This scene may have been a sale to get rid of tools and equipment from a farm that had folded, and perhaps Harry Shokler wanted to show that this was what was really happening to many Vermont farm families at the bitter end when making a living as a farmer was no longer viable.

Lyman Orton comments:

Country auctioneers, by the very nature of their trade, are showmen.  One of the best-known and successful auctioneers during the years when I first started buying paintings and furniture at outdoor estate auctions was the now legendary Richard Withington of Hillsborough, New Hampshire. He began running these sales around 1949. Inevitably, at some point during the day someone would sneeze very loudly, and Richard never failed to shout out, “Take care of yourself or we’ll be setting up the tent in your backyard next!”

Another attention grabber Richard employed was to casually pick up a valuable and fragile object. A large antique Chinese-export porcelain bowl was his favorite. He’d say a few words about it, then kick off the bidding by declaring an outrageous price, “We’ll start at five hundred dollars!” And then, without hesitation, he would toss the valuable and fragile item over to a helper on the other side of the stage to hold up for viewing. The entire audience would gasp in unison at the object, suspended in mid-air, followed by laughter and applause as soon as it was safely caught. But the helpers knew the routine and were always ready. I never saw them drop a single thing.

Born in New York City, Lesley Buckland Crawford lived in Springfield, Vermont, during the later years of her life. She graduated from Vassar College (at Poughkeepsie, New York) in 1908 and later studied at the Art Students League in New York City. She was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) artist as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.

There is a touching personal note in the auction scene by Irwin Hoffman– he included his mother in the composition. Her name was Minna, and she is the woman holding a folded sweater at the far left of the canvas.

Each of the of outdoor auction paintings in The Orton Collection each tells a different story about the place where the auction is happening. In this scene, the auctioneer is standing on the back bed of a large truck as his stage, and the eagerness of the crowd to get a close look at the goods is evident. The 48-star American flag and the small children in the open hayloft door above imply a certain optimism. This farm might not be going entirely out of business, and that perhaps this is just an auction of odds and ends no longer needed or wanted to raise a little extra cash.

No longer a common weekend pursuit in the online auction era, Hoffman likely went to many country auctions like this one during his time in Vermont – they were, above all else, entertaining.

Hoffman likely enjoyed many country auctions like this one during his time in Vermont. No longer a common weekend pursuit in the online auction era, they were, above all else, entertaining.