Folk Art (Winter 1998/1999)

OF THE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART * WINTER 1998/99 * $6.00 4.

4

2 5 274 74 382

MASTERPIECES FROM THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT M.GREENBERG 20 JANUARY - 27 FEBRUARY 1999

We are proud to present an exhibition of Masterpieces from the Robert M.Greenberg collection of Self-taught and Outsider art. A full-color catalog accompanies the exhibition.

RICCOMARESCA GALLERY 529 WEST 20TH ST

THIRD FL NYC NY 10011 TEL 212/627-4819 FAX 212/627-5117 E-MAIL rmgal@aol.com WEB www.riccomaresca.com

STEVE MILLER • AMERICAN FOLK ART •

CHILD IN A RED DRESS WITH PULL TOY,BASKET AND CANDY CANE Attributed to George Hartwell of the Prior Hamblin School, circa 1840, oil on canvas,34 x 42".

Provenance: David A. Schorsch

17 East 96th Street, New York, New York 10128(212)348-5219 Gallery hours are from 1:00 pm until 6:00 pm,Tuesday through Saturday.

Other hours are available by appointment.

SANFORD DARLING 1894 — 1973

CAVIN-MORRIS GALLERY 560 Broadway, Suite 405B New York, NY 10012 tel: (212) 226-3768 fax:(212) 226-0155 e-mail: Mysteries@aol.com www.artnet.com/cavinmorris.html www.nytoday.com/cavinmorris

David Butler

Untitled(whirligig)figures, stars, moons, whale, birds, and heart, c. 1970/76, house paint on wood and metal with wire and reflector, 25" x 43" x 26", signed

FLEISHER OLLMAN GALLERY 211 S. 17th Street Philadelphia 1 9 1 0 3 (215)545.7562 (Fax)545. 6140

Exhibiting at the Outsider Art Fair The Puck Building,January 21 - 24, 1999

WALTERS BENISEK ART & ANTIQUES ONE AMBER LANE • NORTHAMPTON • MASSACHUSETTS•01060 • • ( 4 1 3 ) 5 8 6 • 3 90 9 • • DON WALTERS • BENISEK MARY

This arresting child-sized wooden folk doll captures the essence of intuitive primitivism in American folk art Maker: Martin White.

Hunter's Bottom, Kentucky, c 1830 Height 36 inches

FOLK ART VOLUME 23, NUMBER 4/ WINTER 1998/99

FEATURES

Cover: UNTITLED(WOMAN AND PLAID BACKGROUND): Nellie Mae Rowe, Vinings, Georgia, 1950s, crayon and pencil on paper, 14A x1034", Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1997.1.3 Folk Art is published four times a year by the Museum of American Folk Art,61 West 62nd Street, NY,NY 10023, Tel, 212/977-7170,Fax 212/977-8134. Prior to Fall 1992, Volume 17, Number 3,Folk Art was published as The Clarion. Annual subscription rate for members is included in membership dues. Copies are mailed to all members. Single copy $6.00. Published and copyright 1998 by the Museum of American Folk Art,61 West 62nd Street, NY,NY 10023. The cover and contents of Folk Art are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Museum of American Folk Art. Unsolicited manuscripts or photographs should be accompanied by return postage. Folk Art assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage of such materials. Change of address: Please send both old and new addresses and allow five weeks for change. Advertising: Folk Art endeavors to accept advertisements only from advertisers whose reputation is recognized in the trade, but despite the care with which the advertising department screens photographs and texts submitted by its advertisers, it cannot guarantee the unquestionable authenticity of objects or quality of services advertised in its pages or offered for sale by its advertisers, nor can it accept responsibility for misunderstandings that may arise from the purchase or sale of objects or services advertised in its pages. The Museum is dedicated to the exhibition and interpretation of folk art and it is a violation of its principles to be involved in or to appear to be involved in the sale of works of art. For this reason, the Museum will not knowingly accept advertisements for Folk Art that illustrate or describe objects that have been exhibited at the Museum within one year of placing an advertisement.

NELLIE MAE ROWE Lee Kogan

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MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE: THE ART OF SYBIL GIBSON John Hood

47

THE ENCHANTMENT OF THE MAGIC LAKE:THE ORIGIN AND ICONOGRAPHY OF A NINETEENTH-CENTURY SANDPAPER DRAWING Shelley R. Langdale

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MARBLE DUST DRAWINGS IN THE COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART Stacy C. Hollander

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EDITOR'S COLUMN

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DIRECTOR'S LETTER

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MINIATURES

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OUTSIDER ART FAIR BENEFIT PARTY

39

TRUSTEES/DONORS

68

BOOK REVIEW

69

MUSEUM REPRODUCTIONS PROGRAM

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HOLIDAY TREE EXHIBITION

79

MUSEUM NEWS

80

TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

84

WINTER PROGRAMS

86

BOOKS OF INTEREST

87

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

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WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 5

