American Folk Art Portrait Sits At Top For CRN

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — CRN Auctions conducted its annual Fall Auction on October 20, offering 354 lots of furniture, fine art, decorative art, collectibles, jewelry, Asian art and antiques, dolls and toys, among other categories. Leading this year’s sale was an American folk art portrait of Charles Franklin Carter (b 1840, Worchester, Mass.) by an unknown artist, which finished at $46,080. The young subject was standing in the foreground of the painting, holding a reticulated basket of red berries and a riding crop initialed “CFC.” In the background, a landscape with a lake, house and bird on a tree branch drew the eye. The work was housed in an original gold frame, which brought the painting’s measurements to 29½ by 24 inches total. According to the auction’s catalog, it descended through the Carter family of Massachusetts, was inherited by Roland Carter Martin in 1886, then passed to Jennie Weston Carter, then by descent down to the consignor. Additional highlights from this sale will be featured in an upcoming edition.