Circle Auction Achieves Strong Result for Lois Dodd’s “January Window”
By Circle Auction |April 2024
In a standout moment from Circle Auction’s March 2025, Modern + Contemporary: Art & Design auction, the painting “January Window” by acclaimed American artist Lois Dodd sold for an impressive $80,325 (including buyer’s premium)—well above its pre-sale estimate of $10,000–$20,000. This result marks one of the strongest auction outcomes on record for a Dodd painting, especially for a work of its modest scale.
As soon as January Window was listed online, it attracted widespread interest from collectors and institutions across the country and abroad. Interest ranged from New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and as far away as Denmark, highlighting the growing demand for Dodd’s quietly powerful and intimately scaled works.
About the Artwork: “January Window” (1987)
Painted in 1987, January Window is a stunning example of Lois Dodd’s signature style—quiet, observational, and deeply connected to the everyday. Measuring 22 x 12 inches and rendered in oil on Masonite, the piece is signed, titled, and dated on the reverse, with an original Fischbach Gallery (New York) label attached.
This painting exemplifies Dodd’s enduring fascination with windows as both literal and metaphorical portals. In fact, this very window appeared in another of her works—View of Neighbor’s House in Winter (1977–78)—which was featured in her 2012 retrospective Catching the Light at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
Lois Dodd: Celebrating the Everyday in American Painting
Born in 1927, Lois Dodd is widely regarded as one of the great American observational painters of the 20th and 21st centuries. A key figure in the postwar New York art scene, Dodd was a founding member of the legendary Tanager Gallery, one of the first artist-run cooperative galleries in New York. She has spent much of her life painting scenes from her homes in Maine and the Delaware Water Gap.
Windows and doorways are recurring motifs throughout her decades-long career. As New York Times critic Grace Glueck noted in a 2003 review of Windows and Doorways: Three Decades of Painting:
“Translating the commonplace into art has long been the province of Lois Dodd… These simple passages symbolize time and memory as well as the here and now.”
Dodd’s work is celebrated for its subtlety, quiet observation, and dedication to painting from life. Over the past decade, her market has steadily gained attention, with increasing auction records and inclusion in major museum collections.
A Stand Out Result for Circle Auction
The exceptional price realized not only reflects Dodd’s increasing recognition among collectors but also reinforces Circle Auction’s ability to get top of the market results for stand out works.
“We were honored to present this exceptional Lois Dodd painting in our Modern + Contemporary auction,” said Circle Auction’s James Fry. “The enthusiastic interest it received from both domestic and international bidders speaks to the growing appreciation of Dodd’s vision and artistic legacy.”