BEVERLY — "Beverly, Massachusetts" is up for auction today. Expected selling price: $350,000 to $500,000.
No, it's not a desperate attempt to solve the city's financial problems. "Beverly, Massachusetts" is the title of a painting that goes on sale today at Christie's, the famous New York City auction house.
The painting was done in 1871 by John Frederick Kensett, who was considered a "master of landscape painting," according to Christie's Web site. Kensett was born in Connecticut and painted several scenes along the Massachusetts coastline.
"Beverly, Massachusetts" is one of 130 paintings in today's auction, which is called "Important American Paintings, Drawings & Sculptures." The 18th- and 19th-century works are expected to sell for anywhere from $10,000 to $7 million apiece, and the entire auction could raise as much as $65 million, according to Christie's.
Christie's spokesman Rik Pike said he could not disclose who owns the "Beverly, Massachusetts" painting. The current owner purchased it from the Berry-Hill Galleries in New York, he said.
Kensett also painted "On the Beverly Coast, Massachusetts" in 1863, depicting the same hillside as in "Beverly, Massachusetts" but from a slightly different vantage point, according to Christie's. The other Beverly painting is in a private collection.
Kensett, who lived from 1816 to 1872, often painted calm bodies of water that "convey tranquility and suggest a larger spiritual element in the world around us," according to the Christie's Web site.
"'Beverly, Massachusetts' is no exception," it said. " ... The artist carefully developed the atmosphere to provide the painting with a spiritual feeling — indicating that Beverly, Mass., is a location that he admired."
Pike said the auction should end by 1 p.m. today.
