Julia Thecla

Julia Thecla painted small, jewel-like watercolors of a world entirely her own — floating girls, dim theatrical spaces, dream landscapes — and guarded her private life so closely that even her friends knew little. Peggy Guggenheim chose her for the landmark Exhibition by 31 Women in New York in 1943; a museum later titled her show “Undiscovered Worlds,” which is also a fair description of her market.

If you own a Thecla, Revere Auctions would like to see it. Send photographs through our free auction estimate form and our fine art specialists will respond with an honest valuation.

Who Was Julia Thecla?

Thecla was born in Delavan, Illinois, in 1896, a farm town she left for Chicago and the School of the Art Institute. By 1931 she was exhibiting in the Art Institute’s international watercolor annuals, and through the Depression she painted for the WPA Federal Art Project, part of the generation of Chicago artists the program kept alive.

Her reputation traveled further than she did. In 1943 Peggy Guggenheim included her in Exhibition by 31 Women at the Art of This Century gallery in New York — one of the defining surveys of women surrealists. In Chicago she belonged to the circle around Gertrude Abercrombie, the salon where the Wisconsin magic realists — John Wilde, Karl Priebe, Dudley Huppler — mixed with painters, poets, and jazz musicians. Thecla was the most secretive of them all, an eccentric who kept her own counsel and her own strange, floating world.

She died in Chicago in 1973. Since then the institutions have been catching up: her work has entered major public collections, and the renewed attention on Abercrombie’s circle keeps drawing her name back into the story.

What Did Julia Thecla Make?

Thecla worked mostly in watercolor and mixed watermedia at an intimate scale, often modeling her floating heroines on herself. The pictures are dense, dark-toned, and jewel-like, closer to reverie than narrative: girls suspended in dim space, animals, moons, stagey dream chambers. She also worked in other media, but the watercolors define her.

Because she was private in life and collected quietly after, works by Thecla surface unpredictably — from Chicago estates above all. Sheets are often small, unlabeled, and easy to pass over, which is exactly why they reward a specialist’s eye.

How Much Is My Julia Thecla Work Worth?

Several things determine what a work by Julia Thecla brings at auction:

• Imagery — the classic floating figures and dream chambers are what collectors of the circle look for first
• Period — work from her 1930s–1940s prime, the WPA and Guggenheim years, carries the most weight
• Condition — small watercolors are vulnerable to fading and foxing; fresh color matters
• Provenance — a Chicago history — a WPA record, a link to the Abercrombie circle, an old gallery label — adds real value
• Attribution — her work is intimate and idiosyncratic, and unsigned sheets need specialist eyes before anyone guesses at value

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 Thecla

Thecla’s market is early in its rediscovery — museum attention has arrived ahead of broad collector awareness, which is the moment sellers should pay attention to. The renewed fame of Gertrude Abercrombie has scholars and curators re-reading the whole Chicago circle, and Thecla, with her Guggenheim pedigree, is the obvious next chapter.

For an artist at this stage, auction does the work publicity cannot: it puts the picture in front of the small, serious audience that already knows what she is, and lets their competition — not a guess — set the price. Early sales in a rediscovery define the artist’s level for years.

How to Sell a Work by Thecla

The strongest results for a Julia Thecla work 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: Wisconsin artists & the magic realists, our fine art department, appraisal services, free auction estimates.

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

Julia Thecla: Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a Julia Thecla worth?

Her market is early in its rediscovery and results vary with imagery, period, and condition. The strongest dream-world watercolors from her prime lead. Revere Auctions provides free auction estimates from photographs.

What is Julia Thecla known for?

Small, jewel-like watercolors of dreamlike floating figures, often modeled on herself. She showed in Peggy Guggenheim’s landmark 1943 Exhibition by 31 Women and belonged to Gertrude Abercrombie’s circle of Chicago magic realists.

How do I know if my work is by Julia Thecla?

Look for a signature and any Chicago exhibition or family history, and let a specialist confirm the rest. Send photographs of the front and back with your free estimate request and we will research it.

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