 and 50s car trips and later painted in oil. After leaving the WPA in 1940, Hayden married Miriam Hoffmann and drove with her to Virginia. He began his series of twelve painting s on the legend of John Henry in 1944 - using sketches of the mountains, river, shacks and shops around the Big Bend Tunnel in Talcott, West Virginia. Through the 1940s and 50s, Palmer Hayden continue to drive across the Midwest and West. His sketchbooks in the Archives of American Art include many pencil and watercolor sketches from road trips to California and Canada with stops noted in Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 01, 2023
PALMER HAYDEN (American, 1890-1973)
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Bedtime Prayer sgn. l.l. Palmer Hayden; titled on reverse o/c; 14 by 12 in.; framed 19 by 17 in. Hayden is associated with the Harlem Renaissance movement. Born in Virginia, he was initially self taught. Around 1920 Hayden went to New York City and studied with Victor Perard at Cooper Union, and then later in Boothbay Harbor, Maine at the Commonwealth Art Colony. From 1927-1932 he studied and painted in Paris, focusing more on genre scenes, less on seascapes. Returning to New York City, his focus was African-American subject matter. He died in New York City.
CRN Auctions
Jun. 03, 2023
Palmer HAYDEN: Concert - Painting
Est: $3,500 - $5,000
Palmer Hayden (American, 1890-1973) watercolor painting of an outdoor concert with bandshell over an orchestra, signed lower right. [Art: 19 1/2" H x 29 1/2" W; Frame: 30" H x 39 1/2" W].
Roland Auctions NY
Mar. 25, 2023
PALMER COLE HAYDEN AMERICAN 1890-1973
Est: $2,500 - $5,000
Untitled (Boats in a Harbor), watercolor, 11 x 17 in (27.9 x 43.2 cm), framed 21 x 25 in (53.3 x 63.5 cm), signed lower left
Trinity International Auctions & Appraisals, LLC
Nov. 12, 2022
PALMER COLE HAYDEN AMERICAN 1890-1973
Est: $2,500 - $5,000
Untitled (Boats in a Harbor), watercolor, 11 x 17 in (27.9 x 43.2 cm), framed 21 x 25 in (53.3 x 63.5 cm), signed lower left
Trinity International Auctions & Appraisals, LLC
Jun. 04, 2022
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden, 1890-1973, untitled, Boats at Concarneau, Brittany, France
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden 1890-1973 untitled, Boats at Concarneau, Brittany, France c. 1940 oil on canvas 20 x 26 inches signed lower right
Black Art Auction
May. 28, 2022
PALMER HAYDEN AMERICAN 1890-1973
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
The Summer Concert, watercolor, 20 x 30 in (50.8 x 76.2 cm), framed 30 x 39 in (76.2 x 99 cm), signed lower right, verso notation No. "11", PROVENANCE: Private collection Long Island, NY
Trinity International Auctions & Appraisals, LLC
Apr. 28, 2022
Palmer C. Hayden - Untitled (Ships by Harbor)
Est: $5,000 - $8,000
Lot 285 Palmer C. Hayden American (1890-1973) Untitled (Ships by Harbor) oil on canvas signed lower right 20 x 26 inches frame dimensions: 23 3/4 x 29 3/4 x 2 inches, wood frame Provenance: Property of Anita M. Black's Estate
Capsule Gallery Auction
Mar. 12, 2022
Palmer Hayden, 1890-1973, The Red Barn
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
Palmer Hayden 1890-1973 The Red Barn c. 1940 oil on board 12 x 8 inches signed
Black Art Auction
Mar. 12, 2022
Palmer Hayden, 1890-1973, Vaugirard
Est: $8,000 - $10,000
Palmer Hayden 1890-1973 Vaugirard c. 1930 watercolor on paper 21 x 14 1/2 inches signed and titled label from Miriam A. Hayden Collection verso, #618 Provenance: Private collection, Richmond, Virginia
Black Art Auction
Feb. 02, 2022
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden (1890 - 1973)
Est: - $3,500
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden (1890 - 1973) ,Watercolor on wove paper,Signed ,measures
Cutler Bay Auctions
Jan. 16, 2022
Palmer Cole Hayden Untitled
Est: $22,000 - $32,000
Palmer Cole Hayden (1890-1973) Untitled, c. 1940 American oil on canvas signed 22 x 18 inches Illustrated and exhibited: The Parkway Collection of Important 20th Century African-American Works of Art, 2010; p. 19.
