Lost Art of Miss Mary Jett Franklin

23/04/2026

Good news! "La Toilette" sold this afternoon at Bonham's in New York and did very well (I think, anyway)! I hope the new owner will enjoy her as much as we have enjoyed following her progress!

La Toilette signed and inscribed 'Mary Franklin - / Paris' (lower right) oil on canvas 39 1/2 x 31 in. (100.3 x 78.7 cm.) Painted circa 1895.

18/04/2026

Hooray! Another Mary Jett Franklin picture has come to light, thanks to an email from one of our readers! It is a pastel on paper of a young, brown-eyed woman with her brown hair pulled back in a bun. The expression in the face makes you want to learn more about her!
This pastel was purchased at an auction house in France this year - it had been re-framed in a modern frame, but they saved the label of the original framer, who operated in Lyon, France in the late 1800s & early 1900s. Based on that alone, I believe this could have been rendered in the early 1900s - about 1902-1905, in Paris. It is signed " Mary Franklin / Paris " in the top left corner.

02/04/2026

"La Toilette" has been meticulously restored and is now being offered for sale at Bonhams in New York on April 23, 2026.

https://www.bonhams.com/auction/31842/lot/38/mary-jett-franklin-1842-1928-la-toilette-39-12-x-31-in-1003-x-787-cm-painted-circa-1895/

26/01/2026

The charming painting called "La Toilette" has been fully restored by its current owner & I am so happy to see what a wonderful job they have done bringing this work back to its original 1895 state when Miss Mary Franklin entered it in the Salon de Champs de Mars in Paris!
This painting was in very rough shape when it was put up for auction in January 2025. Thank you, David, for caring enough to get this little work restored & preserved for the next 100 years!