National News

Philadelphia Seminary to Auction Historic Portraits

April 9, 2014

by Lou Baldwin

This 1877 painting of Archbishop James Frederick Wood by Thomas Eakins is one of five portraits by the artist that will be sold by St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Funds from the sale, which is being handled by Christie’s in Manhattan, will go toward the costs of consolidation and renovation at the seminary.
This 1877 painting of Archbishop James Frederick Wood by Thomas Eakins is one of five portraits by the artist that will be sold by St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Funds from the sale, which is being handled by Christie’s in Manhattan, will go toward the costs of consolidation and renovation at the seminary.

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) – St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., announced it was placing five portraits painted by Thomas Eakins for sale through Christie’s Private Sales in New York.

Other pieces of art have also been placed for sale with other auction firms.

Funds from the sale of the paintings – first discussed in October – will go toward the seminary’s consolidation and renovation expenses. Additional funding is expected to come through a capital campaign and the sale of approximately 40 acres of the 75-acre campus.

“The seminary has long been a steward of these works, but it is the right time to seize an opportunity to do what is best for the artwork and for the seminary itself,” said Auxiliary Bishop Timothy C. Senior, seminary rector.

“We will keep many of the paintings in our collection but the core mission of the seminary is to form men for service in the priesthood. We are not a museum. Our hope is that as a result of this decision the Eakins paintings can find a home where they can be well cared for and viewed widely by people from across the country. What we are doing is consistent with our overall efforts to re-energize the seminary and focus on its mission while building for the future.”

The Eakins paintings the seminary plans to sell include “Archbishop James Frederick Wood” (1877); “Reverend James P. Turner” (1900); “The Right Reverend James F. Loughlin” and “Dr. Patrick Garvey” (1902); and “James A. Flaherty” (1903).

Other than the Archbishop Wood and Flaherty portraits, the Eakins subjects were faculty members of St. Charles Seminary. Although the Philadelphia-born Eakins was not Catholic, during the first part of the 20th century he and a Catholic friend, Samuel Murray, would bicycle on Sundays to the seminary to attend vespers.