1927 William Clusmann Oil
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GUEST:
My aunt left it to me. She had had it since the early '70s, '71 or '72, I believe.
APPRAISER:
And what do you know about it?
GUEST:
Well, I know it's a painting of the Art Institute, and it, I can remember her having it for many years, hanging in her living room.
APPRAISER:
Do you know where your aunt acquired this painting from?
GUEST:
No. She lived in Chicago most of her life.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
And I don't have any idea, and I now wish I had asked her, but I don't know.
APPRAISER:
This is the Art Institute of Chicago, with the lions as the landmark that's clearly identifiable. And these are the steps that lead down to Michigan Avenue. And you see all of the city activity beyond. The artist is William Clusmann. He was born in Indiana in 1859. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And he also went to Germany. He exhibited extensively at the Art Institute of Chicago, but he was considered a Hoosier painter, which is Southern Indiana. The records show about just shy of 160 works...
GUEST:
Oh, that's a lot.
APPRAISER:
...in his time. I would think that based on the costume of the figures and his peak period being around 1910… I would say that this is about 1910. It dates from the time the artist worked and lived in Chicago. I think that that also is played out in the frame, which is a period frame. The painting is oil on canvas.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The work might benefit from a cleaning. There's some discoloration in the whites and there are some little fly specks. But it's in generally excellent condition. The glass has protected it all these years.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, good.
APPRAISER:
Most of his works are landscapes, and they sell in the $1,000 to maybe $3,000 range.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
If this were to come up in an auction, the estimate would be between $30,000 and $50,000.
GUEST:
That's nice. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Because this is the Art Institute of Chicago...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...with American flags all throughout the painting, that creates more interest.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Paintings with American flags always sell for more than just street scenes.
GUEST:
Huh, really?
APPRAISER:
We think this could probably set a record for the artist...
GUEST:
Oh, that'd be great.
APPRAISER:
...if it were to come up at auction. And for insurance...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...it would probably be in the $75,000 to $80,000 range.
GUEST:
Wow, wow. Needs to be insured. (laughs) My mother used to take me downtown, and we would go to the art museum, and that's why it's special to me. It brings back memories, that's for sure.
Appraisal Details
Bob, Geoffrey Baer, and the team with the Chicago Architecture Center now agree that the painting was completed in 1925. ANTIQUES ROADSHOW will use circa 1925 going forward.
Update: 3.21.2023:
An ANTIQUES ROADSHOW viewer named Bob Levy got in touch with appraiser Betty Krulik in February 2023 to say that he believes this William Clusmann oil painting of a Chicago street scene, which Krulik estimated as ca. 1910 during her on-air appraisal, may be from several years later in Clusmann’s career than she originally thought.
Bob noted that he happened to be training as a docent with the Chicago Architecture Center and was currently studying several prominent Chicago landmarks, which he said helped him recognize certain buildings depicted in Clusmann’s composition that could date the painting more precisely to the late 1920s.
So with thanks to both Bob and the Chicago Architecture Center, here are details compiled from his very informative emails with ROADSHOW:
“Based on the buildings visible in the painting, we date the painting to 1927. … It appears that the Wrigley Building is visible at the northern end of Michigan Avenue in the painting. The southern section of the Wrigley Building wasn’t completed until 1921 and the northern section, which I believe is visible as well, was completed in 1924. If those buildings are visible in the painting, it’s a bit later than you thought. … “
“What we also see in the painting appears to be 333 N. Michigan Avenue under construction, not yet its full height of 34 stories. Construction on 333 N. Michigan Avenue was underway in 1927 before Clusmann died, and the fact that that building is visible in the painting, and couldn’t have been visible before 1927, is what allows us to date the painting to sometime that year, before Clusmann died on September 28.”
Betty Krulik agrees with Bob and the Chicago Architecture Center’s assessment, and ANTIQUES ROADSHOW has corrected the date of the painting to 1927.
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