EDITOR'S

COLUMN

ROSEMARY GABRIEL

n the eve of the Museum's upcoming exhibition "The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do," Lee Kogan,director of the Museum's Folk Art Institute and curator of the exhibition, brings us a glimpse of some of the many drawings by Nellie Mae Rowe in the Museum's collection. The drawings range from simple studies to fully realized works such as our cover image, Untitled (Woman and Plaid Background). Kogan suggests that this drawing may have been a self-portrait, for although Rowe was a deeply religious and tender person, she was quite passionate and had a strong independent temperament—she was,like the lady in this drawing, a woman with attitude. "Nellie Mae Rowe" begins on page 40; see details for the exhibition dates and tour.

Although artist Sybil Gibson was also a woman with a strong independent nature, John Hood tells us that her independence led her to paint compulsively and to disappear from society periodically. When she started making art at age fifty-five, she was consumed by it, sometimes creating 100 or more pieces in a day, which left her almost no time to attend to her barest needs."More Than a Pretty Face: The Art of Sybil Gibson" is an essay on a life differently lived, with implications that are as haunting as many of Gibson's portraits. The essay, starting on page 47,is illustrated with some of her finest works.

The passions of young women raised in nineteenth-century middle-class America, however, were generally repressed, and "attitude" was rigorously discouraged. As Shelley Langdale points out in her essay,"The Enchantment of The Magic Lake: The Origin and Iconography of a Nineteenth-Century Sandpaper Drawing," romantic stories and images published in the 1840s and 1850s were very popular and inspired many artistic efforts.

In recounting the story of The Magic Lake, Langdale says,"One can imagine the appeal of this racy romance about a young girl who casts her responsibilities aside to seek her true love." In fact, the illustration in this story, when it was published, very much appealed to SURFACING Sybil Gibson and inspired at least five women to copy it Probably Alabama c. 1980 almost exactly in their carefully rendered, Teompei6 r.1.on kraft paper monochromatic marble dust drawings. Do read 3 Langdale's intriguing, beautifully illustrated Collection of Cynthia Ford essay. It begins on page 52.

I sincerely hope you enjoy your winter issue of Folk Art and will stop in during the holiday season to see the remarkable exhibition "Masterpieces in Wood: American Folk Marquetry from The Hirschhorn Foundation" and the Museum's glittering holiday trees. This year's trees were decorated with ornaments made by the Hudson Valley chapter of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration(HSEAD). On behalf of the whole Museum staff and all HSEAD members,I wish you very happy holidays and a healthy new year.

0

FOLK ART Rosemary Gabriel Editor and Publisher Jeffrey Kibler, The Magazine Group,Inc. Design Tanya Heinrich Associate Editor Jocelyn Meinhardt Production Editor Loretta Mowat Copy Editor John Hood Advertising Sales Mel Novatt Advertising Sales Patrick H. Calkins Advertising Graphics Craftsmen Litho Printers MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART Administration Gerard C. Werticin Director Riccardo Salmona Deputy Director Jeffrey S. Grand Director ofFinance and Operations Susan Conlon Assistant to the Director Cecilia Popkowski Accountant Daniel Rodriguez Mailroom Beverly McCarthy Mail Order/Reception Collections & Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander Curator Ann-Marie Reilly Registrar Judith Gluck Steinberg Assistant Registrar/ Coordinator, Traveling Exhibitions Sandra Wong Assistant Registrar Dale Gregory Gallery Manager Brian Pozun Weekend Gallery Manager Gina Bianco Consulting Conservator Elizabeth V. Warren Consulting Curator Howard Lanser Consulting Exhibition Designer Kenneth R. Bing Security Departments Cheryl Aldridge Director ofDevelopment Beth Bergin Membership Director Marie S. DiManno Director ofMuseum Shops Susan Flamm Public Relations Director Alice J. Hoffman Director ofLicensing Joan D. Sandler Director ofEducation and Collaborative Programs Janey Fire Photographic Services Chris Cappiello Membership Associate Jennifer Claire Scott Special Events Mary C. Thomas Development Associate Kathy Maqsudi Membership Assistant Wendy Barreto Membership Clerk Edith C. Wise Consulting Librarian Eugene P. Sheehy Volunteer Librarian Rita Keckeissen Volunteer Librarian Katya Ullmann Library Assistant Programs Lee Kogan Director, Folk Art Institute/Senior Research Fellow Madelaine Gill Administrative Assistant/Education Barbara W.Cate Educational Consultant Dr. Marilynn Karp Director, New York University Master's and Ph.D. Program in Folk Art Studies Dr. Judith Reiter Weissman Coordinator, New York University Program Arlene Hochman Docent Coordinator Lynn Steuer Outreach Coordinator Museum Shop Staff Managers: Dorothy Gargiulo, Caroline Hohenrath, Ursula Morillo, Rita Pollitt, Brian Pozun; Security: Bienvenido Medina; Volunteers: Marie Anderson, Olive Bates, Angela Clair, Sally Frank, Millie Gladstone,Emily Mann,Nancy Mayer, Marie Peluso, Judy Rich, Frances Rojack,Phyllis Sehfick, Lola Silvergleid, Maxine Spiegel, Myma Tedles, Mary Wamsley Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop Two Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets) New York, NY 10023-6214 212/496-2966 Administrative Offices Museum of American Folk Art 61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023-7015 212/977-7170,Fax 212/977-8134, http://www.folkartmuse.org

