Cameron Booth

Cameron Booth spent a long career being two different painters, and the second one is why collectors chase him now. He began painting Minnesota the way it looked, then studied under Hans Hofmann in Munich and spent the rest of his life taking it apart. Revere Auctions has sold about two thirds of the Cameron Booth lots that have come to auction anywhere in the country, and we hold his four highest results.

Who Was Cameron Booth?

Cameron Booth (1892 to 1980) was born in Erie, Pennsylvania and raised in Minnesota. He trained at the Art Institute of Chicago, and then, in his mid-thirties, did the thing that changed his painting: he went to Munich to study with Hans Hofmann, and to Paris to work with André Lhote.

Hofmann taught a generation of American painters to think about colour as structure rather than description, and you can watch Booth absorb it. He came home to teach at the Minneapolis School of Art and the St. Paul School of Art, and later at the University of Minnesota, becoming one of the most influential teachers in the region. For a long stretch he also taught at the Art Students League in New York, which kept him connected to what was happening there.

That combination is unusual and it is the whole story of his market. Booth was not a regional painter who dabbled in modernism. He learned it at the source, taught it for decades, and then, in his sixties, committed to abstraction completely.

Cameron Booth, “Azurite”, 1959 to 1962. Sold $6,500 by Revere Auctions. The block-built colour and the push and pull between warm and cool are Hofmann’s lesson, worked out in Minnesota.

What Did Cameron Booth Paint?

There are two distinct bodies of work, and collectors treat them very differently.

The early representational paintings, from the 1920s through the 1940s, are Minnesota subjects: farms, grain elevators, iron range industry, horses, winter. They are handsome, they are historically interesting, and they sell steadily but modestly.

The abstractions, from roughly the early 1950s onward, are what the market wants. Broad blocks and slabs of colour, confident black drawing over the top, titles like “Vertical”, “Surging”, “Euphonious” and “Azurite”. These are the paintings that bring multiples of the early work, and every one of our top results is one of them.

He also produced drawings, watercolours and prints, which come up occasionally and sell in the low hundreds.

Cameron Booth, “Horses”. Sold $3,000 by Revere Auctions. The other Booth: a Minnesota farm subject, but painted with the same modernist colour sense as the abstractions.

How Much Is My Cameron Booth Worth?

The honest answer is that it depends far more on when he painted it than on how big it is.

Period is the first question. A mature abstraction from the 1950s or 1960s is the most sought-after thing he made. An early regional landscape is a different and quieter market.

Scale and ambition come next. The large, fully resolved canvases outperform studies and small panels by a wide margin.

Condition matters more than usual with Booth, because he worked thickly and often reworked a canvas over several years. Look for cracking, flaking and old restoration.

Labels and provenance. Much of this work passed through a handful of Twin Cities galleries and university shows. An old label on the stretcher is worth photographing before anyone removes it.

A representative set of our own results gives the shape of it.

Revere Auctions results, hammer prices before buyer’s premium.

Most Booth paintings that come to us settle in the middle four figures rather than the high ones, and small works and works on paper are lower again. If you have one, that is the realistic frame.

Cameron Booth Appraisals

An auction estimate and a formal appraisal answer different questions.

A free auction estimate tells you what a piece would likely sell for at auction. It costs nothing and it is usually enough to decide whether to sell. Send photographs including the base and we will respond with a range.

A formal written appraisal is a signed document stating a value for a stated purpose: insurance, estate settlement and probate, or charitable donation. It is a paid service written to a different standard of value, and insurance appraisals in particular are normally higher than the auction estimate for the same piece.

Revere Auctions provides both through our appraisal and valuation services team. If you are not sure which you need, ask for the free auction estimate first.

How to Sell Cameron Booth

The strongest results for a Cameron Booth painting come at auction, where national and international collectors bid against each other. Revere Auctions offers free, no-obligation auction estimates: send photos and dimensions and our specialists respond with a current market valuation and a recommendation on how to sell. Consigned works are professionally photographed, cataloged, and marketed through our fine art auctions to a worldwide bidder base, and we regularly arrange shipping for consignors across the country. If you need a formal written valuation for insurance or estate purposes, our appraisal and valuation services team can help; you can also read more about how selling at auction works.

Related guides: Minnesota artists, George Morrison, Charles Biederman, our fine art department.

Reviewed by the fine art specialists at Revere Auctions, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Cameron Booth: Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Cameron Booth?

Cameron Booth (1892-1980) was an American painter raised in Minnesota who trained at the Art Institute of Chicago and studied under Hans Hofmann in Munich and André Lhote in Paris. He taught at the Minneapolis School of Art, the St. Paul School of Art, the University of Minnesota and the Art Students League, and moved from Minnesota regionalism to full abstraction in his later career.

How much is a Cameron Booth painting worth?

It depends heavily on period. His mature abstractions from the 1950s and 1960s are the most valuable and have sold at Revere Auctions between roughly $3,000 and $8,000, while earlier representational Minnesota subjects and works on paper sell for less. Condition and scale matter, and provenance labels help.

Are Cameron Booth abstract paintings worth more than his landscapes?

Generally yes. The abstractions from the early 1950s onward are what collectors compete for, and all of Revere’s highest Cameron Booth results are abstract paintings. The earlier regional landscapes sell steadily but for less.

Where can I sell a Cameron Booth painting?

Revere Auctions has handled about two thirds of the Cameron Booth lots sold at auction anywhere since 2018 and holds his four highest results. Send photographs of the painting, the signature and the reverse, including any gallery labels, for a free auction estimate.

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