Treadway Gallery
Dec. 04, 2021
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden, 1890-1973, Boats at Concarneau, Brittany, France
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden 1890-1973 Boats at Concarneau, Brittany, France c. 1940 oil on canvas 15 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches signed; titled on label verso
Black Art Auction
Oct. 07, 2021
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Sardine Boats (of Concarneau).
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Sardine Boats (of Concarneau). Watercolor on wove paper, 1961. 306x408 mm; 12 3/8x16 3/8 inches. Signed (twice) and dated in watercolor, lower right. Provenance: estate of Miriam Hayden, the artist's widow; private collection, California (1997), purchased from M. Hanks Gallery, Santa Monica, CA. The fishing boats of Brittany is one of Palmer Hayden's favorite subjects. In the summer of 1927, Hayden produced a group of oil paintings, watercolors and sketches from along the Brittany coast. His first images of these are found in several of his sketchbooks from Concarneau in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Swann Auction Galleries
May. 22, 2021
Palmer Hayden, 1890-1973, Vaugirard
Est: $10,000 - $20,000
Palmer Hayden 1890-1973 Vaugirard c. 1930 watercolor on paper 21 x 14 1/2 inches signed and titled label from Miriam A. Hayden Collection verso, #618 Provenance: Private collection, Richmond, Virginia
Black Art Auction
May. 22, 2021
Palmer Hayden, 1890-1973, Unloading Tuna at Concarneau
Est: $7,000 - $9,000
Palmer Hayden 1890-1973 Unloading Tuna at Concarneau c. 1964 watercolor on paper 20 x 27 inches signed
Black Art Auction
May. 22, 2021
Palmer Hayden, 1890-1973, Harbor at L'Orient
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Palmer Hayden 1890-1973 Harbor at L'Orient 1940 oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches signed
Black Art Auction
Oct. 04, 2020
Palmer Hayden (NY, 1890 - 1973) "Baltimore Street" Watercolor
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden (VA, NY, 1890 - 1973) "Baltimore Street" Watercolor. Signed lower right. Provenance: Private Florida collection. Hayden was born Peyton Cole Hedgeman in a small Virginia town roughly fifty miles southwest of Washington, DC. After moving to DC at age sixteen to live with an aunt, he took a job as a general laborer for the circus. In 1912 he enlisted in the military, but due to a mistaken reference letter, he was registered as Palmer Cole Hayden, a name he adopted as his own. By 1920 he had left the military, and he began to study painting—in New York City with Cooper Union art instructor Victor Perard and later in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, at the Commonwealth Art Colony. When Hayden traveled to Paris in 1927, his painting focus changed from seascapes to genre scenes of the thriving African diaspora in the French metropolis. Stylistically, he developed a more abstract approach that flattened the pictorial field and represented the human figure in ways that at times uneasily paralleled stereotypical portrayals of African Americans in popular culture. Sight Size: 20.75 x 28.75 in. Overall Size: 29.5 x 37.5 in. Framed behind glass.
Helmuth Stone
Dec. 29, 2019
Palmer, Cole Hayden, Figures by Car, Oil on Board
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Palmer Cole (Hedgeman) Hayden (American, 1890-1973), figures by a car, oil on board, signed L/L, 9" x 12", frame 15 1/4" x 18 1/4". Provenance: From a Lake Forest, Illinois estate.
Kaminski Auctions
Apr. 04, 2019
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Le Thonier à Basse Marée Concarneau.
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Le Thonier à Basse Marée Concarneau. Oil on linen canvas, circa 1927-30. 552x457 mm; 21 3/4x18 inches. Signed in oil, lower left recto. Titled and dedicated "With fondest regards to The Harold Neals from the artist" in oil, verso. Provenance: gift from the artist; Mr. and Mrs. Harold M. Neal, Pittsburgh; Luise Ross Gallery, New York; private collection, Connecticut (1994). Harold M. Neal was an artist and educator who befriended Hayden while organizing exhibitions of African-American artists in Pittsburgh in the 1960s. This oil painting is a scarce, early canvas of one of Palmer Hayden's favorite subjects. In the summer of 1927, Hayden produced a group of oil paintings, watercolors and sketches from along the Brittany coast. Le Thonier à Basse Marée Concarneau was painted either during this trip or shortly after the artist's return to New York. Le Thonier is a tuna fishing boat - images of these are found in several of his sketchbooks from Concarneau in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 10, 2018
Palmer Cole Hayden American, 1890-1973 Le Debarcadere, Concarneau
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Palmer Cole Hayden American, 1890-1973 Le Debarcadere, Concarneau Signed Palmer Hayden and titled (lr) Watercolor on paper 11 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches (29.2 x 41.9 cm) C
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Oct. 04, 2018
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Untitled (Wartime Mother and Baby).