6 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

•

Thurston Nichols AMERICAN

ANTIQUES

917 Mosser Road • Breinigsville, PA 18031 610.395.5154• Fax: 610.395.3679

PAINT DECORATED MASTERPIECE Pennsylvania Two Piece Dutch Cupboard Berks County, circa 1830 Original paint and all original condition.

85 inches tall x 60 inches wide x 21 inches deep

John Sideli Art& Antiques Stylish Objects ofthe 18th,19th &20th Centuries 214 ROUTE 71 •PO BOX 149 • NORTH EGREMONT, MA 01252 • 413. 528. 2789 MELISSA GREENE,ASSOCIATE • WESTPORT,CT • 203. 227. 2638

PATRICK BELL

6465 Route 202 New Hope, PA 18938 215-862-5055 fax: 215-862-0550 Appointment Preferred

Talvern Sign Goshen, Ct., c.1810 Painted wood and iron.

53" x 26" x 2".

Exhibited:"American Folk Art from H.W. Hemphill Jr. Collection" Japan, 1976

Reverse Side

Exhibiting at the 45th Annual Winter Antiques Show, New York City, January 14-24,1999

JOSEPH PARKER

‘itt

Peacefid Gardens (detail), acrylic on canvas, 53" x 43, 1985

Re-introducing an Important Body of Work by a Utopic Visionary

CARL HAMMER GALLERY CARL HAMMER GALLERY,INC. 200 W. SUPERIOR ST., CHICAGO,IL. 60610 Ph: 312-266-8512 Fx: 312-266-851() E-Mail: hammergall@aol.com

Black and Brown Man with Suitcase, c. 1939-42,pencil and poster paint on cardboard, 151/2 x 113/4 in., 39.4 x 29.8 co).

BILL TRAYLOR DEEP BLUES KUNSTMUSEUM, BERN NOVEMBER 4, 1998-JANUARY 31, 1999 MUSEUM lIJOINIG, KOLN FEBRUARY 19-MAY 2, 1999

'V

HIRSCHL & ADLER MODERN

21 EASOOTH STREET NEW YORK NY 10021 TEL 212 535 8810 FAX 212 772 7237

4th Annual

MARINE ART SALE January 8-30, 1999 at The Union League Club, NYC

'rob n our collection of aintin h Bard: ames Bard American, 1815-1897) 'American Tugboat JAS. N. THOMPSON" -igned and dated 1883, LR atercolor on paper, 23 1/2 x 39 1/2"

Quester Gallery's 4th Annual Marine Art Sale at The Union League Club,38 E. 37th St./Park Ave., NYC is open daily January 8-30, during the Winter Antiques Show.

Over 100 paintings by prominent 19th & 20th C. marine artists.

Call for further information (860) 535-3860

Winter Exhibition Schedule: Cull fur Ito Oki information NYC: hill Antique Show @I Armory 11/17-22 NYC:The Union League Club 1/8-30/99 Winnetka, IL: Winnetka Antiques Show 3/3-7/99 Naples, FL: 18th Naples Antiques Show 3/9-13/99

QUESTER GALLERY The Gallery of Exceptional Marine Art & Antiques WE ARE ALWAYS INTERESTED IN PURCHASING FINE MARINE ART, MODELS 6? CAMPAIGN FURNITURE. Single items, collections or estates. Artists of specific interest (very partial list): Bricher, Buttersworth, China Trade, Dawson, Gray, Hoyne,Jacobsen, Lane, Salmon, Walters. HIGHEST PRICES PAID FOR FINE EXAMPLES.

www.artnet.com/quester.html On the Green/P.O. Box 446D

Color Catalog $12.00 Stonington, CT 06378

Gallery Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-5 & By Appt.

Tel:(860)535-3860

Fax:(860) 535-3533

CHRISTIE'S

RI

IMPORTANT AMERICAN FURNITURE, FOLK ART AND DECORATIVE ARTS Auction: New York, January 15-16, 1999 at Christie's Viewing: January 9-14 Inquiries: 212 546 1181

Edward Hicks (1780-1849) Peaceable Kingdom, circa 1837 oil on canvas, 29 '12)( 35 1. in.

