Small Poe Watercolor Fails at Auction

The following news item presents an interesting contrast to Baltimore's Edgar Allan Poe statue. A newly liberated watercolor of the weird writer by A.C. Smith has failed to sell at an auction. These are the full details from the event last month:

BALTIMORE — A rare portrait of Edgar Allan Poe has failed to sell at auction.

The small watercolor by A.C. Smith is one of just three surviving portraits of the author and the only one that shows him as a writer. Poe looks robust and lacks the mustache that's familiar from a series of daguerreotypes taken in the final years of his life.

The portrait went on sale Friday at Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati. The minimum bid was $15,000, but no buyers emerged.

Owner Cliff Krainik tells The Associated Press he's disappointed that it didn't sell. He says he hopes he can find someone who'll buy it and donate it to a museum. The portrait was shown publicly for the first time earlier this year in Baltimore.

It seems there is a limit to what Poe admirers are willing to pay and do for their idol's relics. It's happenings like this that help provide a balanced view of Poe's legacy. Whereas the statue places his popularity above any other weird fiction writer, it does not mean there's boundless adoration and interest in the man and his works. The portrait's ultimate fate may also unveil new implications about Poe's true place in the 21st century, depending upon if it ends up in a museum or sinks back into a private benefactor's obscure vault.

-Grim Blogger