John Adams Whipple Paintings & Artwork for Sale | John Adams Whipple Art Value Price Guide

May. 15, 2026
[African American]. [Shaw, Robert Gould (1837-1863)]. -- Whipple, John Adams (1822-1891), photographer. CDV of Robert Gould Shaw. 1863.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
[African American]. [Shaw, Robert Gould (1837-1863)]. -- Whipple, John Adams (1822-1891), photographer. CDV of Robert Gould Shaw. 1863. CDV on cardstock mount depicting Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Verso with Whipple's Boston imprint with 297 Washington Street address. Some minor marginal soiling on recto, soiling to verso. Robert Gould Shaw served as commander of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War, the first all-Black regiment to serve in the Northeast. Following Lincoln's issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation on 1 January 1863 the Union Army began general recruitment of African-American soldiers to fight in its ranks. Among those active in recruitment was Frederick Douglass, whose sons Lewis Henry and Charles Remond were among the first to enlist. The unit was mustered out to South Carolina in May and became part of the X Corps commanded by General David Hunter. Among the unit's most notable engagements was the Battle of Grimball's Landing on 16 July and the Second Battle of Fort Wagner two days later. During this battle the 54th launched a frontal assault on the fort, suffering casualties of 20 dead, 125 wounded, and 102 missing. Shaw was shot as he mounted a parapet, encouraging his troops to move forward. The Union forces were ultimately defeated. While the bodies of other Union officers were collected to be shipped back to their families, Confederate General Johnson Hagood had Shaw's body buried with the other dead soldiers of his regiment. Though intended as an insult to Gould, the gesture made him a hero in the north, with Gould's own father proclaiming that he was proud to have his son buried with his men. As a result of this battle thousands more African-American men enlisted, which President Abraham Lincoln credited as being one of the key deciding factors in the Union's ultimate victory over the Confederacy. The story of the 54th Massachusetts was dramatized in the Academy Award-winning film, Glory. This lot is located in Chicago.
Freeman’s
Sep. 29, 2022
AFTER JOHN ADAMS WHIPPLE, AMERICAN 1822-1891, PAIR OF FRAMED HARPER'S WEEKLY ENGRAVINGS: "THE PUBLIC GARDEN" AND "COMMONWEALTH AVENUE, BOSTON, MASS", Engraving
Est: $100 - $200
AFTER JOHN ADAMS WHIPPLE AMERICAN, 1822-1891 PAIR OF FRAMED HARPER'S WEEKLY ENGRAVINGS: "THE PUBLIC GARDEN" AND "COMMONWEALTH AVENUE, BOSTON, MASS" Engraving (2)
Potomack Company
Feb. 25, 2020
JOHN A. WHIPPLE, ATTRIBUTED TO (1822-1891) The Old Feather Store on the corner of North Street and Dock Square, near Faneuil Hall.
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
JOHN A. WHIPPLE, ATTRIBUTED TO (1822-1891) The Old Feather Store on the corner of North Street and Dock Square, near Faneuil Hall. Salted paper print, the image measuring 7 5/8x11 1/2 inches (19.4x29.2 cm.). Circa 1855
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 21, 2019
JOHN WHIPPLE (1822-1891) Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
JOHN WHIPPLE (1822-1891) Harriet Beecher Stowe. Salted paper print from a calotype negative, the image measuring 9 1/2x5 inches (24.1x12.7 cm.), the later mount 17x14 inches (43.2x35.6 cm.), with later notations, in pencil, on mount recto. 1853
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN A. WHIPPLE - Three Sisters, one wearing a Star of David at her neck, circa 1855
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN A. WHIPPLE - Three Sisters, one wearing a Star of David at her neck, circa 1855
Phillips
May. 23, 2018
John Adams Whipple (1823-1891) British. "A Wilderness of Water", Oil on Canvas, Signed, and Inscribed in pencil on reverse, Unframed, 16" x 24".
Est: £40 - £60
John Adams Whipple (1823-1891) British. "A Wilderness of Water", Oil on Canvas, Signed, and Inscribed in pencil on reverse, Unframed, 16" x 24".
John Nicholson's Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers
Mar. 28, 2018
John Adams Whipple (1823-1891) British. "A Wilderness of Water", Oil on Canvas, Signed, and Inscribed in pencil on reverse, Unframed, 16" x 24".
