Samuel M. Shaver Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Samuel M. Shaver Art Value Price Guide

Jul. 06, 2024
Samuel Shaver, O/C Portrait of Frances Rogers Walker, TN
Est: $4,400 - $4,800
Samuel Shaver (Tennessee, 1816-1878) oil on canvas portrait of Frances Grantham Rogers Walker of Rogersville, Tennessee (1795-1883/85; wife of Hugh Kelso Walker). Mrs. Walker is depicted seated in a chair before a drape with a detailed, mountain and river landscape, likely Hawkins County, TN, visible beyond. To her right is a vase of flowers and a bowl of fruit, and her left hand rests on a book. She is attired in a black dress with lace cap, neck covering, and black brooch. Housed in a simple wood frame. Sight: 42" H x 32 1/4" W Framed: 43 1/4" H x 33 1/4" W. Literature: Prentiss Price, "Samuel Shaver: Portrait Painter." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications no. 24 (1952), 105. Biography of the sitter: Frances Rogers Gaines Walker was born in Rogersville, TN in 1795. She was the daughter of Joseph and Mary Amis Rogers, early residents and founders of Rogersville. She was briefly married to James Taylor Gaines from 1816-1821 and married Hugh Kelso Walker in 1830. They had four children together. Artist Biography: Portraitist Samuel M. Shaver was born in Sullivan County, the son of David Shaver and Catherine (Barringer) Shaver. He may have been influenced by William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a native-born Tennessee artist, four years Shaver’s senior, who did portraits of Shaver’s relatives. Shaver’s earliest known painting dates to 1845, but he was probably painting before that time. For the next quarter-century, he was East Tennessee’s standard portraitist. In 1851 Shaver was a professor of drawing and painting at the Odd Fellows Female Institute in Rogersville. In 1852 he advertised in Greeneville and Knoxville papers; for several years thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. The death of his first wife in January 1856 recalled him to Rogersville, where he remained until the Civil War. At the outset of the war, Shaver moved to Knoxville, where he became one of the founders of the East Tennessee Art Association. From 1863 to 1868 Shaver lived and worked near Russellville. About 1868 he joined his mother-in-law and family in Jerseyville, Illinois, near St. Louis, where he continued painting. He died June 21, 1878. Source: James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society) PROVENANCE: By direct descent through the Rogers and Walker families; see other related lots from this historic family in this auction.
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Jul. 06, 2024
Samuel Shaver, O/C Portrait of Dr. Hugh Kelso Walker, TN
Est: $4,400 - $4,800
Samuel Shaver (Tennessee, 1816-1878) oil on canvas portrait of Dr. Hugh Kelso Walker (1802-1866) of Rogersville, Tennessee. The subject is depicted sitting in an armchair and attired in a black suit before a partially open window which overlooks a mountain and river landscape, presumably Hawkins County, TN, with a desk with books and documents visible to the left. Housed in a simple wood frame. Sight: 42" H x 32 1/4" W Framed: 43 1/4" H x 33 1/4" W. Literature: Prentiss Price, "Samuel Shaver: Portrait Painter." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications no. 24 (1952), 105. Biography of the sitter: Dr. Hugh Kelso Walker was born in 1802 in Rockbridge County, Virginia, and was the son of John Walker and Margaret Kelso. In 1830, he married Frances Grantham Rogers, daughter of Joseph and Mary Amis Rogers, early residents and founders of Rogersville, TN. Artist Biography: Portraitist Samuel M. Shaver was born in Sullivan County, the son of David Shaver and Catherine (Barringer) Shaver. He may have been influenced by William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a native-born Tennessee artist, four years Shaver’s senior, who did portraits of Shaver’s relatives. Shaver’s earliest known painting dates to 1845, but he was probably painting before that time. For the next quarter-century, he was East Tennessee’s standard portraitist. In 1851 Shaver was a professor of drawing and painting at the Odd Fellows Female Institute in Rogersville. In 1852 he advertised in Greeneville and Knoxville papers; for several years thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. The death of his first wife in January 1856 recalled him to Rogersville, where he remained until the Civil War. At the outset of the war, Shaver moved to Knoxville, where he became one of the founders of the East Tennessee Art Association. From 1863 to 1868 Shaver lived and worked near Russellville. About 1868 he joined his mother-in-law and family in Jerseyville, Illinois, near St. Louis, where he continued painting. He died June 21, 1878. (Source: James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society). PROVENANCE: By direct descent through the Rogers and Walker families. See other related lots from this historic family, also in this auction.
