Guy Carleton Wiggins

Nobody owns a subject quite the way Guy Carleton Wiggins owns New York in the snow. The canyon of Fifth Avenue or Wall Street, taxis and pedestrians dissolving into the storm, American flags snapping in the wind overhead — he painted the scene for decades, and collectors have never stopped wanting it.

If you have a Wiggins — or a painting you think might be one — Revere Auctions offers free auction estimates. Send photographs of the front, back, and signature and our specialists will tell you what you have and what it is worth.

Who Was Guy Carleton Wiggins?

Wiggins was born in Brooklyn in 1883 into a painting family: his father, Carleton Wiggins, was a respected landscape painter in the Barbizon manner, and the son grew up around easels and exhibitions. He trained at the National Academy of Design and won early recognition — while still a young man his work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The signature subject arrived, by his own telling, on a winter day when he was struggling with a landscape in his New York studio and looked out the window at the snow driving down the street. The city in a snowstorm became his life’s work, painted from office windows and street corners across decades.

He divided his career between Manhattan and Connecticut, where he was part of the Old Lyme art colony and later founded an art school in Essex. His son, Guy A. Wiggins, painted the same snowy New York subjects well into the 2000s — a fact that matters enormously when it comes to sorting out what a given “Wiggins” is worth.

What Did Wiggins Paint?

The classic Guy Carleton Wiggins is a New York winter street scene: Fifth Avenue, Wall Street, Trinity Church, the Public Library, the flags of the avenue heavy with snow. He painted them in oil at every scale, from small panel sketches to major exhibition canvases, and their appeal has proven remarkably durable.

He was also a serious Connecticut landscape painter — summer fields, harbors, and hills from his Old Lyme and Essex years — and those pictures, though quieter in the market, are often beautifully painted.

How Much Is My Guy Wiggins Painting Worth?

Several things determine what a work by Guy Carleton Wiggins brings at auction:

• Which Wiggins — three generations painted — Carleton, Guy Carleton, and Guy A. The market values them very differently, and the signature alone does not always settle it; this is the single most important question about any snowy New York street scene
• Subject — the Manhattan snow scenes with flags are the heart of the market; Connecticut landscapes trade on different terms
• Size — exhibition-scale canvases stand well above the small panels he produced in quantity
• Quality within the run — he painted his signature subject many times; the strongest versions, with deep space and lively figures, lead the rest
• Condition — as with any heavily brushed surface, overcleaning and flattening cost real money

The honest answer is that no two are alike, and the difference between an ordinary example and an exceptional one is a conversation with a specialist, not a chart. Send us photographs through our free auction estimate form — front, back, signature, and any labels — and we will tell you what you have.

The Market for Wiggins

Wiggins is one of the most liquid names in American Impressionism — his work sells steadily across the country, with typical canvases bringing five figures and the strongest New York snow scenes several times that in recent years. Demand is broad because the pictures are instantly recognizable and genuinely loved.

The father-son question hangs over every result, though. Works by his son trade at a fraction of the father’s prices, and correctly cataloguing which hand painted a picture is precisely the kind of work a specialist auction house does before the estimate is ever printed.

How to Sell a Work by Wiggins

The strongest results for a Guy Wiggins 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: American & Western paintings, our fine art department, appraisal services, free auction estimates.

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

Guy Carleton Wiggins: Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a Guy Wiggins painting worth?

Guy Carleton Wiggins’ New York snow scenes typically bring five figures at auction, with the best examples substantially more. Works by his son Guy A. Wiggins, who painted similar subjects, trade much lower. A free estimate from Revere Auctions settles both the attribution and the value.

How do I tell Guy Carleton Wiggins from Guy A. Wiggins?

Both signed “Guy Wiggins,” which is the source of endless confusion. Date, palette, handling, and the back of the canvas usually decide it — the son’s works often carry later materials and his own documentation. Send photographs of the front, back, and signature and our specialists will sort it out.

What subjects did Guy Carleton Wiggins paint?

He is famous for Manhattan winter street scenes — Fifth Avenue and Wall Street in falling snow, often with American flags. He also painted Connecticut landscapes from his years at Old Lyme and Essex, where he founded an art school.

Where can I sell a Guy Wiggins painting?

At auction with a house that catalogues the three Wiggins painters correctly. Revere Auctions provides free auction estimates and reaches the national collector base for American Impressionism.

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