# Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/antonio-nicolo-gasparo-jacobsen/ Profile generated: 2026-05-02T04:34:30.959Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1850-11-02 - Death date: 1921-02-02 - Nationality: Danish, American - Movements: American maritime painting - Common media: oil on canvas, watercolor ## About Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (1850–1921) was a Danish-born American painter widely regarded as one of the most prolific maritime artists in the United States. After emigrating from Copenhagen to New York City in the early 1870s, Jacobsen established a studio near the Hoboken, New Jersey waterfront and began documenting the steam vessels, sailing ships, and ocean liners that passed through New York Harbor. Over a fifty-year career he produced thousands of ship portraits, earning the nickname "Audubon of Steam Vessels." His subjects ranged from individual vessel commissions for captains and shipping companies to broader harbor scenes, with a particular emphasis on ships of the Holland-America Line. His work bridges the transition from sail to steam in American maritime history and is held in major museum and library collections. ## Common works and media Jacobsen is best known for oil-on-canvas ship portraits, typically depicting individual steam vessels, schooners, barks, and ocean liners in profile against open water or harbor settings. Watercolor works on paper also appear in the market, generally at lower price points than oils. Commissioners often requested portraits of specific vessels, so many paintings carry identifying inscriptions along the hull or in margins. Subjects include ships of the Holland-America Line, other transatlantic steamship companies, and American coastal sailing vessels. Smaller-format works and portraits of less-documented vessels are more commonly encountered, while large canvases of famous liners are rarer and more sought after. ## Market and appraisal context Antonio Jacobsen's work commands a deep and liquid secondary market. Appraisily auction records index 587 lots, of which 454 carry a realized price—spanning nearly three decades from November 1997 through March 2026. The price distribution is wide but well-clustered: the median is $8,000, with a 25th percentile at $5,000 and a 75th percentile at $14,640. The ceiling is $224,500, reflecting strong results for large canvases of historically significant vessels at major houses. The market is active and stable: 23 priced lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window and 25 in the prior 12 months, indicating consistent throughput. Eldred's accounts for the largest share of recent offerings, with Christie's and Bonhams contributing high-value lots. Guyette & Deeter, Roseberys, and Sandwich Auction House round out recent activity. The breadth of houses—ten or more regularly offering Jacobsen—signals broad collector demand across regional and international tiers. Oil on canvas is the dominant medium; works on board or cardboard generally transact at lower price points. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Antonio Jacobsen's work commands a deep and liquid secondary market. Appraisily auction records index 587 lots, of which 454 carry a realized price—spanning nearly three decades from November 1997 through March 2026. The price distribution is wide but well-clustered: the median is $8,000, with a 25th percentile at $5,000 and a 75th percentile at $14,640. The ceiling is $224,500, reflecting strong results for large canvases of historically significant vessels at major houses. The market is active and stable: 23 priced lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window and 25 in the prior 12 months, indicating consistent throughput. Eldred's accounts for the largest share of recent offerings, with Christie's and Bonhams contributing high-value lots. Guyette & Deeter, Roseberys, and Sandwich Auction House round out recent activity. The breadth of houses—ten or more regularly offering Jacobsen—signals broad collector demand across regional and international tiers. Oil on canvas is the dominant medium; works on board or cardboard generally transact at lower price points. ### Appraisal notes When Appraisily appraises a Jacobsen work, the auction-record index supplies a quantitative anchor: the artist's lot count, price percentiles, and recent comparable sales allow an appraiser to place the work within the observed distribution. The appraiser will then adjust for specific factors: (1) whether the depicted vessel is named and identifiable in the lot title or hull inscription—named vessels of well-known lines (Holland-America, White Star) tend to sell toward the upper quartile; (2) medium and support—oil on canvas commands a premium over oil on board or cardboard; (3) dimensions—larger canvases (22 × 36 in. and above) consistently outperform small-format works (10 × 16 in.); (4) condition—relining, overpainting, or surface damage can materially reduce value; (5) provenance—documentation tracing the work to a specific captain's commission or a recognized collection strengthens attribution and price; (6) signature and attribution verification against the Sniffen checklist. The appraiser will select comparable lots from the recent 24-month pool, adjust for currency (some UK and European house results are in GBP), and reconcile the auction-record range with gallery and private-sale context to produce a supported opinion of value. ### Valuation factors - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] - [object Object] ### Collector notes ### Market caveats - Jacobsen was exceptionally prolific—his output numbers in the thousands—so not every painting carries rarity value. Individual works must be assessed on their own merits rather than assumed to be scarce. - Some lots attributed to Jacobsen may be by followers or from his studio. Attribution should be verified against the published Sniffen checklist, and buyers should be cautious of unsigned or weakly attributed works. - The price distribution is wide ($280–$224,500). A single auction record is not a reliable indicator of value for any specific work; a qualified appraisal considers multiple comparable lots, condition, and provenance. - Some recent results are denominated in GBP (Roseberys, Bonhams London). Currency conversion and differing buyer's premiums affect comparability. - A few recent lots lack a realized price (passed or bought-in), indicating that not every offering finds a buyer at estimate. Reserve strategy matters. - The RKD records a birth-date range of 1850–1859; most authority files use 1850, but this residual uncertainty should be noted in formal provenance documentation. ### Market evidence sources - undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/antonio-nicolo-gasparo-jacobsen/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-antonio-nicolo-gasparo-jacobsen-1850-1921-c-k-buckley-oil-on-canvas22-560-c-5c344bfae8 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-antonio-nicolo-gasparo-jacobsen-new-york-new-jersey-denmark-1850-1921-portrait-of-the-steam-sail-vessel-new-jersey-oil-on-canvas-14-x-22-framed-16-75-x-24-75-3696-c-9f44d64903 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-antonio-nicolo-gasparo-jacobsen-1850-1921-oil-on-canvas-82-c-450a013a57 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-antonio-nicolo-gasparo-jacobsen-danish-1850-1921-the-german-tanker-helios-at-sea-217-c-bcfe34d08e - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-antonio-nicolo-gasparo-jacobsen-danish-1850-1921-the-german-tanker-helios-at-sea-217-c-bcfe34d08e ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from authority files and museum records with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Antonio Jacobsen, sources include the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), and Wikidata, supplemented by published checklist references. ## Sources - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2857310 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Jacobsen - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/23504599/ - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82259321 - RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/41395 - Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500015422