#55 • Marvin Mangus Oil Painting of Anderson Point

Part of March 2025 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $3,100.00

Status: Sold

Category: Art

A historically significant oil painting depicting the location of an incident in May 1948 when the artist and Alaskan pioneer aviator Sig Wien (American, 1903-1994) were forced to land at Anderson Point, about five miles west of the mouth of the Sadlerochit River. They were forced to land due to the weather, and were putting out food caches for a backpacking part for the U.S.G.S.; while on the ground, they stayed with an Alaska Native woman and her grandson before the weather cleared and they were able to fly back to Umiat. In 1966, Gil Mull and the artist landed in a helicopter to see if the people were still there, but the watchout tower and cabin were collapsed and all they found, several miles from the site were the things the backpacking party decided to discard at the end of the field season, including a pair of shoepacks, size 15, left by A.H. Lachenbruch, the artist's good friend and one of the world's leading experts in permafrost. Signed lower right in red by the late Alaska artist Marvin Mangus (1924-2009), with a newspaper biographical sketch of the artist affixed en verso. A typewritten letter c.1974 describes the event leading to the painting, is signed in graphite by the artist, and is also affixed en verso. Housed in a silver-tone frame measuring approximately 18.5" x 33.75" overall, image sight 15.25" x 30".