Joliet Elks Lodge #296 auctioning Fletcher Ransom painting for capital improvements

JOLIET – A valuable 1915 painting hanging in the foyer of the Joliet Elks Lodge #296 will soon have a new home.

“The Greatest Baseball Picture Ever Painted” is being auctioned to raise money for capital improvements, board Chairwoman Peg Mitchell said. The current high bid is $40,000. Bidding closes Saturday.

The Joliet Elks never imagined parting with it. But Mitchell said the city of Joliet has told the Elks it needs to tear down its former motel, now closed. The cost of doing so exceeds the Elks’ budget, she said.

And speaking of budgets, that demolition expense doesn’t include the funds the Elks need for regular maintenance. For instance, Mitchell said the water heater recently went out.

“The building is very old,” she said. “It seems every time something goes bad, it’s $5,000.”

Overseeing the auction is Robert Edward Auctions in New Jersey, whom the Elks contacted in late 2015, said Brian Dwyer, president of the auction facilitator. Dwyer said the painting is significant for several reasons.

One, it depicts Honus Wagner, who played shortstop for 21 seasons, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner is the player featured on the world’s most valuable baseball card, Dwyer said.

“It sells for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars,” Dwyer said.

Robert Edward Auctions recently sold one for $1.32 million, according to its website, www.robertedwardauctions.com.

The second noteworthy baseball player in the painting is Christy Mathewson, a former pitcher for the New York Giants. The artist is Fletcher Ransom, a commercial illustrator who lived part of his life in Joliet. For 18 years, Ransom worked at the former Joliet calendar factory, the Gerlach Barklow Co.

The Elks painting is one of the few he created with a sports theme.

According to the Robert Edward Auctions website, bidding started at $15,000. Dwyer is pleased with the results so far.

“Really our goal is to offer the painting on behalf of the Elks so that they can further the great work they do in the community,” Dwyer said. “And at the same time, we can offer a great piece to our clientele.”

Mitchell said Barklow donated the painting to the Elks in the late 1960s to early 1970s when the Elks moved from downtown Joliet to its present location.

“A member from Fletcher Ransom’s family offered to buy it from us many years ago for a minimal amount, but we would not even consider selling it – until recently, when things started going bad.”

Because of its large size – 70 inches by 50 inches – it’s impractical for a typical living room. Mitchell said perhaps a museum would want it.

To make a bid, visit bid.robertedwardauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=38994.