# John Austin Sands Monks artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/john-austin-sands-monks/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T12:54:00.321Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1850-11-07
- Death date: 1917-03-14
- Nationality: American
- Common media: Painting, Etching and printmaking

## Portrait

![John Austin Sands Monks](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/John_A._S._Monks_%28Arena_Magazine_1907%29.jpg)
Purdy, Boston, Mass. · Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_A._S._Monks_(Arena_Magazine_1907).jpg

## About John Austin Sands Monks

John Austin Sands Monks (1850–1917) was an American painter and etcher associated with animal and pastoral imagery, especially depictions of sheep. Born in Cold Spring, New York, he attended the Hudson River Institute and reportedly studied engraving with George N. Cass and painting with George Inness. Monks later became a longtime resident of Medfield, Massachusetts, while also maintaining a Boston studio. His practice crossed easel painting and printmaking, giving collectors more than one type of work through which to encounter his distinctive livestock subjects. Biographical accounts also place him within Boston and New York art networks through professional club memberships. Today his name appears in museum and library authority records as well as public auction data. Collectors are most likely to encounter animal paintings, pastoral compositions, etchings, and other works on paper attributed to him, although each object still requires careful assessment of medium, authorship, condition, and documentary history.

## Common works and media

Monks is chiefly associated with paintings and etchings of animals, particularly sheep in pastoral settings. Auction and appraisal contexts may therefore include oil paintings, works on paper, prints, and other animal compositions. The source pack does not provide a verified lot-level breakdown of support, technique, edition size, or subject frequency, so those details should be established from the individual object and comparable records.

## Market and appraisal context

Appraisily's collected auction snapshot reports 77 matched records, including 40 priced records, across 2006–2026. It gives an observed range of $30 to $2,645 and a median realized result near $350, but these figures should be treated as historical reference points rather than price predictions. A useful comparison should distinguish paintings from etchings and align subject, dimensions, date, condition, restoration, signature or inscriptions, and attribution confidence. Provenance, exhibition history, catalogue references, rarity, and the recency of genuinely similar public sales can also affect appraisal conclusions. Auction reports may treat buyer premiums and fees differently, while private transactions and incomplete feeds are not necessarily represented. Physical inspection and verified object-specific documentation remain essential.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist-identity research with matched public auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Public results are a research starting point and do not replace authentication, condition review, provenance research, or an object-specific appraisal.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37766493
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/160159399/
- National Gallery of Art: https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.33806.html
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/john-austin-sands-monks/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Austin_Sands_Monks
- Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Austin_Sands_Monks