# Guy Carleton Wiggins artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/guy-carleton-wiggins/
Profile generated: 2026-05-03T01:01:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1883-02-23
- Death date: 1962-04-25
- Nationality: American
- Movements: American Impressionism
- Common media: Oil on canvas

## About Guy Carleton Wiggins

Guy Carleton Wiggins (1883–1962) was an American Impressionist painter best known for atmospheric winter scenes of New York City streets, landmarks, and rising skyscrapers dusted with snow. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of landscape painter Carleton Wiggins and grew up in an artistic household. Wiggins studied at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design in New York. He became associated with the Old Lyme Art Colony in Connecticut, a key center of American Impressionism, and later served as president of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. Elected a National Academician, Wiggins maintained a long exhibition career, showing at the National Academy, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His evocative cityscapes—often depicting Fifth Avenue, Wall Street, and lower Manhattan in falling snow—remain his most recognized work among collectors.

## Common works and media

Wiggins's most commonly encountered works are oil-on-canvas cityscapes depicting New York under snow, typically featuring recognizable landmarks such as the Metropolitan Life Tower, Trinity Church, Fifth Avenue, and Wall Street. Rural and coastal Connecticut landscapes in oil also appear frequently, reflecting his connection to the Old Lyme Art Colony. Sizes range from small cabinet paintings to large exhibition-scale canvases. Works on paper, including watercolors and drawings, are less common but do surface at auction. Reproductions and prints exist in the market; original oil paintings carry the primary appraisal interest.

## Market and appraisal context

Guy Carleton Wiggins maintains a deep and liquid secondary market with 409 documented auction lots, of which 314 carry realized prices spanning from 1992 to April 2026. The price distribution is wide: the observed range runs from $475 to $206,500, with a median of $15,000, a 25th percentile of $6,000, and a 75th percentile of $35,000. This dispersion reflects a clear subject-matter hierarchy. Snowy New York City scenes with recognized landmarks consistently occupy the upper tier: a Christie's sale of Looking Down Fifth Avenue From The Plaza realized $44,450 in January 2026, Bonhams sold Old Trinity, New York Winter (painted 1930) for $30,000 in April 2026, and Freeman's achieved $37,500 for New York City–Winter, 1944 in December 2025. Mid-range prices ($12,000–$20,000) are typical for smaller or less iconic snow scenes. Connecticut rural landscapes and harbor subjects trade well below city snow scenes, often in the $1,200–$7,000 range. The market has broad house participation: Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Heritage Auctions, Freeman's | Hindman, Nadeau's, DuMouchelles, Eldred's, Skinner, and others all appear, indicating healthy regional and national demand. Liquidity remains steady with 23 priced lots in the most recent twelve months and 30 in the prior twelve-month period, though the slight decline may reflect normal market cyclicality rather than softening demand.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Guy Carleton Wiggins maintains a deep and liquid secondary market with 409 documented auction lots, of which 314 carry realized prices spanning from 1992 to April 2026. The price distribution is wide: the observed range runs from $475 to $206,500, with a median of $15,000, a 25th percentile of $6,000, and a 75th percentile of $35,000. This dispersion reflects a clear subject-matter hierarchy. Snowy New York City scenes with recognized landmarks consistently occupy the upper tier: a Christie's sale of Looking Down Fifth Avenue From The Plaza realized $44,450 in January 2026, Bonhams sold Old Trinity, New York Winter (painted 1930) for $30,000 in April 2026, and Freeman's achieved $37,500 for New York City–Winter, 1944 in December 2025. Mid-range prices ($12,000–$20,000) are typical for smaller or less iconic snow scenes. Connecticut rural landscapes and harbor subjects trade well below city snow scenes, often in the $1,200–$7,000 range. The market has broad house participation: Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Heritage Auctions, Freeman's | Hindman, Nadeau's, DuMouchelles, Eldred's, Skinner, and others all appear, indicating healthy regional and national demand. Liquidity remains steady with 23 priced lots in the most recent twelve months and 30 in the prior twelve-month period, though the slight decline may reflect normal market cyclicality rather than softening demand.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily uses these auction records as comparable-sale evidence alongside the client's submitted photographs, stated dimensions, medium identification, signature verification, condition report, and documented provenance. For a Wiggins appraisal, the most relevant comparables are selected by matching subject category (New York snow scene, Connecticut landscape, or harbor subject), canvas dimensions, date of execution, and auction-house tier. The wide price range—$475 to $206,500—means that selecting comparables without close subject and size matching can produce misleading estimates. The presence of works at both major houses (Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams) and regional galleries (Nadeau's, DuMouchelles, Fontaine's) allows tier-adjusted comparisons. Condition, signature, dating, and provenance documentation are cross-referenced against the lot records. Where a client's work matches the strongest category—iconic snow scenes with landmarks, large-scale canvases, signed and dated examples—the upper-quartile comparables ($35,000+) are the appropriate reference range. For rural landscapes, smaller works, or works with condition issues, the median-to-lower range applies.

