Description: Kids playing in the park

Provenance: From the estate of purchaser at Illustration House auction of November 1993.

Comment: I imagine that most of my readers will know plenty about Sarah Stilwell-Weber. I have to remind myself from time to time that having been an illustration junkie for something like 36 years, that not everyone is familiar with as many names as I am. SS-W was a student of Howard Pyle and friend to Pyle's youngest sister Katharine. Her work hasn't surfaced all that regularly and my suspicion is that most of it is in private or museum collections and is unlikely to ever be on the market. Here then is a golden opportunity. It's really not often that I use the word “exquisite,” (except perhaps when I'm poking fun at someone else). This though it beautifully presented. Seems to me if you were to go out and have a frame like this custom-made, it would cost you at least $1,000… All of that makes this artwork a bargain at the price

Price: $4,650 (+ $150 domestic shipping)