John Whorf (1903-1959), North Star at Dock

Lot 594

About Seller

20 Winter Street
Pembroke, MA 02359
United States

Founded in 2005, Copley Fine Art Auctions is a boutique auction house specializing in antique decoys and American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Over the course of the last two decades, the firm has set auction records for not only individual decoy makers, but also entire carving regions. Copley...Read more

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About Auction

The Winter Sale 2026, Day 2 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Winter Sale 2026, Day 2

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 21, 2026

Set Reminder 2026-02-21 10:00:00 2026-02-21 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2026, Day 2 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2026-day-2-22164 Lots 301-368 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

John Whorf (1903-1959)
North Star at Dock
signed "John Whorf" lower right
watercolor, 14 by 21 in.

Born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, John Whorf spent many years painting the seascapes around Provincetown, Massachusetts. As a young man, he studied in Boston at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and the St. Botolph Studio under Philip Leslie Hale (1865-1931) and Sherman Kidd (1877-1952). In 1919, after recovering from a paralyzing accident, Whorf traveled to Europe. He painted throughout France, Portugal, and Morocco, gradually shifting to painting watercolors as well as oils. Whorf held his first one-man show in 1921, and continued to hold them twice a year for the next thirty-five years.

Upon returning to America, Whorf continued his studies with famed American painter John Singer Sargent (1903-1959) in Boston. Whorf married Vivienne Wing in 1925 and fathered four children. He and his family lived in Brookline and spent summers in Provincetown until 1937 when they relocated permanently to the lower Cape. In 1938, Harvard College conferred on Whorf an Honorary Master of Fine Arts degree. His work is in major collections including the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In this work, the rigging of the sailboat creates dynamic angles throughout the painting, with an interplay of blues, greens, and browns. Whorf's confident, painterly brushstrokes add a liveliness to this working dock scene.

Condition

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Shipping Info
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