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Jul. 24, 2021
Samuel Shaver O/C Portrait Painting, Winifred Berry Benson
Est: $1,800 - $2,200
Samuel Shaver (Tennessee, 1816-1878) portrait of Winifred Berry Benson of Culpeper, VA, oil on canvas, laid on board. The subject is depicted seated in a red chair wearing a dark dress with a white lace collar and matching cap, hands crossed in her lap and gold spectacles on her head. Housed in a carved gilt wood frame with an oval opening and beaded edge with stenciled spandrels. Includes Easter greeting cruciform card from the sitter or a relative. Sight: 29 1/2" H x 24" W. Framed: 36 3/4" H x 31 1/4" W. Biography of the sitter: Winifred Berry Benson was the daughter of James Benson and Dulcibella Berry. She married Captain James Richards (1774-1844), of Culpeper County, Virginia, circa 1799. They had seven children, including Harriet Somerville Richards, born March 12, 1820 at Culpeper County, VA, who married Philip Smith Hale, son of George Hale and Margaret Hamilton, on September 3, 1846 at Culpeper County, VA, and had ten children. Harriet appeared on the census of June 24, 1880 at Rogersville, Hawkins County, Tennessee, USA, as a widow. Harriet died on January 24, 1908 at Rogersville, Hawkins County, Tennessee, at age 87. She was buried Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Rogersville, Hawkins County, TN. (source: http://pembertonfamily.com/history/koplend/richards001.htm). Artist Biography (Courtesy of James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society): Portraitist Samuel M. Shaver was born in Sullivan County, the son of David Shaver and Catherine (Barringer) Shaver. He may have been influenced by William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a native-born Tennessee artist, four years Shaver's senior, who did portraits of Shaver's relatives. Shaver's earliest known painting dates to 1845, but he was probably painting before that time. For the next quarter-century, he was East Tennessee's standard portraitist. In 1851 Shaver was professor of drawing and painting at the Odd Fellows Female Institute in Rogersville. In 1852 he advertised in Greeneville and Knoxville papers; for several years thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. The death of his first wife in January 1856 recalled him to Rogersville, where he remained until the Civil War. At the outset of the war, pro-Confederate Shaver moved to Knoxville, where he became one of the founders of the East Tennessee Art Association. The association commissioned him to do portraits of fifteen Confederate leaders and generals, presumably from photographs. None of the portraits have been located, and perhaps they were never painted. From 1863 to 1868 Shaver lived and worked near Russellville. About 1868 he joined his mother-in-law and family in Jerseyville, Illinois, near St. Louis, where he continued painting. He died June 21, 1878. Provenance: The Estate of Alice Wright Summers Hale, Rogersville, TN.
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Jul. 11, 2020
Samuel Shaver, Pair of East TN Portraits
Est: $800 - $1,000
Attributed to Samuel Shaver (Tennessee, 1816-1878), pair of oval East Tennessee companion paintings depicting a husband and wife. Oil on canvas laid on paperboard. Male subject is seated and wearing a black suit with gold spectacles and a long beard, the female is seated in a red chair wearing a black dress with a lace collar and red floral brooch and upswept hair. Partially legible pencil writing en verso of cardboard of female portrait reads " Ms. Joseph Ward/Word, Gr. Grandmother of Elizabeth ---- Fible?, June ----- -----". Both housed in matching pierced gilt frames. Sight - 23 1/4" H x 19 1/4" W. Framed - 27 1/2" H x 23 3/8" W. Mid-19th century. Provenance: Found in Knoxville, TN estate. Biography (by James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society): "Portraitist Samuel M. Shaver was born in Sullivan County, the son of David Shaver and Catherine (Barringer) Shaver. He may have been influenced by William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a native-born Tennessee artist, four years Shaver's senior, who did portraits of Shaver's relatives. Shaver's earliest known painting dates to 1845, but he was probably painting before that time. For the next quarter-century, he was East Tennessee's standard portraitist. In 1851 Shaver was professor of drawing and painting at the Odd Fellows Female Institute in Rogersville. In 1852 he advertised in Greeneville and Knoxville papers; for several years thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. The death of his first wife in January 1856 recalled him to Rogersville, where he remained until the Civil War. At the outset of the war, pro-Confederate Shaver moved to Knoxville, where he became one of the founders of the East Tennessee Art Association. The association commissioned him to do portraits of fifteen Confederate leaders and generals, presumably from photographs. None of the portraits have been located, and perhaps they were never painted. From 1863 to 1868 Shaver lived and worked near Russellville. About 1868 he joined his mother-in-law and family in Jerseyville, Illinois, near St. Louis, where he continued painting. He died June 21, 1878."
