What Painting By Henry R. Mighels Was Sold At The 1997 Auction?

In 1997, the Amesbury Auction House, located in Amesbury, Massachusetts, made known that an oil painting by Henry R. Mighels was to be sold at public auction on November 28, 1997. The selling gallery described the artwork as:  “important work” because of it’s age, folk art appeal, and subject matter depicting mining activities on the Feather River near Bidwell’s Bar.

The State of California helped organize a group of citizens to raise private funds to purchase the painting. It was estimated it would sell for about $25,000 and the group was able to raise $30,000 with the intent to display the painting in Chico’s Bidwell Mansion. The painting was sold to a New York gallery for $148,000. The author contacted Nancy Leek, a historian associated with the Chico Bidwell Mansion, to inquire if that group had additional information about the auction. In response, Leek referred to the 1999 book Rush for Riches by J. S. Holliday. On page 148-149 of the chapter Get-Ahead Years, a photograph of a painting by Mighels is shown with the notation it is the first time it had been published.

The announcement of the availability of a Mighels painting was notable. Certainly, the painting to be auctioned was not the one donated to the California State Library by Caroline Sexton. After Henry Mighels death in 1879, the family donated their collection of his paintings to the Nevada State Museum. Unfortunately, they were destroyed when a steam pipe broke in the basement room where they were stored.

Newspaper Accounts of Mighels Paintings in the area of Bidwell’s Bar

In 1856, Mighels opened a studio over Esquire Well’s Law office in Bidwell. Later that year, he raffled one of his mining views at Buckman’s Exchange. Another 1856 article in the Butte Record indicates he executed several excellent portrait paintings. Five newspaper accounts have been located that describe Mighels painting of mining activities. Four of the articles describe different locations, and one only provides a general reference.

Butte Record November 11, 1854

The Heading of our paper - was designed by our talented young friend Mighels. It is not designed to represent any particular fluming company, although the view resembles that seen from Rock Islands on looking up the river. The object was to give a general idea of river mining operation’s, without fixing upon any particular locality. We might have given a view of Bidwell, but since the fire it has not been in a condition to make a very good show, and we concluded the best plan would be to go at once to the source of our country’s greatness- the bed rock- and exhibit the modus oper andi of river mining. The engraving was done by Masers Anthony and Baker, San Francisco in the excellent style which distinguish the work of those gentlemen.

Butte Record  October 6, 1855

Our distinguished artistic friend, Harry (Henry) Mighels, Esq. is also in town, for the purpose of taking a few sketches of the magnificent mountain scenery surrounding Bidwell. He is at present engaged in painting the flume of the Feather River & Ophir Water Company’s Ditch, where it crosses the deep cut, immediately below Stringtown. The sublime grandeur of the scenery, and the distinguished talents of the artist, will make an invaluable picture. May it make his fortune.

Butte Record  April 5, 1856

Raffle Extraordinary

Mighels, the Artist will raffle one of his splendid mining views at Buckman’s Exchange*, this (Saturday) Evening. Be on hand everybody.   * Buckmn’s Exchange was a saloon in Bidwell.

 Butte Record November 12, 1856

Painting – We paid a visit a day or two since, to the studio of H. Mighels Esq., at Pratt’s Exchange*, where we had the pleasure of examining some of the finest sketches of California scenery, that it has ever been our lot to behold. Mr. M., although quite a young man, and without experience by teaching from a master hand, exhibits talents of a rare and high order in the branch of business he has selected to follow through life, and with a little cultivation will make himself a name and reputation that few can excel. He is at present engaged in perfecting a painting of Sailor (Union) Claim, one of most grand and sublime of his whole collection; and which, when completed, will be raffled off, presenting a fine opportunity to those who wish to give their Atlantic friends some idea, by a lifelike remembrance of the beautiful scenery in which the California miner passes his wild and rugged life.   * Pratt’s exchange was a saloon in Bidwell

Oroville Weekly Mercury  July 26, 1895

Valued Painting.

