NEW MARKET, Tenn. – John W. Coker has announced he will auction a virtually unknown and highly important private collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterworks on Sept. 15. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.

The collection to be auctioned was amassed by Dr. Albert K. Chapman (1890-1984), who served as president and later chairman of the board of Eastman Kodak. After Dr. Chapman’s demise, the 65 artworks passed down through two further generations of the Chapman family. With the exception of a Mary Cassatt pastel that was exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in 1970, none of the artworks was ever publicly displayed after Dr. Chapman acquired them.

Begun in the 1930s, the collection includes paintings by Childe Hassam, Alfred Sisley, Pierre Bonnard and 30 other distinguished artists from the period 1870 to 1950.

“These are lost and forgotten treasures that are sure to excite the fine art community,” said auctioneer and company owner John W. Coker. “Very few people even knew Dr. Chapman’s collection existed. Most of his acquisitions were made prior to the 1960s, and once he purchased a painting, he did not want it out of his possession…Whenever a long-held collection of this level of quality comes to auction – which doesn’t happen very often – the interest is extremely high. The word has already gotten out in Europe about these paintings. We expect this to be a very exciting auction.”

Auction Central News will be running a full preview in advance of the Sept. 15 sale. For additional information, call 1-865-475-5163 or e-mail john@antiquesonline.com.

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