28

Charles Sheeler

1883-1965

Buggy in a Barn, Doylestown, Pennsylvania (Christmas card). 1915-17; printed 1928.

Sepia-toned silver print
With the printed inscription "Christmas Greetings, 1928, Katharine Sheeler, Charles Sheeler" on mount recto.
The image 3 3/8 x 4 3/4 in. (8.6 x 12.1 cm.), the mount 8 x 6 1/2 in. (20.3 x 16.5 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    Charles Sheeler to his friend Earl Horter, an American painter and collector of European Cubist paintings; Swann Galleries, sale 2531, lot 40, February 25th, 2020; to the Present Owner
  • Notes:
    Buggy in a Barn is among Sheeler's earliest photographs and was executed during the same period as his iconic images Side of the White Barn and Doylestown Interior, Bucks County (Open Window). Each of these formal studies has been dated alternatively 1915 and 1917. In this instance, however, Sheeler's photographic composition is more complex. Although the buggy is ostensibly the subject of the photograph, the framing devices and illusionistic, repetitive rectilinear forms in the foreground reflect the practice of a sophisticated artist at work. In 1932, Sheeler created a charcoal drawing from this image; the artwork is housed at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

    The image is reproduced in Charles W. Millard III, "Charles Sheeler, American Photographer," Contemporary Photographer, vol. 6, no. 1., 1968, n.p.
  • Condition: For condition reports, email Deborah Rogal at [email protected]

    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

    Condition reports and additional images are provided as a courtesy and should be used by you to aid in the formation of your own opinion regarding condition. All material is sold subject to Swann's standard Terms and Conditions of Sale as published in our catalogues and posted on our website, and include the following terms: (1) all property is sold "as-is"; and (2) works cannot be returned on the basis of condition.

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December 16, 2025 12:00 PM EST
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