At R. M. Green’s drug store this morning we saw an old oil painting which represents a scene of early days near Bidwell Bar in this county. It is a representation of the old Gilman River Claim known in those days as the “ Montezuma Claim.” The painting is by that versatile genius, Harry(Henry) Mighels, and was given by him to Dr. William L. Wilson, at that time county physician. It is a true picture of the locality at that time and the method used for river mining in the early fifties. It is the work of an artist, and one who knew how to mix paint that would last. It is well worth a visit to see it, and its owner, Mr. W. L. Wilson, who has charge of Mr. Green’s drug store, will cheerfully show it to visitors.

The Montezuma Mining Claim was located about one-half mile below the junction of the Middle and North Forks of the Feather River. The claim started at the foot of the   "Junction Claim," and continued down to the head of the Rock Island Claim including eleven hundred feet of the bed of the main Feather River.

The Montezuma Company is making preparations to turn main Feather River. It is one of the heaviest companies on the river, having a capital stock of $70,000, divided into shares of $1,000 each. Butte Record  January 5, 1856

The Junction claim flume is 1,600 feet in length. The last stick of timber was laid in its place on Saturday. On the Rough and Ready and Ohio claims the flume is 1500 feet in length. The Montezuma claim, under the direction of Mr. Gilman, have the timbers laid for 700 feet, and are rapidly progressing with the balance of the claim. This amounts in the aggregate to 6,700 feet calling the Montezuma 2,000 feet, which is about its intended length, or one mile and a third. Oroville Daily Butte Record July 22, 1856 

The 1895 article identifies the Montezuma Claim painting was a gift from Mighels to Doctor Wilson. This article is from a different news source. The owner of the Oroville Weekly Mercury newspaper was Hart A. Downer. Downer was raised in Oroville and had just returned after an absence of twenty-four years. Previously he had been involved in the publication of the Contra Costa News. He had acquired control of the Oroville Weekly Mercury on July 12, 1895, from the prior publisher Mrs. E. B. Price.

The Mighels painting auctioned in 1997 identified the subject area as Bidwell’s Bar - 1854. It is unknown how general this location description should be understood. The major river diverting mining claims started in 1853 and reached a peak of activity in 1856-1857.  The Sailor, Union and Cove claims were active in 1853, and are described as “near” Bidwell’s Bar. The Pine Knot Mining Company constructed a 1,900 foot-long flume in the North fork in 1855. The White Rock Company was also active in river mining in the White Rocks area on the main Feather River in 1854.The river mining claims described in the newspaper in 1856 were located on the North Fork or below the junction of the Middle and North fork of the Feather River. That places them about two miles below the historic gold discovery site at Bidwell’s Bar.

I* learned that the White Rock Company were about effecting a new organization for the purpose of working their claim during the coming season. The gigantic race of the High Rock Company is nearly completed, and a new company has been incorporated under the name of Rock Island Company, for the purpose of fluming 450 yards of main Feather River, immediately above the Sailor, Union, and Cove Claims of last year. Butte Record February 25, 1854   * Editor Corsette

Artists occasionally take liberty in depicting elements in their paintings. This fact was mentioned by observers of the 1854 painting of the town of Bidwell purchased by Sexton. In that painting the size of the mountains were exaggerated. Considering this fact, the general shape and position of the mountains in the Holliday book image seem to fit the general mountain profile downriver from the gold discovery site at Bidwell’s Bar. However, based on the foregoing information, it is not possible to identify the specific river mining location depicted in the photograph of the Mighels painting shown in the book by Holliday

Searching For Additional Auction Information

The auction announcement and the later publication of a photo, did not include any information identifying, the owner of the painting prior to the auction, who purchased the artwork, or where the painting is now located. Also of interest would be the name and location of the river mining claim portrayed in the painting.

Mighels had a long and distinguished career in Nevada and the research hope was the State Museum might be a source of additional information. Their records contained an article from Antiques & Collecting magazine, February 1998, Vol.102, Issue 12, Page 8.

 John McInnis Auctioneers at the Amesbury Auction House, Amesbury, Mass., sold an important 19th-century California folk art painting, Bidwell's Bar , 1854, by H. R. Mighels, sold for $148,500. The scenic landscape was of a well-known gold claim belonging to John Bidwell (1819-1900), a noted California pioneer and statesman.