502 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022

catalogues: 800 395 6300

www.christies.com

"It's the most beautiful book I have ever seen. It's regal:' Joan Johnson

"This book will redefine how people look atfolk are' Sam Herrup

"This superbly designed volume resolves any doubts that the best ofAmericanfolk sculpture is art in the truest sense ofthe word...Each splendid page offers its own surprise and delight, as works of beguiling simplicity, aesthetic strength and sheer beauty dazzle the eyes:' Gerard C. Wertkin, Director Museum of American Folk Art

"The book is elegant, creative and majestic — a work of art in and of itself... nofurther argument needs to be made about the unusual quality, grace and power of Nancy Druckman Americanfolk art?'

Director, American Folk Art Sotheby's

A book by Torn Geismar and Harvey Kahn. Slipcased, 16 page catalog insert.

281 photographs. Published by Harry N. Abrams Inc.

DIRECTOR'S

LETTER

GERARD C. WERTIGN

ne of the most widely admired paintings in the collection of the Museum of American Folk Art is Anuni Phillips' Girl in Red Dress with Cat and Dog (c. 1834-1836). It is unlikely that the artist or his engaging subject ever could have expected that this portrait would appear on a United States postage stamp more than a century and a half later, but as announced in the spring 1998 issue of Folk Art, this happy event has now occurred.

As one of twenty stamps in the United States Postal Service's "Four Centuries of American Art" stamp series, which includes works by Winslow Homer,Edward Hopper, and Mark Rothko, our Girl in Red Dress is in distinguished company. Among the museums represented in the series are The National Gallery of Art, the Chicago Art Institute, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. What a splendid affirmation of the importance of folk art to the national cultural heritage! On November 2, 1998, the Museum and the United States Postal Service celebrated the issuance of the stamp in a dedication ceremony at the Museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery.

Ceremonies of a more solemn nature also occurred at the Museum this fall. As I reported in the last issue of Folk Art, the Museum recently lost two great friends, Herbert Waide Hemphill Jr. and Jean Lipman.

The Museum hosted memorial tributes to each of these important figures, occasions that provided friends and associates with an opportunity to reflect and reminisce. The memorial tribute to Bert Hemphill, which was held on September 14, was jointly organized with Marshall Hemphill, Bert's nephew; Marshall's wife, Sarah; and the National Museum of American All in Washington, D.C. Speakers included Michael Hall; William A. Fagaly, assistant director of the New Orleans Museum of Art; Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, deputy chief curator of the National Museum of American Art; Marshall Hemphill; and me. My sincere thanks go to the NMAA not only for cohosting the event but for arranging for Howard Finster's portrait of Bert to be on view during the ceremony. The NMAA kindly arranged for the production and printing of the invitation and program as well. Also on view was an early selfportrait of Bert, a generous gift to the Museum from Julia Weissman, coauthor with Bert of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists, who gave the Museum her valuable archives related to this book.I am deeply grateful to Julia Weissman for her thoughtfulness.

The Whitney Museum of American Art cohosted the tribute to Jean Lipman on October 14. I had the privilege of participating as a speaker with Peter Lipman, Jean's son; Joel S. Ehrenlcranz, president of the board of trustees at the Whitney; Jennifer Russell, deputy director of exhibitions at The Museum of Modem Art; Elizabeth V. Warren, our Museum's consulting curator; and Cyril I. Nelson, a trustee of the Museum and longtime friend of Jean Lipman.

Herbert W.Hemphill Jr. and Jean Lipman,each in a different way, helped shape the field of American folk art through their collections and discoveries. The continuing vitality of the collecting tradition that they represented was made clear to me upon the opening of"Masterpieces in Wood: American Folk Marquetry from The Hirschhorn Foundation" on October 5. For three decades or more,Robert and Marjorie Hirschhorn have collected stunning examples of folk marquetry, a previously little-known aspect of American folk decoration. The exhibi-

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tion was a real eye-opener, especially in emphasizing the relationship between marquetry and other aspects of American folk art. Expertly organized by Richard Miihlberger, as guest curator, the exhibition included several superb objects given to the Museum by The Hirschhorn Foundation. Of the Museum's contributions to the field,I am especially proud of American Folk Marquetry: Masterpieces in Wood,the handsome volume by Richard Miihlberger that documents the exhibition.

Following the closing of"Masterpieces in Wood"on January 10, 1999,the Museum will be installing "The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do." Organized by Lee Kogan, director of the Museum's Folk Art Institute, as exhibition curator, the show brings together more than eighty works of art in various media by a remarkable artist. The exhibition is supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Judith Rothschild Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Lee Kogan, well known as a specialist in twentieth-century folk art, is also the author of the intriguing book that the Museum is publishing in connection with the exhibition. With an essay by Kinshasha Holman Conwill, director of The Studio Museum in Harlem,the nation's premier African American museum,the book includes Kogan's detailed analysis of Nellie Mae Rowe's work,selections from the artist's own words,and a comprehensive bibliography.