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Dec. 08, 2019
Samuel M. Shaver (American/Tennessee, 1816-1878), "Portrait of Everett M. Walker (1858-1859) and Mary E. (Lillian) Walker (1859-1938)"
Est: $5,000 - $8,000
Samuel M. Shaver (American/Tennessee, 1816-1878) "Portrait of Everett Maxwell Walker (1858-1859) and Mary E. (Lillian) Walker (1854-1938)", ca. 1859 oil on canvas unsigned, handwritten inscription identifying sitters en verso of stretcher. Framed. 40" x 30", framed 47" x 37" Literature: Caldwell, Jr., Benjamin H., Robert Hicks and Mark W. Scala, Art of Tennessee, Nashville: First Center of the Visual Arts, exhibition catalogue, 2003. Notes: Everett Maxwell (1858-1859) and Mary E. (Lillian) Walker (1854-1894) were children of Dora Pearson Moses and Joseph Hardin Walker of Knox County, Tennessee. Mary E. (Lillian) married Rufus Phillips Williams (1851-1911) in 1894 and eventually moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where her mother, Dora, had settled. Everett tragically passed away of pneumonia shortly after the group portrait of him and his sister was painted. The Tennessee portrait artist Samuel M. Shaver favored the playful device of the child with one bare foot. In this portrait, Everett has taken off his sock and shoe for the duration of having his portrait painted. The children are seated outdoors amidst the Eastern Tennessee landscape.
New Orleans Auction Galleries
Dec. 08, 2019
Samuel M. Shaver (American/Tennessee, 1816-1878), "Portrait of Edward Walton Walker (1850-1887)"
Est: $4,000 - $7,000
Samuel M. Shaver (American/Tennessee, 1816-1878) "Portrait of Edward Walton Walker (1850-1887)", ca. 1859 oil on canvas unsigned. Framed. 40" x 30", framed 47" x 37" Literature: Caldwell, Jr., Benjamin H., Robert Hicks and Mark W. Scala, Art of Tennessee, Nashville: First Center of the Visual Arts, exhibition catalogue, 2003. Notes: Edward Walton Walker (1850-1887) was the oldest child of Dora Pearson Moses and Joseph Hardin Walker of Knox County, Tennessee. An avid sportsman, Edward is seated with his rifle across his lap and recent catch at this feet, set in the Eastern Tennessee landscape of his childhood. He became a realtor in Birmingham, Alabama and did not marry. Little is known about the art training of the Tennessee portraitist Samuel M. Shaver. A talented artist, Shaver's distinctive style of portraiture and appreciation of landscape of his native Tennessee were revealed in this handsome portrait of Edward.
New Orleans Auction Galleries
Dec. 08, 2019
Samuel M. Shaver (American/Tennessee, 1816-1878), "Portrait of Joseph Hardin Walker (1821-1866)"
Est: $4,000 - $7,000
Samuel M. Shaver (American/Tennessee, 1816-1878) "Portrait of Joseph Hardin Walker (1821-1866)", ca. 1859 oil on canvas unsigned, a handwritten inscription identifying sitter en verso of stretcher. Framed. 40" x 30", framed 47" x 37" Literature: Caldwell, Jr., Benjamin H., Robert Hicks and Mark W. Scala, Art of Tennessee, Nashville: First Center of the Visual Arts, exhibition catalogue, 2003. Notes: The eldest child of Elizabeth Gallagher and Reuben Walker, Jr., Joseph Hardin Walker was born in Hardin Valley, Knox County, Tennessee on December 4, 1821. Walker studied at East Tennessee University, served as a trustee of the Deaf and Dumb School for many years, and appointed trustee of East Tennessee University in 1854. A successful merchant, he was the proprietor of Walker, O'Keefe & Co., "wholesale and retail dealers of dry goods, clothing, boots, shoes, etc." in Knox County. On his birthday in 1849, Walker married Dora Pearson Moses (1826-1910), the daughter of Mary Pearson and John Moses of Exeter, New Hampshire. Joseph Hardin and Dora Pearson Walker had three sons and one daughter, Edward Walton Walker (1850-1887), Mary E. (Lillian) Walker (1854-1938), Everett Maxwell Walker (1858-1859) and Frank Hardin Walker (1861-1905). The Civil War divided the Walker family. "When the city was besieged by the northern army", Dora took her three surviving children and returned north to Exeter, New Hampshire, while her husband's Confederate sympathies kept him in Tennessee. Joseph Hardin Walker died in New York City shortly after the end of the Civil War. For more than twenty years, Samuel M. Shaver was among the leading portraitists working in antebellum Tennessee. Shaver was the son of David and Catherine Barringer Shaver of Sullivan County, Tennessee. In 1845, he married Mary Hannah Elizabeth Powell (1825-1856) in Robertsville, Tennessee and the couple had two children. Prior to the Civil War, Shaver earned portrait commissions throughout Eastern Tennessee and taught at the Odd Fellows' Female Institute in Rogersville, Tennessee in 1851. When the Civil War broke out, as a supporter of the Confederacy, Shaver moved to Knoxville where he helped to found the East Tennessee Art Association and was commissioned to paint portraits of fifteen prominent Confederate leaders.
