h 1922-2005, monhegan island , 1992, 10.5 x 14.5 , watercolor and in . s Barrido galleries, 2018, 8 . s h 1835-1910, mount desert island , 12.25 x 22.25 , oil on canvas. s Barrido , 2018, 2 0. W aldo Peirce’s Penobscot Girls sold for $31,720 this year at the first Barridoff Gallery auction held in the new South Portland location. The painting, which de- picts Peirce’s daughter Anna and model Halldis Prince on the banks of Maine's Penobscot Bay, was a stunner in the 1938 Whitney Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting. At the time, Prince was a high-society ‘it girl.’ A search of her name produces snapshots taken with the elite of the American art circle: Helen Hayes, Joan Crawford, Charlie Chaplin. She even graced the cover of the December 23, 1940, issue of LIFE maga- zine. Described as “a blonde Bostonian who made good in Man- hattan as a model,” Halldis is the star of the issue’s feature “Life Goes to a Party: with a pretty young girl and 340 celebrities…” The painting belonged to one of Peirce’s nephews who says it was given to his mother and father, Rachael and Victor Reis, and had remained with the family for over 60 years. s e p t e m B e r 2 0 1 8 6 7 perspeCtives clock ise from top left: detail from penoBscot girls , By aldo peirce, oil on can as 43 30 in., auctioned By Barridoff galleries; images courtesy of their respecti e auction house Bidding Wars CoMpiled by olivia g nn kotsishevskaya & eMily taylor twenty maine artists cause a stir at auction this year. a e h 1839-1934, Bangor r , 10 x 16 , oil on canvas. s Brun auctions, 2018, 2 2 0.