All in all, the fall at the Museum has been a period for remembering the past and accomplishing much that will benefit the future. To the Museum's members and friends go my thanks, warm holiday greetings, and best wishes for a wonderful new year.*

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART IS

Tattooed man and woman: From a recently purchased private collection of vintage circus photographs dating from 1880 - 1950

The hundreds of images range from standard circus tents and billboards to candid shots of clowns and performers and rare & unusual publicity poses of side-show characters.

Engaging and touching, strange yet familiar, these photographs record circus history while offering us an insight into an alternative culture.

Other photography: We are the exclusive source for works by Morton Bartlett

Also available: Georgia Blizzard Albert Louden Moira Fain

MARS ON ART

flNTRADITIONAL

WOODHAVEN, TEL /FAX

Christopher Catlin Creative DePrie Scottie Wilson John McQu irk

Leofric Baron Jacob Mathey

HARRIS AND

SIMSBURY

860.658.9333 By

CT

ANTIQUES

06070

USA

E-MAIL:marharart@aol.com

Appointment

ALLAN KATZ Americana

Masterful Trapeze Toy: carved and painted wood and metal.

Attributed to Earl Eyman, Drumright, Oklahoma, ca. 1930.

Allan & Penny Katz • By Appointment • 25 Old Still Road, Woodbridge, Connecticut 06525 • (203) 393-9356

Robert Cargo

FOLK ART GALLERY Contemporary Folk Art • Haitian Spirit Flags Southern, Folk, and African-American Quilts

Fred Webster (1911-1998). Carvings and constructions. Biblical and related subjects.

Painted wood. Top, Adam and Eve, Peter Denies Christ. Bottom: Snake Handlers, The Dream of Boaz, Angel Choir.

Not shown but also available: Noah's Ark, Moses in the Bulrushes, Abraham Prepares to Sacrifice Isaac. Jonah and the Whale, Devil Band. Individual devils and angels.

Fred Webster is included in Sellen and Johanson, 20t1 Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art; Kemp and Boyer, Revelations: Alabama's Visionary Folk Artists; and the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Outsider Artists of Alabama.

2314 Sixth Street, Downtown, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401 • Home Phone 205-758-8884 Open weekends only and by appointment • Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 2 to 5 p.m.

Nellie Mae Rowe, Untitled, 1978, Crayon, Felt-tip Marker, Graphite on Paper

During The Outsider Art Fair, visit us at Cortland Jessup Gallery, 670 Broadway, New York, NY, 212.253.6660 January 21-24: Thursday/Noon-9pm; Friday/Noon-8pm; Saturday/11am-7pm; Sunday/11am-6pm

The floatAway Bldg.

1123 Zonolite Rd • Suite 27 • Atlanta, GA 30306 • p - 404 815 1545 • f - 404 815 1544 • email - barchgalObellsouth net

SISTER GERTRUDE MORGAN WILLIAM DAWSON

MARY T. SMITH

CLEMENTINE HUNTER WILLIE WHITE CHARLES HUTSON

"CHIEF" WILLEY

"PAPPY" KITCHENS

JOSEPH YOAKUM Jesus Meeting Womanfrom Samaria at Water Well, 11" x 15"

WILLIAM PELTIER • FINE AND FOLK ART 376 Millaudon St. • New Orleans, LA 70118 • By Appointment tel: (504) 861-3196 • fax: (504) 862-7403 e-mail: wpeltier@aol.com • web site: http://www.peltierart.com

ANGELA USREY GALLERY an

american

art

galler

SYBIL GIBSON works dating from

1976 - 1993 101 FRAZIER AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE 37405 E-mail: ausrey©mindspring.com 423.265.2760 (FORMERLY NORTH SHORE GALLERY) -SYBIL GIBSON, A STUDY IN GREEN & PINK, 22 x 27, 1993

20 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

AMERICAN

LEWIS SMITH PRIMITIVE

(1907 - 1998)

GALLERY

An American eccentric whose pictures depict his fantasies, women athletes, as well as the interiors of diners he visited in his travels on the railroad.

594 Broadway #205 New York, NY 10012 MON.-SAT 11-6 212-966-1530

Best of Dixie, crayon, ink, markers on shopping bag, 11 x 17 inches

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Carnival Lunch Diner, crayons, ink, markers on Saltines cracker box, 10 x 17 inches

MINIATURES

COMPILED BY TANYA HEINRICH

Notable Exhibitions in Europe An exhibition of works by selftaught artists culled from Chicago private collections is on view at the Halle Saint Pierre (011 33 1 42 58 72 89)in Paris through July 25, 1999."Art outsider et folk art des collections de Chicago" features works by Henry Darger, William Dawson,Sam Doyle, Lee Godie, Bill Traylor, Gregory Warmack("Mr.Imagination"), Derek Webster, and Joseph Yoakum.