New Orleans Auction Galleries
Jul. 14, 2018
Pair of Samuel Shaver Portraits
Est: $4,000 - $4,400
Samuel Shaver (Tennessee, 1816-1878), pair of oil on canvas three-quarter portrait paintings depicting a gentleman and wife, possibly Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Sarah Smith, originally of Tennessee. Gentleman is depicted in profile seated and attired in a black suit with a flower on his lapel and writing on a document. Lady is depicted facing the viewer and seated in a red chair, attired in a dark dress with a lace bonnet and collar. She has flower in her hair, a brooch at neckline, and is holding a book. Pencil inscription en verso reads "Mrs. Robert (E.?) Smith". Both are housed in molded wood frames. Sight - 29 1/2" H x 24" W. Framed - 37 1/4" H x 32 1/4" W. Note: Genealogy research shows a Robert Smith, born 1817 in Tennessee, who was living and working as a practicing physician in Jersey, Illinois in 1860, about the same time Shaver lived there. There is also a record of a Robert M. Smith marrying a Sarah M. Lurton in Jersey, Illinois in 1858. A separate record shows a Sarah Lurton born in Tennessee in 1820 but also living in Jersey, Illinois in 1860. Artist's Biography (by James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society): Portraitist Samuel M. Shaver was born in Sullivan County, the son of David Shaver and Catherine (Barringer) Shaver. He may have been influenced by William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a native-born Tennessee artist, four years Shaver's senior, who did portraits of Shaver's relatives. Shaver's earliest known painting dates to 1845, but he was probably painting before that time. For the next quarter-century, he was East Tennessee's standard portraitist. In 1851 Shaver was professor of drawing and painting at the Odd Fellows Female Institute in Rogersville. In 1852 he advertised in Greeneville and Knoxville papers; for several years thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. The death of his first wife in January 1856 recalled him to Rogersville, where he remained until the Civil War. At the outset of the war, pro-Confederate Shaver moved to Knoxville, where he became one of the founders of the East Tennessee Art Association. The association commissioned him to do portraits of fifteen Confederate leaders and generals, presumably from photographs. None of the portraits have been located, and perhaps they were never painted. From 1863 to 1868 Shaver lived and worked near Russellville. About 1868 he joined his mother-in-law and family in Jerseyville, Illinois, near St. Louis, where he continued painting. He died June 21, 1878. (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com.)
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Jan. 27, 2018
Samuel Shaver Portrait of a Gentleman, poss. Franklin Pierce
Est: $2,200 - $2,400
Oil on canvas three-quarter portrait of a gentleman by Samuel Shaver (Tennessee, 1816-1878). Depicting a gentleman with blue eyes and gray hair at his temples, seated in a red chair and attired in 19th century clothing . Oral tradition states the sitter was a member of the McWhorter family, early prominent settlers in Knox County, TN, however, the sitter bears a resemblance to President Franklin Pierce (1804-1869, President 1853-1857). Sight - 35 1/2" H x 28 1/2"W. Framed - 39" H x 32" W. Mid 19th century. Provenance: Private Knox County, TN collection. Biography (by James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society): "Portraitist Samuel M. Shaver was born in Sullivan County, the son of David Shaver and Catherine (Barringer) Shaver. He may have been influenced by William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a native-born Tennessee artist, four years Shaver's senior, who did portraits of Shaver's relatives. Shaver's earliest known painting dates to 1845, but he was probably painting before that time. For the next quarter-century, he was East Tennessee's standard portraitist. In 1851 Shaver was professor of drawing and painting at the Odd Fellows Female Institute in Rogersville. In 1852 he advertised in Greeneville and Knoxville papers; for several years thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. The death of his first wife in January 1856 recalled him to Rogersville, where he remained until the Civil War. At the outset of the war, pro-Confederate Shaver moved to Knoxville, where he became one of the founders of the East Tennessee Art Association. The association commissioned him to do portraits of fifteen Confederate leaders and generals, presumably from photographs. None of the portraits have been located, and perhaps they were never painted. From 1863 to 1868 Shaver lived and worked near Russellville. About 1868 he joined his mother-in-law and family in Jerseyville, Illinois, near St. Louis, where he continued painting. He died June 21, 1878"(Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com.)
