The Ellen Rice Studio & Gallery is holding its 27th Annual Christmas Open House through Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24.

The festivities are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, at Rice’s studio and gallery on her property next to the James Farm Preserve, Ocean View.

A highlight is the silent auction of an early work created 40 years ago by Rice, being conducted online through 9 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13. The work was Rice’s second oil commission in the beginning of what is now a long, award-winning career as a fine artist whose works can be found in homes, offices, and government and corporate collections in 18 countries on four continents.

Titled “Autumn on the Nanticoke,” the 24-by-36-inch oil painting depicts a vibrant wooded scene on the edge of the Nanticoke River in the fall, with light shining through blazing dogwood leaves, and tree trunks and branches silhouetted against the sunlit river.

The work was commissioned by one of her first supporters and longtime collectors, who recently moved from a 3,000-square-foot home to a 750-square-foot apartment. The collector gave the painting back to Rice, saying she “couldn’t let our most cherished painting just go in the estate sale, and it just won’t fit in our little apartment.” The donor said the adjustment is difficult, but they are able to retain Rice’s smaller works.

Rice made the decision to auction off the painting, saying she hopes the sale will bring in at least enough to give the original owner what she paid for it in today’s dollars.

“A similar contemporary painting that size today would bring in between $12,000 and $14,000,” she said, depending the subject, style, and the complexity and level of detail.

More information about the auction and holiday events is available at ellenrice.gallery.

Ellen Rice has been drawing and painting since she was a small child. She won her first award in the sixth grade, for a statewide Maryland safety poster contest. She moved to Delaware in the early 1960s, and the ocean became the focus of much of her work.

Rice’s studio and gallery is located at 30124 Territory Trail in a purposefully built building on her property overlooking the southeastern side of the James Farm Ecological Preserve on the outskirts of Ocean View.