The Friends of the Sawyer Free Library Annual Art Auction 2021 is on! 54 artists donated original works of art to help the library.
To generate excitement and get the ball moving, a hallmark of the annual art auction is the group show featured in the lovely Matz Gallery, a remarkable main entrance venue. Temporary shows of work by living artists are rotated monthly. In Gloucester, Massachusetts, art at the threshold greets all library visitors. What a treat to walk though an art exhibit to enter a library! The library interior has boasted major bequests via philanthropists and local big wheels since the library’s namesake benefactor, Samuel Sawyer. Books, art, library and learning were essential and inseparable to the founders.
The contemporary Annual Art Auction group shows begin as silent auctions with starting bids set low (well below retail for some of the participating artists*) ahead of a LIVE event. The idea is the bidding will rise above opening reserves so that The Friends of the Sawyer Free Library Annual Art Auction fundraiser can be a success.
*scroll down for checklist and to view the lots
Preview | Silent Auction
DEADLINES APPROACHING – There’s still time to visit, enjoy, and leave a silent bid in person
During the month of September 2021, beautiful art works by 54 artists–which they’ve so generously donated to the Art Auction–were installed in the singular Matz Gallery. Casual, emerging and established creatives are united in their support of our local library. View the art in person. Take notes. You may recognize artists, neighborhoods, a favorite motif or medium. These auctions are a great opportunity for a first time original art buyer or for a collector that helps an artist with a first time sale.
Leave a bid and/or try again when the auction moves on line October 1-5. The highest September bid will be the beginning reserve for the online auction October 1 – 5, 2021.
Immediately followed by ONLINE AUCTION: October 1-5, 2021
Signs of the times – Covid 19 precautions and greater access have spurred the LIVE auction to move online. Visit www.sawyerfreelibrary.org October 1-5, 2021
Bonus- The art is framed and ready to take home and hang after the online auction concludes.
2021 participating ARTISTS | preview lots
Support our local artists and Friends of the Sawyer Free Library
Lot #, Artist Name, Title, Minimum opening bid
- Mary Rhinelander McCarl, Blue China Basket of Flowers, $100
- Katherine Coakley, Half Moon Beach, $200
- Ray Crane, Survivor (Paint Factory), $300
- Roy McCauley, Goin’ Fishing, $100
- Carole Loiacono, Gloucester Mooring, $150
- Fred Kepler, The Gardener, $100
- Nancy Alimansky, The Red Sail, $95
- Nancy Molvig, Wash Day in Farnesse, $250
- Mary Rhinelander, Eastern Point Lighthouse, $75
- Isabelle K. Brown, Schooner Thomas E. Lannon, $100
- Brenda Malloy, A Way Through, $50
- James G. Watson, Lynx and Adventure of Pavillion Beach, $100
- Jeff Weaver, Striper Fisherman, $400
- Karen Fitzgerald, Breezy Day, $75
- Marion Hall, Back Shore from Half Moon Beach, $100
- David P. Curtis, Summer Afternoon, $150
- Cynthia Asaro
- Charlotte Roberts, Morning – Little River, $100
- Ted Bidwell, Low Tide, $100
- Joy Halsted, America the Beautiful, $300
- Deanie Johnson, Autumn Marsh, $200
- Sandra Herdman, Hideaway Cove, $40
- Cynthia Dunaway, It’s Never Too Late, $200
- Patricia McCarthy, Our Lady of Good Voyage, $100
- Melissa Alibertie, Summer on the Annisquam River, $100
- Dina Gomery, The Red Barn, $200
- Pamela Burke, Good Harbor Sunrise, $40
- Sheila Farren Billings, Safe Harbor, $100
- Ann Mechen Ziergiebel, Dusk Ipswich Bay, $225
- Peter Tysver, Summer Sailing, $100
- Coco BeRkman, Dog Dog Dog, $80
- Susan W. Daly, Pink Sky, $100
- Jane Wolf, Wingaersheek Storm, $75
- Patricia Doran, Sunset in Magnolia, $1000
- Alyce Wherren, Sea and Shore, $95
- Michael Cangemi, The Shore, $95
- Susan M. Funk, Red Tractor, $150
- Michael DeCosimo, Autumn Leaves, $185
- Nancy Caplan, Morning Light, $195
- Jerry Ackerman, The Pantry Family, $120
- Linda Lea Bertrand, Pepperil Cove, $200
- Shirley Hamilton, Lanes Cove Shack, $300
- Anita Beloff, Becky’s Flowers, $90
- Lynda Goldberg, Sunflowers in Provence, $150
- Curtis Wilcox, After Life, $40
- Barbara Kremer, View from Plum Cove Beach, $175
- Phyllis Feld, Marsh Grasses, $100
- Jeffrey Marshall, Taking Inventory (Hiltz), $100
- Jessica “Jess” Semenaro, Rocks on Seaweed, $30
- Olga Hayes, Rudbeckia, $75
- James Formichella, Tokyo Racing, $70
- Daryl Jackson, Turbine, $30
- Ann Lafferty, Rip Tide, $125
- Roger Martin, Dig In, $100
NOTE NEW DAYS/HOURS at Sawyer Free Library: M-W 8-6; Th 10-7; F-S 10-5
Face masks required.
1. Noreen Hale, The Annisquam, oil
11. Paul George, Thomas Lannon, watercolor
16. Phyllis Kaplan, Resting, watercolor
20. Mary L. Crowningshield, Cottage Garden
24. Barbar Kremer, Little River,Gloucester, watercolor
28. Ann Mchem Ziergiebel, Art Class, watercolor
32. Lynda Goldberg, New Experiences, oil and mixed media
36. Marion Hall, Columbia Mayors Race, watercolor
40. David P. Curtis, Winds of Change, oil
44. Jude Abbe, Essex Shipyard, oil
48. Marny Williams, Epic Lighthouse, watercolor
52. Grace Frost, Anchor Lane, pastel
56. Lea Donovan Watson, Little Yellow Flowers, collage
60. Jerry Ackerman, Moody Blues, watercolor
Good Morning Gloucester 