The last sentence of the magazine article is of questionable accuracy. River mining, as depicted in the painting, occurred in areas downriver from Bidwell’s Bar. Bidwell did some initial prospecting in these areas but it was not the site of his major gold discovery and mining activity. A trading post journal maintained by John Bidwell, while he was mining at Bidwell’s Bar, indicated he stopped mining in his namesake location in late 1849. During the early stages of the gold rush, claim ownership was established by the physical presence of the miner confirmed by respect of the other miners or by force by the miner!

In addition to this very important information Donnie Curtis, at the Nevada State Library, Special Collections also determined that the auction house was still in business and provided a link to the John McMinnis website. Donnie Curtis attached a copy of the auctioned photo posted on that site. The caption below the painting indicates it was sold at auction for $148,000; H. R. Mighels; California Folk Art Oil Painting, Landscape.

Based on this new information a request was sent to the Amesbury Auction House. If the request reached the proper location they chose not to provide additional information or respond. This was disappointing but not surprising. Often the individuals selling and purchasing valuable artwork wish to remain anonymous.

Folk history has developed suggesting the artwork was purchased by a New York Gallery for later resale or for an unnamed collector. A fortuitous decision to submit an online information request to the New York Museum resulted in a reply from the Frick Art Reference Library, providing a link to a digital collection containing one reference to a Mighels painting.  The file provides several new pieces of information and is interesting in several other aspects.

The image above is from the Frick Art Reference Library. The photo content is the same as posted on the Amesbury Auction House site and sold on November 28, 1997.

The caption associated with the above photo provides some interesting new information. First, it confirms Mighels was the creator of the artwork. Secondly, at four by five feet in size it is a very large painting. By comparison the painting Warren T. Sexton purchased in 1854, of the town of Bidwell at Bidwell’s Bar, and was eventually donated to the California State Library is 25 1/2 x 31 3/4 and framed measures 34 x 40 inches. Third, the photo is the one used by Holliday in his book Rush for Riches published in 1999.

A close examination of the image reveals some interesting additional details. In the lower left corner near the white museum number tag, a handwritten notation indicating the source of the photo is on catalog page 58 of the 1998 Los Angeles (Calif.) Antique Show! The Antique Show was the year following the auction. Therefore, it would have been the new unknown owner of the painting that permitted it to be displayed at the Antique Show. The new thread of information is interesting, generating many new questions. Was the artwork sold and to whom at what price? Where is the Mighels painting now located?

In 1999, a photo of the Mighels oil painting, was published in The Get-Ahead Years chapter of, Rush for Riches by J. S. Holliday. The book photo credits indicate permission to publish the image was obtained from the Hirschl & Adler Galleries (H&A) in New York. A Google search listed the Hirschl & Adler as one of the over one thousand art galleries in that city! One day after submitting an information request Eric Baumgartner, representing Hirschl & Adler Galleries, responded with a wealth of information! He provided a detailed six-page research paper documenting the outstanding attributes of the painting and the historical importance of the artwork. The research done by the Gallery also included personal profiles of John Bidwell, Henry Rust Mighels and Nathan Weston Spaulding, thought to be the original owner of the Mighels painting. These three individuals were most associated with the historical significance of the painting. The most significant data related to this author’s research is the personal information about Nathan Weston Spaulding. The H & A report contains this profile:

“Bidwell's Bar* was owned, until recently, by the Spaulding family of New Hampshire. One of their distinguished antecedents was Nathan Weston Spaulding, a carpenter and millwright who went west from his home in Maine and constructed the first quartz mill (to extract gold embedded in quartz rock) in California on the Mokelumne River. Spaulding was a gifted mechanic, the inventor of adjustable saw teeth and a log-measuring device, who later in his career served in numerous charitable and political positions, including being twice Mayor of Oakland and a trustee of Stanford University. The loving care with which Mighels painted the intricacies of the sluice mechanism suggest that perhaps the picture was originally intended for Spaulding, either as a commission or as a token of friendship.”

*Editor note: Bidwell Bar is the name assigned to the 1854, Mighels painting. However, the painting subject depicts a river mining operation on the Feather River in the general Bidwell’s Bar area.