Georgia Artist Dorethey Gorham

ea 0; 7dri tr Gallery Barbara Brogdon 1611 Hwy. 129 S.• Cleveland, GA 30528 (706)865-6345• FAX (706) 219-3112 www.rosehipsart.com • email: rosehips@stc.net

22 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

"Deep Blues," a traveling exhibition featuring the work of Bill Traylor, is on view at Kunstmuseum (011 41 31 311 09 44)in Bern, Switzerland, through Jan. 31, 1999. The exhibition, which is accompanied by an illustrated catalog, will travel to the Museum Ludwig(011 49 221 221 2560)in Cologne, Germany,from Feb. 19 to May 2, 1999.

RED GOAT WM1 SNAKE, Bill Traylor, Montgomery, Alabama, c. 1939-1942, poster paint on cardboard, 111 / 2 x 13,collection of Judy Saslow

Major Exhibition of European Outsider Art "Private Worlds: Classic Outsider Artists from Europe," an exhibition of distinguished works from the first half of 20th century, will be on view at the Katonah Museum of Art(914/232-9555)in Katonah, N.Y.,from Dec. 13, 1998, to Feb. 28, 1999. Organized by curators John Beardsley and Roger Cardinal, the exhibition is comprised of 80 works on loan from the Prinzlioni Collection in Heidelberg, Germany; the Won Foundation and the Kunstmuseum in Bern, Switzerland;

the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland; and private collections. It is largely historical in focus and will attempt to distinguish between European and American conceptions of outsider art. Featured artists will include Aloise Corbaz, Madge Gill, Augustin Lesage, Heinrich Anton Miiller, Friedrich Schroder-Sonnenstem, Scottie Wilson, and Adolf Wolfli. The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalog.

LOUIS MONZA Exhibitions

SHIP CHANDLER WITH ANGEL, Earl Cunningham, St. Augustine, Florida, c. 1976, house paint or tempera on Masonite, 24 x 46, Museum of American Folk Art, gift of lean Tomei, 1979.10.1

Sidney Mishkin Gallery Baruch College, New York 5 Feb — 3 Mar

Outsider Fair, New York Luise Ross Gallery 21-24 January

New Folk Art Museum in Florida The Mennello Museum of American Folk Art (407/246-4278) in Orlando, Fla., opened November 22. Founded by Michael and Marilyn Mennello, the museum's collection centers around their extensive holdings of the work of Earl Cunningham, yet it also

includes all aspects of American folk art. The inaugural exhibition, "Earl Cunningham: Dreams Realized," featuring paintings and objects from the museum's collection and other public collections, is on view through Mar. 28, 1999.

Traditional Folk Art at The Met Portraiture, landscapes, mourning scenes, and historical and religious works by such folk art luminaries as Rufus Hathaway, Edward Hicks, Joshua Johnson, and Ammi Phillips will be included in the exhibition "American Folk Paintings and Drawings in The Metropolitan Museum of

Art," on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (212/8795500) in New York City from Feb. 16 to June 20, 1999. The exhibition will consist of oil paintings, drawings, watercolors, and portrait miniatures; the oil paintings in this selection will remain on view through Sept. 12.

Online Forum Dealer Randall Morris has developed a listserve on the Internet devoted to topics relating to folk art to foster ongoing discussions among participants in the field. Relevant issues concern collecting, preservation, conservation, research, and curatorial organization as well as music, literature, and African, Caribbean, European, Pacific, and South American self-taught artists. Register for this free service at www.onelist.com/ subscribe.cgi/outsiderart.

For more information, contact Morris at Mysteries@aol.com.

LUISE ROSS GALLERY 568 Broadway New York 10012

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 23

glte

MINIATURES

MANHATTAN ART & ANTIQUES CENTER The Nation's Largest and Finest Antiques Center.

Over 100 galleries offering Period Furniture, Jewelry, Silver, Americana, Orientalia, Africana and other Objets d'Art. 1050 SECOND AVENUE(AT 55TH ST.) NEW YORK, N.Y. 10022 PRESENTS

Botanical Sampler Applique quilt with exuberant flowering vine border, c. 1860.

LAURA FISHER ANTIQUE QUILTS& AMERICANA Gallery #84 New York City's largest, most exciting selection of Antique Quilts, Hooked Rugs, Coverlets, Paisley Shawls, Beacon Blankets, Vintage Accessories and American Folk Art. Laura Fisher: Tel: 212-838-2596 Monday—Saturday 11AM-6PM The Manhattan Art&Antiques Center:

Tel: 212-355-4400 • Fax: 212-355-4403 www.glenwoodmanagement.com/maac Open Daily 10:30-6, Sun. 12-6 Convenient Parking • Open to the Public

24 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Quilt World Updates and Exhibitions The American Museum of Quilts & Textiles (408/971-0323)in San Jose, Calif., has changed its name to the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, determining that the public would benefit from knowing where the museum is located.