### Valuation factors

- Subject matter is the single strongest price driver: snowy New York City scenes with recognizable landmarks (Fifth Avenue, Trinity Church, Metropolitan Life Tower, Empire State Building, Washington Square) command a significant premium over Connecticut landscapes and harbor scenes
- Canvas size materially affects value; large exhibition-scale works (30+ inches on the longest side) consistently outperform small cabinet paintings of similar subject
- Signature and date: signed and dated works, especially those with the date of execution inscribed, are preferred by buyers and cataloguers at major houses
- Period of execution matters: works from the 1920s–1940s, the artist's most recognized period, tend to be more sought-after than later works from the 1950s
- Provenance linking to the artist's estate, established galleries (such as Milch, Macbeth, or Grand Central Art Galleries), or longstanding private collections can increase appraised value
- Condition is a standard factor: inpainting, relining, tears, or surface abrasion will discount value relative to comparable lots in good condition
- Auction-house tier influences realized prices; major houses (Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams) tend to achieve higher results than regional galleries for comparable works, reflecting buyer reach and estimate credibility

### Collector notes

- If you own a Wiggins snow scene depicting a recognizable New York landmark, the current auction-record median ($15,000) likely understates its value—upper-quartile results for strong city snow scenes cluster in the $25,000–$45,000 range, and the record stands at $206,500. For Connecticut landscapes, harbor scenes, or works on paper, expectations should align with the lower half of the distribution ($1,200–$7,000). The market is liquid: with over 400 total lots and 23–30 lots selling annually, resale prospects are reasonable at most price levels. Sellers should ensure works are properly catalogued with clear attribution to Guy Carleton Wiggins (not his father Carleton Wiggins), full dimensions, signature details, and any available provenance. Buyers should be aware that misattribution between father and son occasionally appears in regional sale catalogues; verify dates (1883–1962 for Guy Carleton) and signature style before purchasing. Works catalogued with incorrect dates in auction listings (e.g., '1915–2003') should be treated with caution as they may indicate cataloguing errors or a different artist entirely.

### Market caveats

- The price range spans $475 to $206,500 across 314 priced lots; individual appraisals must be anchored to closely matched comparables rather than the overall range
- One recent lot is catalogued as 'Guy Carleton Wiggins, 1915–2003,' which conflicts with the artist's documented dates of 1883–1962; this is likely a cataloguing error or refers to a different individual and should not be used as a comparable without verification
- Several recent lots show no price realized (null), indicating either buy-ins, withdrawals, or results not yet reported; these lots cannot be used for price calibration
- Attribution risk exists due to the output of the artist's father, Carleton Wiggins, who was also a listed landscape painter; signatures, style, and dating should be carefully verified
- No catalogue raisonné was identified in the source pack, so comprehensive attribution verification against a complete documented oeuvre is not possible from these records alone
- The slight decline in annual lot volume (30 in the prior twelve months to 23 in the most recent twelve months) may reflect normal variation rather than a market trend; a longer time series would be needed to confirm direction

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/guy-carleton-wiggins/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-guy-carleton-wiggins-american-1883-1962-oil-on-canvas-1959-new-york-fantasy-h-24-w-36-1007-c-20e4766062
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-guy-carleton-wiggins-1883-1962-old-trinity-new-york-winter-16-x-12-in-40-6-x-30-5-cm-painted-in-1930-33-c-89932a9669
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-guy-carleton-wiggins-american-1883-1962-christmastime-1959-charming-winter-cityscape-depicting-hansom-cabs-and-elegantly-dressed-figures-along-snow-covered-streets-opposite-central-park-with-softly-glowing-city-375-c-0e476ecb35
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-guy-carleton-wiggins-1915-2003-morning-sunlight-168-c-2ac949fe3b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-guy-carleton-wiggins-1883-1962-lexington-ave-winter-12-x-9-in-30-5-x-22-9-cm-30-c-d156e206a9

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library-authority, museum, and encyclopedia sources with public auction records, auction-house cataloguing, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Guy Carleton Wiggins, identity data is grounded in the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, RKD, and Wikidata, while market context draws on the artist's extensive public auction history.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr98044061
- VIAF / OCLC: https://viaf.org/viaf/44216899/
- RKD (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/84280
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5622142
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_C._Wiggins