DAY 1: July Americana and Shaker, DAY 2: Gameboards & Americana from the Wendel Collection
Wed, Jul 8, 2026 10:00AM EDT
Live Auction
Lot 186
Paul Seifert - Nelson Bennet Farm
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000
Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $25 |
| $200 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $200 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $50,000 |
Paul Seifert (1840-1921) The Nelson Bennet farm. Paul Seifert's last home and last work. Depicting an aerial view of the main house, barn, outbuildings, fenced pastures and orchard, with a dog, rider on horseback, and an early car in the foreground, all set amid rolling tree-lined hills. Watercolor on paper. Frame is original and hand carved by the artist. Old exhibition labels verso. Wisconsin, circa 1910.
Frame: H 18-3/4 in. W 23 in. Sight: H 15 in. W 19-1/2 in.
Provenance: Sotheby's Americana Sale 1/23/1992, Lot 810.
More on this Artwork: Seifert was a German born American folk artist known for painting detailed farm portraits in Southwestern Wisconsin. Born in Dresden Germany in 1846, he fled in 1866 to avoid military service. He made his way to America, traveled west, and settled in Richland County, Wisconsin around 1867. It is said that he jumped on a lumber raft on the Wisconsin River and eventually swam ashore near Richland City where he met his future wife, Elizabeth Craft. Starting around 1875, he traveled from farm to farm charging $2.50 to paint watercolor views of people's homesteads. According to his granddaughter (who is drawn in the front yard), he would leave home for days at a time, walking from one farm to the next with his sketchbook. He carried his paper and paints in a canvas bag, sometimes sketching on the spot and finishing his painting back at home. The farms he painted were all within a 30 mile radius of where he lived making it doable on foot. His paintings are known for their bright colors, precise clean lines, and charming folk style showing houses, barns, animals, orchards and people. His work stayed mostly with the original families until the 1940s when folk art scholar Jean Lipman discovered it and brought it national attention. Seifert died in 1921.
Condition
Shipping/Pickup
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