117 Tunnel Road
Asheville, NC 28805
United States
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Brunk Auctions has been conducting sales of fine and decorative arts for over 30 years. Auctions are held in our North Carolina sale room but attracts a global audience. Founded by Robert Brunk in 1983, the auctions became well known for their integrity and profes...Read more
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Mar 26, 2026
(German/America, 1820-1865)
View of Liberty, Virginia, 1855, signed and dated lower left, "Ed. Beyer 1855", oil on canvas, 26-1/4 x 58 in.; possibly original period faux painted wood frame, 33-1/2 x 65-1/4 x 3 in.
Provenance: Sara A. Buford, Bedford, Virginia; 1928, descended in the family of William W. and Edith W. Berry
1928. Will of Sarah A. Buford, Bedford, Virginia. 13 August 1928. “I wish …the paintingof Old Liberty …”
The heirs stated in the will are as follows: “Billy Berry (W.W. Berry, III) and his mother, Gladys Berry and Rosalie W. Smith (Rosalie W. Smith Moore), Sarah Buford’s niece .”The heirs did not sell the painting and subsequently it was put in Mrs. Moore’s home. William W. Berry, III was executor and sole beneficiary of Rosalie Moore and therefore the painting passed to William W. Berry, III (who was an original heir to Ms. Buford’s will). Mr. Berry, whose mother was Gladys Kelsey Berry resided with Rosalie Kelsey Moore. Ms. Moore, in her will, left her estate to W. W. Berry, III. The painting was moved to the private residence of W. W. Berry, III and Edith W. Berry. At Mr. Berry’s death in 1978 the painting passed to his widow, Edith W. Berry and remained in her home until approximately 1990. Her health was declining and with the possibility that she could not remain in her home her heirs made the decision that the painting should be moved to the home of her son, William W. Berry, IV. At that time Mr.
Berry and his wife had the painting appraised and restored before moving it to their home where it remained until it was turned over to Brunk Auctions in Ashville, North Carolina in 2026.
Note: Liberty, Virginia, was named in 1782 for the colonial victory over Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781. It is now the incorporated town of Bedford, Virginia.
Exhibited: Edward Beyer, Roanoke City Library and Fine Art Center, May 1974, catalog no. 4. The Roanoke City Library and Fine Arts Center is now the Taubman Museum of Art.
Literature: Edward Beyer’s Virginia, An Artist’s 1850s Travelogue, 2011, Historical Society of Western Virginia, No. 41
Sara A. Buford, Bedford, Virginia; 1928, descended in the family of William W. and Edith W. Berry
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