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Sep. 24, 2011
Samuel M. Shaver
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
(Tennessee, 1816-1878), Mary Jones Nelson, with Her Daughter, Elizabeth, circa 1858, unsigned, oil on canvas, 77-1/4 x 45-1/8 in.; 20th century painted wood frame, restretched, lined, retouch scattered throughout including her cheek, drapery and dress, crackle, cupping, minor flaking, abrasions, overcleaning; frame with abrasions Provenance: Private Collection, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee Reserve: $5,000 Mary Jones (1826-1901) was the second wife of Thomas Amis Rogers (T.A.R.) Nelson (1812-1873). A prominent individual in Eastern Tennessee, T.A.R. Nelson was an attorney, congressman, Supreme Court Judge, anti-secessionist, and Andrew Johnson's choice for his defense team during Johnson's impeachment trial. The painting reflects the mature style of Shaver with the use of draperies, architectural elements and a landscape. Executed in 1858, this portrait and a companion portrait of T.A.R. Nelson have been held by descendants of the sitters. A portrait of Nelson's first wife, Anne Elizabeth, and her six children is held by the Tennessee State Museum. See Budd H. Bishop, "Three Tennessee Painters: Samuel M. Shaver, Washington B. Cooper, and James Cameron", [The Magazine Antiques,] (September, 1971), pp. 432, for an illustration of the portrait "Thomas Amis Rogers Nelson", and for mention of a companion portrait of Mrs. Nelson and baby Elizabeth (born 1858).
Brunk Auctions
Nov. 13, 2010
Samuel Shaver (Tennessee, 1816-1878), Andrew
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Samuel Shaver (Tennessee, 1816-1878), Andrew Johnson, oil on canvas, circa 1856, prior to the presidency, unsigned, 30 x 25 in., original 19th century gilt wood frame, original stretcher and tacking edge, 1/8 in. to 1/4 in. tears upper right, crackle, abrasions from frame and spandrel, indentation at right, frame resurfaced Private Collection, Athens, Tennessee
Brunk Auctions
Oct. 16, 2010
Samuel Shaver Portrait of Young Girl
Est: $4,500 - $5,500
East Tennessee child portrait of a young girl in dress by Samuel Shaver (TN, 1816-1878). Subject is seated next to an architectural scrolled ornament with red drape revealing a mountain landscape. Oil on canvas, laid down on board. Conserved in May 2007 by Cumberland Art Conservation in Nashville, TN. Minor touch up to hair and other scattered areas (a black light photo is included and conservation report available upon request). Sight - 27 1/4" H x 23 3/8" W. Framed - 32 1/2" H x 28 1/4" W. Provenance - Virginia Caldwell estate of the Old Deery Inn, Blountville, TN. Biography of the artist - (Courtesy of James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society): Portraitist Samuel M. Shaver was born in Sullivan County, the son of David Shaver and Catherine (Barringer) Shaver. He may have been influenced by William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a native-born Tennessee artist, four years Shaver's senior, who did portraits of Shaver's relatives. Shaver's earliest known painting dates to 1845, but he was probably painting before that time. For the next quarter-century, he was East Tennessee's standard portraitist. In 1851 Shaver was professor of drawing and painting at the Odd Fellows Female Institute in Rogersville. In 1852 he advertised in Greeneville and Knoxville papers; for several years thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. The death of his first wife in January 1856 recalled him to Rogersville, where he remained until the Civil War. At the outset of the war, pro-Confederate Shaver moved to Knoxville, where he became one of the founders of the East Tennessee Art Association. The association commissioned him to do portraits of fifteen Confederate leaders and generals, presumably from photographs. None of the portraits have been located, and perhaps they were never painted. From 1863 to 1868 Shaver lived and worked near Russellville. About 1868 he joined his mother-in-law and family in Jerseyville, Illinois, near St. Louis, where he continued painting. He died June 21, 1878.
Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals
Mar. 15, 2008
Portrait of David Shaver, by Samuel Shaver
Est: $1,000 - $1,200
Tennessee ca 1835 oil on canvas unsigned 26.75" x 23.5" David Shaver, Esq., built a log home in 1808 on his 300-acre plantation in Kingsport, Tenn., later the residence of Samuel B. Stuffle. Shaver's brother, Michael, was a Tennessee silversmith and his son, Samuel, was a portrait painter.
Cowan's Auctions