Auction in Chatham Street, New York, 1820 Widespread unemployment between 1819 and 1823 resulted in evictions for thousands of families. Public auctions of the furniture, dishes, and other household goods of evicted families were held regularly in cities across the country. This depiction of an 1820 auction in New York’s Chatham Square was painted by E. Didier in 1843, during the next major economic panic.