Est: £50 - £80
John Adams Whipple (1823-1891) British. "A Wilderness of Water", Oil on Canvas, Signed, and Inscribed in pencil on reverse, Unframed, 16" x 24".
John Nicholson's Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers
May. 16, 2014
Two Daguerreotypes: School of John Adams Whipple (American, 1822-1891), Sixth-plate Daguerreotype of a Woman and Child, in a black leat
Est: $300 - $500
Two Daguerreotypes: School of John Adams Whipple (American, 1822-1891), Sixth-plate Daguerreotype of a Woman and Child, in a black leather push-button case, and American School, 19th Century, Sixth-plate Daguerreotype of a Three Young Siblings, in an embossed leather case. Condition: The first is tarnished, lightly worn case with minor lifting of leather at inside of spine, accretions and corrosion on brass mat especially in l.r. quadrant; the second with minor tarnish and brown accretions, split case with old spine repair, gently worn, velvet pad and liner faded; not examined out of cases. Provenance: A private New England collection.
Skinner
Dec. 05, 2012
WHIPPLE, JOHN ADAMS. 1822-1891.
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
A view of the Moon, from Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, MA, c.1857, lightly albumenized print, 5 x 4 inches (130 x 105 mm), corners trimmed. Whipple was the first person in the USA to manufacture the chemicals needed for daguerreotypes. From around 1847 to 1860, he collaborated with William Bond and his son George Phillips Bond at the Harvard College Observatory. Their daguerreotype of the Moon won a prize at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, and opened the eyes of the world to the potential of astronomical photography. The 15-inch Great Harvard Refractory which they used was fitted with a clockwork drive mechanism, allowing the telescope to track the Moon and permitting long exposures and sharp images (Hughes p 189). In 1850, Whipple received a patent for the albumen-on-glass negative process, and began to produce salt prints from the plates, although he continued to work with daguerreotypes. The present photograph, like others in the Metropolitan Museum and MoMA attributed to Whipple and his partner James Black, exhibits a faint "mask" surrounding the Moon. Whipple and Black are known to have copied their daguerreotypes using glass negatives, and the mask may have served to cover the reflective blank areas of the daguerreotype. The present image, however, shows more detail than one would expect from a daguerreotype copy. Given Whipple's experimentation with photographic chemistry and processes, the precise method behind this print is unclear.
Bonhams
Oct. 21, 2011
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN ADAMS WHIPPLE, (AMERICAN 1822-1891), REV. MR. FREDERICK T. GRAY & DEACONS OF OLD BULLFINCH STREET CHURCH
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN ADAMS WHIPPLE (american 1822-1891)/span REV. MR. FREDERICK T. GRAY & DEACONS OF OLD BULLFINCH STREET CHURCH Circa 1845, half plate daguerreotype in period brown leather case with embossed lining and gold oval mat. provenance: /spanJack Naylor Collection, Guernsey's, October 21, 2007
Freeman's | Hindman
Oct. 21, 2011
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN ADAMS WHIPPLE, (AMERICAN 1822-1891), OF A SEATED GENTLEMAN
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN ADAMS WHIPPLE (american 1822-1891)/span OF A SEATED GENTLEMAN Circa 1850, whole plate daguerreotype in a large carved frame with oval mat.
Freeman's | Hindman
Oct. 22, 2009
John Adams Whipple (1822-1891), American HARVARD
Est: $50 - $75
John Adams Whipple (1822-1891), American HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, C. 1857-1860; Albumen print mounted on support card. Unframed. 6" x 7.75" - 19.7 x 14.6 cm.
Waddington's
Oct. 22, 2009
John Adams Whipple (1822-1891), American HARVARD
Est: $50 - $75
John Adams Whipple (1822-1891), American HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, C. 1857-1860; Albumen print mounted on support card. Unframed. 5.75" x 8" - 19.7 x 14.6 cm.
Waddington's
Oct. 22, 2009
John Adams Whipple (1822-1891), American HARVARD
Est: $50 - $75
John Adams Whipple (1822-1891), American HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS, C. 1857-1860; Albumen print mounted on support card. Unframed. 6" x 8" - 19.7 x 14.6 cm.
Waddington's