This information related to Spaulding answers the previously unknown ownership of the painting and suggests a possible interest relationship between Mighels and Spaulding. Equally interesting is the Spaulding Family location in New Hampshire. In a separate communication Eric Baumgartner explained the Amesbury Auction House, located in Amesbury, Massachusetts, is near the border with New Hampshire; hence, John McInnis group won the auction consignment. This explanation resolves the curiosity of why the painting was initially offered for auction at an eastern location. 

Hirschl & Adler Galleries exhibited the painting once in California at the Los Angeles Antiques Show in 1998. In 2002, Eric Baumgartner sold the Mighels painting to a private collector to be displayed in a Colorado Rockies home.

 When J. S. Holliday saw the Mighels painting he was enamored with the painting’s first-person account of sluice-mining operations. The painting subject was an ideal illustration for his book. With the generous permission of H&A Galleries he dedicated a two-page photo spread in his book, Rush for Riches, showcasing the massive river mining operation and Mighels artistic skills. Publishing the photo has permitted a larger audience to view and appreciate the historical painting. The book photo credit also provided the link leading to this additional history about the Mighels painting.

The Hirschl & Adler Galleries granted permission to display the image in this venue. However, image size limitations do not permit seeing the incredible detail shown in the four by five foot size of the original painting.  Mighels had painted the Drop Curtains for the several mining community theaters in the early 1850’s. Therefore, the painting size did not present him with any special artistic challenge. It provided the opportunity to include great detail in the river mining operation and display his impressive painting talent. The previously referenced research paper by H&A details the professional evaluation of Mighels talent in this manner:

“Mighels' painting technique in Bidwell's Bar reflects a quintessentially American respect for fact and direct observation. A figure, who appears to be a foreman, supervises the aggregate figures digging with their miners' picks in the diverted riverbed. On the hillside to the right Mighels shows a woman and child, both relatively rare denizens of the overwhelmingly male miner's world, and indicative of the substantial nature of this mining site in that it has a domestic presence. An Indian in the foreground, his back to the viewer, watches the proceedings, accompanied by a child who sits on the edge of what appears to be a man-made ravine. The native California population, represented here by a member of the local Meechoopeda Tribe, saw their way of life destroyed by the mania for gold. John Bidwell initially employed Indians as laborers to collect his gold and likely also employed them as workers on his ranch. He and his wife were later actively involved in efforts to ameliorate the Indians' situation.

 Bidwell's Bar defies easy categorization. The canvas, initially striking because of its large size, is fascinating in its details upon close examination. While Mighels conveys the majesty and richness of the California landscape, the worked-over hillsides and river offer mute suggestion of the toll that the search for gold was exacting, both on depredations on the land, and, as indicated by the Indian observer, on the native population as well. Mighels lack of systematic artistic instruction is especially evident in his approach to issues of perspective and the delineation of human figures and animals. The canvas, then, has the honest appeal and super clarity of vision that are among the most appealing qualities of American folk painting, but Mighels is too accomplished a draftsman to fit comfortably into a folk or primitive niche. While the panorama at first seems to be primarily a landscape study, in fact the work truly celebrates the mechanical skill and American know-how reflected in the multi-part sluice mining device that spans the Feather River. Mighels' depiction of the gears and belts and pilings is so precisely realized that his drawing might well serve as a blueprint. But this canvas is no working drawing; rather it is an ode to the romance of American technology, a celebration of Yankee industry and ingenuity transforming the California frontier.”

Click on the photo below to enlarge the image. Enlargement of the photo will reveal some of the intricate detail described in the evaluation of the  Mighels painting by Hirschl & Adler Galleries.

The Mighels painting is one of three images known to this researcher depicting the Bidwell’s Bar area during the 1853 -1855 era. The other two items are a photograph of the Town of Bidwell and the Union House (hotel), which was located at Bidwell.  Other paintings or photographs may still exist in private collection or other locations. Finding such historic items is akin to a prospector discovering a golden nugget, hidden in a rock-crevice!  Both the prospector and researcher must keep searching.

        Mighels Oil Paintings                      Area Information                       Home Page