# Frederick Machetanz artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/frederick-machetanz/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T10:30:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Death date: 2002-10-06
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Alaskan regional art
- Common media: oil painting, stone lithography, illustration

## About Frederick Machetanz

Frederick (Fred) Machetanz (1908–2002) was an American painter, printmaker, and illustrator celebrated for his vivid depictions of Alaskan life, landscapes, and wildlife. Born in Kenton, Ohio, he first traveled to the Alaska Territory in 1935 to visit his uncle's trading post in Unalakleet, where he spent two years building a portfolio of northern scenes. After working as an illustrator in New York and serving as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II—assigned to intelligence in the Aleutian Islands—he studied lithography at the Art Students League under Will Barnet. Machetanz returned to Alaska in 1946 and devoted his career to painting and printmaking there. His stone lithographs, catalogued in a 1981 volume documenting fifty editions, are a significant part of his legacy. Collectors encounter Machetanz's work primarily through regional Alaskan galleries and auction houses specializing in Western and Alaskan art.

## Common works and media

Machetanz is best known for original oil paintings depicting Alaskan wildlife, sled dogs, Native Alaskan communities, and expansive arctic landscapes. He also produced a substantial body of stone lithograph prints—fifty of which are catalogued in a dedicated 1981 reference volume—making his print work among the most traceable in Alaskan regional art. Earlier in his career he worked as a commercial illustrator in New York, and illustrated children's books such as Panuck, Eskimo Sled Dog (1939). Collectors may encounter paintings on canvas or board, lithographic prints, and published book illustrations.

## Market and appraisal context

Machetanz's work appears at auction mainly as original oil paintings and limited-edition stone lithographs of Alaskan subjects. His catalogued body of fifty lithographs provides a defined reference for print attribution and edition verification. For oil paintings, value is influenced by subject matter (wildlife, sled dogs, Native Alaskan scenes), canvas size, condition, and documented provenance. Collectors should note that the artist signed works using both 'Fred' and 'Frederick' Machetanz. Auction records from houses specializing in Western and Alaskan regional art are the most relevant comparables.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library authority files and museum records with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Frederick Machetanz, this page draws on the Library of Congress Name Authority File, Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, and Wikidata, supplemented by published biographical references.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5495840
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Machetanz
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500079052
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/94596043/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81117353