Island Light: Celebrating Nantucket Artists at Auction

Nantucket has long been a magnet for artists drawn to its shifting light, weathered architecture, and deep maritime history. From early 20th-century painters who captured the island’s working harbor to contemporary artists reinterpreting its coastline today, Nantucket continues to inspire a rich and evolving artistic legacy. In Osona Auctions’ upcoming sale on Bidsquare, collectors have the opportunity to acquire works by four artists closely tied to the island’s creative story: Polly Bushong, Joan Albaugh, Lucien van Vyve, and Meghan C. Weeks. Each painting offers a distinct lens on Nantucket, its charm, its atmosphere, and its enduring sense of place.

Featured Auction Highlights: 

Polly Bushong Oil on Panel "A Day at the Circus"
Polly Bushong was an active presence in Nantucket’s art community during the 1950s and 1960s, and her work reflects the spirited energy of mid-century island life. While many artists focused on the harbor or windswept dunes, Bushong often explored scenes of leisure and gathering, capturing moments of joy with expressive brushwork and vibrant color.
A Day at the Circus is a lively oil on panel that radiates movement and atmosphere. Rather than meticulously detailing every figure, Bushong evokes the experience, the swirl of performers, the hum of the crowd, and the fleeting magic of spectacle. Her painterly approach feels spontaneous, inviting viewers into the scene rather than positioning them as distant observers.

Collectors drawn to mid-century American painting and works that celebrate community life will appreciate the emotional immediacy of this piece. It is both a charming narrative and a snapshot of an era when Nantucket’s cultural identity was expanding beyond its maritime roots into a broader creative renaissance.

Lot 71
Estimate: $400 - $600
Winter Online Auction
Rafael Osona Auctions
February 28, 2026

Joan Albaugh Oil on Artist Board "Morning Light"
Few subjects define Nantucket painting more than light, and Joan Albaugh has built a career around capturing it. Known for her refined interiors and luminous coastal scenes, Albaugh’s work distills the quiet poetry of everyday spaces.
In Morning Light, sunlight becomes the central protagonist. Whether filtering through a window or grazing a wall, light transforms the composition into something intimate and contemplative. Albaugh’s palette is soft yet confident, with layered brushstrokes that suggest warmth and calm rather than strict realism.
Her work resonates strongly with collectors seeking paintings that feel livable—pieces that complement interiors while still holding artistic depth. Albaugh’s connection to Nantucket is not merely geographic but atmospheric. She translates the island’s distinct coastal brightness into compositions that feel timeless and serene.

Lot 78
Estimate: $1,500 - $2,000
Winter Online Auction
Rafael Osona Auctions
February 28, 2026

Lucien van Vyve Oil On Canvas "Table Top Ocean View"
Belgian-born Lucien van Vyve brought European training and Impressionist sensibility to his American coastal subjects, but his artistic life was only part of the story. In addition to painting, van Vyve was also a successful restaurateur, owning and operating restaurants in both Europe and the United States. That background in hospitality adds a fascinating layer to Table Top, Ocean View.
Knowing van Vyve’s experience in the restaurant world makes the still life feel intentional rather than incidental. He understood the art of atmosphere, how light interacts with glassware, how a table setting frames an experience, how gathering spaces are composed as carefully as paintings. The tabletop here reads almost like a stage set for hospitality, while the ocean view provides the dramatic backdrop.

Lot 68
Estimate: $400 - $600
Winter Online Auction
Rafael Osona Auctions
February 28, 2026

Meghan C. Weeks Oil on Canvas "Coast Guard Station, Brant Point", circa 2014 
Bringing the story into the present, Meghan C. Weeks represents a contemporary continuation of Nantucket’s plein air and maritime traditions. Her oil on canvas depicting the Coast Guard Station at Brant Point (circa 2014) focuses on one of the island’s most recognizable landmarks.
Weeks approaches the scene with clarity and reverence. Architectural forms are crisp yet softened by natural light, and the surrounding coastal environment feels immediate and real. The painting balances realism with atmosphere, capturing both the structure’s historic importance and its everyday presence along the shoreline.
As interest in contemporary regional artists continues to grow, Weeks’ work offers collectors an opportunity to acquire a modern interpretation of an iconic Nantucket subject. It connects past and present, an enduring landmark seen through a 21st-century painter’s eye.

Lot 369
Estimate: $300 - $500
Winter Online Auction
Rafael Osona Auctions
February 28, 2026

Together, these four works trace a compelling arc of Nantucket art, from mid-century community scenes to contemporary coastal realism. Bushong captures the island’s social vitality, Albaugh distills its quiet interiors and luminous light, van Vyve merges European Impressionism with maritime subject matter, and Weeks reaffirms the power of place in the present day.

For collectors, this upcoming Osona Auctions sale is more than an opportunity to acquire beautiful paintings, it is a chance to participate in Nantucket’s ongoing artistic narrative. Each piece reflects a different chapter of the island’s visual history, united by a shared devotion to light, atmosphere, and coastal life.

See the full auction catalog and register to bid on Bidsquare.com.