The American Quilt Study Group(402/472-5361) moved its headquarters and research library from San Francisco to Lincoln, Nebr., in June. The new library is housed at the University of Nebraska and is in close proximity to the International Quilt Study Center and the Ardis and Robert James Quilt Collection.

For more information, please write to the AQSG at P.O. Box 4737, Lincoln, NE 68504-4737.

Six exhibitions showcasing quilts will be on view this winter at the following venues:

Baltimore, Maryland— "Starry Nights: Star-Patterned Quilts from the Collection" The Baltimore Museum of Art 410/396-6300 to Jan. 31, 1999

Denver, Colorado— "Crazy Quilts" Denver Art Museum 303/640-4433 to Apr. 11, 1999

Dallas, Texas— "Quilts and Coverlets: Off the Bed and on the Wall" Dallas Museum of Art 214/922-1200 to Feb. 7, 1999

Morehead,Kentucky— "Kentucky Quilts: Roots and Wings" Kentucky Folk Art Center 606/783-2204 to Feb. 15, 1999

Lincoln, Nebraska— "Fanciful Flowers: Botany and the American Quilt" The International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska 402/472-2911 Feb. 15, 1999,to Jan. 2001 New York, New York— "Dancing at the Louvre: Faith Ringgold's French Collection and Other Story Book Quilts" The New Museum of Contemporary Art 212/219-1222 to Jan. 1, 1999

CAN QUILT II: WINDMILL LOG CABIN (detail), Tom Pfannerstill, Louisville, Kentucky, 1996, aluminum cans on wood panel, 4 ,courtesy Kentucky Folk Art / M½>67½>11 Center, Morehead

FRANK J. MIELE CON

TEMPOR

AMERICAN

A SMALL OFFICE, Drossos P. SkyIlas, Chicago, c. 1960s, oil on canvas, 14 - 18", collection of Jim Nutt and Gladys Nilsson

FOLK

AR

Y

ART

gallery

Intuit Reopens in New Space Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art(312/243-9088) has relocated to 756 No. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, with two new galleries and a performance space. The inaugural exhibition, "Homes: Places & Spaces," is on view through Dec. 31. Featuring works that celebrate the concept of home,the exhibition features 70 works by artists such as James Castle, Henry Darger, Sanford Darling, Sam Doyle, William Hawkins, Alex Maldonado,Raymond Materson, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Aldo Piacenza, and

Drossos P. SkyIlas, in addition to photographs documenting artists' transformations of their own homes into artistic environments.

Intuit's winter schedule also includes "Donald Wainwright: Christian's People," an exhibition of the New Mexico artist's nearly life-size figural wood sculptures, on view through Jan. 23, 1999, and "The Shop-Worn Angel's Movie Star Museum," an exhibition of works by Chicago artist Honey Bee Socoloff, on view from Jan. 15 to Mar. 27, 1999.

Denise Allen, Country Farmers

Call for Papers The John Michael Kohler Arts Center and The Kohler Foundation will be hosting a national symposium on the subject of contemporary American self-taught artists and their work in the spring of 2000. Interested parties should submit abstracts of research implementing new approaches to the study and presentation of the work of selftaught artists. Professionals and graduate students in diverse disci-

plines are encouraged to apply.

Parties interested in speaking about current efforts and issues in conservation and preservation are also invited to submit proposals.

The deadline for abstracts is May 15, 1999. For more information, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Leslie Umberger at JMKAC,608 New York Ave.,P.O. Box 489, Sheboygan, WI 53082, or call 920/458-6144.

1086 Madison Avenue (at 82nd Street) New York, NY 10028 (212) 249-7250

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 2b

www.antonart.corn

MINIATURES

ANTON HAARDT GALLERY Flash Forward As early as 1708, sailors used tattoos as a mark of their distinctive profession, beginning an enduring maritime tradition."Skin Deep: The Art of the Tattoo," an exhibition on view at The Mariners' Museum (757/5962222)in Newport News, Va., through Mar. 30, 1999, explores

the history of the tattoo, its enduring relationship with the military, and its spread from New York City to Norfolk, Va. Objects on view include flash drawings, instruments, engravings,illustrations, narratives, circus memorabilia, photographs, and related artifacts.

