Marshall Glasier

Every artistic circle has a member history almost forgot. In the Wisconsin magic realists that is Marshall Glasier: named in every account of the group beside John Wilde, Karl Priebe, and Sylvia Fein, host of a salon of his own, collected by the Madison museum — and yet with no full biography anywhere. His work is rarer on the market than any of his friends’, and far less understood.

That is exactly the situation where an auction house earns its keep. If you own a work by Marshall Glasier — or an unsigned Wisconsin picture you suspect — send photographs through our free auction estimate form. Research and attribution are our job, not yours.

Who Was Marshall Glasier?

Glasier was born in Wisconsin in 1902, making him the eldest of the circle — a dozen years older than Priebe, seventeen years older than Wilde and Fein. In the accounts of the group that survive, he appears as a fixture: a core member of the Madison circle, a host whose salon the younger artists frequented, one of the names that always comes up when the Wisconsin magic realists are listed.

And then the record thins. Unlike his friends, Glasier attracted no biographer, no gallery monograph, no encyclopedia entry. What remains is the work: the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art holds a group of his pieces from the 1940s — watercolors, oils on panel and board, drawings in pencil and ink — ranging across landscapes, portraits, and mythological scenes, and has shown them in its permanent-collection exhibitions.

He died in 1988. The current museum rediscovery of his circle, including the Milwaukee Art Museum’s exhibition of the Wisconsin magic realists, is slowly pulling the least famous members back into the light, and Glasier has the most distance to travel.

What Did Marshall Glasier Make?

The surviving documented works are intimate in scale and mixed in medium: watercolor, oil on panel, oil on board, pencil, ink. The subjects run from Wisconsin landscape to portraiture to mythological invention, with the same tilt toward the strange that marks the whole circle.

Because so little is published, works by Glasier are easy to overlook and easy to misattribute. A signed example, or one with a Wisconsin family history, deserves a specialist’s eyes before anyone guesses at its value.

How Much Is My Marshall Glasier Work Worth?

Several things determine what a work by Marshall Glasier brings at auction:

• Attribution — with an under-documented artist, a clear signature or a solid provenance chain is the foundation of value
• Medium and finish — finished oils and strong watercolors lead; slight sketches sit below
• Subject — the mythological and dreamlike compositions connect him most clearly to the magic realist circle, and collectors of the group respond to that
• Condition — small works on paper and panel from the 1940s have often lived hard lives; an untouched example stands out
• The circle — a Glasier with a documented connection to Wilde, Priebe, Fein, or Abercrombie borrows light from the whole group’s rediscovery

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 Glasier

Glasier’s market is the thinnest of the circle — few works surface, few records exist, and no dealer has organized his legacy. For a seller this cuts both ways: there is no established price to point to, and there is also no ceiling set in anyone’s mind. As the group exhibitions bring his name back, the early sales will be the ones that define what a Glasier is worth.

Setting a price for an artist like this is precisely what auction is for. Cataloguing the work properly, placing it in the story of the circle, and letting the collectors of the group compete is how an undocumented artist gets a market at all. A quiet private sale defines nothing and usually underpays.

How to Sell a Work by Glasier

The strongest results for a Marshall Glasier 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.

Marshall Glasier: Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a Marshall Glasier worth?

His market is thin and lightly documented, so each sale matters more than the last one. Value rests on attribution, medium, subject, and condition. Revere Auctions provides free auction estimates from photographs.

Why is so little written about Marshall Glasier?

He is the least documented member of the Wisconsin magic realists — no biography or monograph exists, though the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art holds his work from the 1940s and museum interest in his circle is growing.

How do I know if a work is by Marshall Glasier?

Start with the signature and any labels, inscriptions, or family history, and let a specialist take it from there. Send photographs of the front and back with your free estimate request and we will research it.

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