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Untitled (Wartime Mother and Baby). Watercolor on Arches paper, 1967. 546x381 mm; 21 1/2x15 inches. Signed and dated in watercolor, lower right recto. Provenance: the artist; Miriam A. Hayden, the artist's wife, New York; the estate of Miriam A. Hayden; private collection, New York. Inscribed "Miriam A. Hayden Collection" in green ink, verso.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Untitled (The Carousel Wharf).
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Untitled (The Carousel Wharf). Watercolor on wove paper, circa 1960s. 432x584 mm; 17x23 inches. Signed in watercolor, lower left. Provenance: the artist; Miriam Hayden, the artist's wife, New York; the estate of Miriam Hayden; private collection, New York.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) The Theater.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) The Theater. Oil on linen canvas, 1950. 711x823 mm; 28x32 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower left. Provenance: collection of Miriam A. Hayden, the artist's wife, New York; Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans; private collection, New York (1998). Exhibited: Visions of a Bygone Era, featuring Allan Rohan Crite and Palmer Hayden, Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans, LA, July - August, 1998. This charming scene is one of several street and storefront views that Palmer Hayden sketched on car trips and later painted in oil. After leaving the WPA in 1940, Hayden married Miriam Hoffmann and drove with her to Virginia, sketching the mountains, river, shacks and shops around the Big Bend Tunnel in Talcott, West Virginia. Through the 1940s, Palmer Hayden continue to drive across the Midwest and West. His 1940s sketchbooks in the Archives of American Art include many pencil and watercolor sketches from road trips to California and Canada with stops noted in Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 05, 2018
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) At the Beach.
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) At the Beach. Watercolor on wove paper, 1958. 394x550 mm; 15 1/2x21 1/4 inches.. Provenance: the artist; Miriam Hayden, the artist's wife, New York; the estate of Miriam Hayden, with two labels verso, one signed by the executor of her estate; private collection, Florida. A very similar composition by the artist was sold at Christie's, New York, September 25, 2012.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 05, 2018
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) The Steps.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) The Steps. Oil on fiberboard, 1925. 292x406 mm; 11 1/2x16 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower left recto. Inscribed "Painting in summer of 1925 kept as test for palette permanency" in pencil, verso. Provenance: the estate of the artist; private collection, Washington, DC. This charming landscape of a Maine coastal town is one of the earliest oil paintings by the artist to come to auction. During the summers of 1925 and 1926, Palmer Hayden was lent the use of a cottage in Boothbay, Maine, and arranged to exchange labor for instruction, room and board at the Commonwealth Art Colony. He painted around Portland and Haverstraw on the weekends. He showed many of these landscapes and marine studies in his first solo exhibition at the Civic Club, New York, in April of 1926. In December, his oil painting of Boothbay Harbor won the Harmon Foundation prize, beating out the other finalist Hale Woodruff, and gained him passage to Paris. Leininger-Miller pp. 71-72.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 05, 2017
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Le Thonier à Basse Marée Concarneau.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
PALMER HAYDEN (1890 - 1973) Le Thonier à Basse Marée Concarneau. Oil on linen canvas, circa 1927-30. 552x457 mm; 21 3/4x18 inches. Signed in oil, lower left recto. Titled and dedicated "With fondest regards to The Harold Neals from the artist" in oil, verso. Provenance: gift from the artist; Mr. and Mrs. Harold M. Neal, Pittsburgh; Luise Ross Gallery, New York; private collection, Connecticut (1994). Harold M. Neal was an artist and educator who befriended Hayden while organizing exhibitions of African-American artists in Pittsburgh in the 1960s. This oil painting is a scarce, early oil painting of one of Palmer Hayden's favorite subjects. In the summer of 1927, Hayden produced a group of oil paintings, watercolors and sketches along the Brittany coast. Le Thonier à Basse Marée Concarneau was painted either during this trip or shortly after upon the artist's return to New York. Le Thonier is a tuna fishing boat - images of these boats at dock are found in several sketchbook drawings of boats from Concarneau in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Two years earlier, Hayden had painted seascapes of Boothbay Harbor and along the Maine coast, one of which had won the 1925 Harmon Foundation gold medal. With his prize money, he left for Paris and finally met his idol, Henry Ossawa Tanner. Hayden left Paris for the artist colony town of Concarneau that summer and briefly returned to what had given him his first success - seascapes. Feininger-Miller pp. 79-81.
Swann Auction Galleries