To the Dogs Handmade and manufactured toy dogs are on view at The American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog (314/821-3647)in Saint Louis, Mo.,through Feb. 14, 1999."Toy Dogs/Dog Toys," an exhibition with an emphasis on

the breeds of small toy dogs such as Yorkies, pugs, Chihuahuas, and shill tzus,features six Amish fabric toys c. 1900-1920, as well as hand-carved and painted wooden toys, tin toys, paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

Aaron Birnbaum 1895-1998

SYBIL,GIBSON Five Faces 1985, Powdered tempera on paper,38" x 19" David Butler Thornton Dail Sam Doyle Minnie Evans Howard Finster Sybil Gibson Bessie Harvey Lonnie Holley

Clementine Hunter James H. Jennings Calvin Livingston Charlie Lucas R.A. Miller B.F. Perkins Royal Robertson Juanita Rogers

Mary T.Smith Henry Speller Jimmy Lee Sudduth "Son" Thomas Annie Tolliver Mose Tolliver Ben Williams Chuckle Williams

By appointment only: 1220 SOUTH HULL STREET• MONTGOMERY,AL 36104 (334)263-5494 GALLERY ANNEX:2714 COLISEUM •NEW ORLEANS,LA 70130 (504)897-1172

26 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Aaron Birnbaum, one of America's oldest folk painters, died at the Crown Nursing Home in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Aug. 7. He was 103 years old.

Birnbaum painted actively until two years ago when he was incapacitated by a stroke. In 1995, the Museum of American Folk Art celebrated the artist's one hundredth birthday with a small exhibition and reception for family and friends. He also attended the opening of a one-person exhibition of his work at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Conn.,in 1997.

Birnbaum was born in Skola, a small town in Eastern Galicia, then a region of Austria-Hungary and now part of the Ukraine, on July 18, 1895. He worked as a tailor both before and after immigrating to the United States in 1913. He turned to painting in the mid-1960s to fill his time after the death of his wife, Sadie, and his subsequent retirement.

His early works were given to family and friends, but in the last several years his works

have reached a larger audience.

Many of his paintings are peaceful narratives that evoke an optimistic, idealized view of the world, contrasting with Birnbaum's early life experience of struggle and loneliness. The artist also painted more enigmatic and complex pictures of buildings, bridges, and an oft-repeated selfportrait as a younger man. Birnbaum favored a representational, yet abstract, modernist compositional style, using two distinct painting techniques—one a crisp, linear, and strongly graphic approach, the other looser, more expressionistic, and painterly. He worked with oils and acrylic paint on cardboard, velvet, mirrors, old fruit-crate tops, tin, and other everyday materials.

Birnbaum is survived by two of his three children, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

—Lee Kogan

In Memory of

AARON BIRNBAUM 1895-1998

Ronald Lockett 1965-1998 Ronald Lockett, a self-taught artist known for his paintings and assemblages imbued with social commentary,died of double pneumonia on Aug.23 at Bessemer Can-away Medical Center in Bessemer, Ala. Born in Bessemer on May 20, 1965,Lockett graduated from Hueytown High School and lived in Bessemer all his brief life.

Lockett's great-grandmother Sarah Dial Lockett, at whose house he spent much time,raised her nephew,renowned artist Thornton Dial. A shy person, Lockett always loved to draw and paint, but was dubious about a career in art. The Dials became an extended family for Lockett and encouraged his art-making.

Lockett's art is subtle, elegant, and powerful at the same time.

One of his early sustained themes was the metaphoric use of animals

in danger.

Many works carry autobiographical references as well as profound environmental concerns. Using a variety of media, he artfully explored metal collage and painting in white on white and black on black. Lockett's evocative and dramatic work was always developing. He was a superior craftsman and worked thoughtfully and methodically.

His art is in the permanent collections of the Museum of American Folk Art, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham,Ala. Lockett was buried in Pine Hill Cemetery in Bessemer. He is survived by his parents, Short and Betty; three brothers, Clarence, David,and Short Jr.; and a sister, Jeanette Lockett Williams. —Lee Kogan

W. Raymond Coins 1904-1998 Willie Raymond Coins, a North Carolina tobacco farmer and a wood and stone carver, died June 4 at the Kate B.Reynolds Hospice in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was known for his carved figural sculptures and bas reliefs of biblical, historical, and personal subjects.

Born in Stuart, Va.,on Jan. 28, 1904,Coins and his family moved to North Carolina when he was seven. He descended from a family offarmers and he continued in this tradition. Coins farmed for others until 1950, when he saved enough money to buy his own farm. He settled with his wife, Ruby King, and three children in Westfield, in the Winston-Salem area, and worked as a tobacco farmer and warehouser until the mid-1960s, when he retired. Coins was an active member of the Primitive Baptist Church in Westfield.

He started to carve as a hobby, using local river stones and cedar wood, and made small objects and eventually animals and his "doll babies." His wood figures are sometimes nearly life-size. His busts and fuller figures are representational abstractions carved with knives and chisels in a minimalist style; the frontal figures are hairless, like Coins himself, with small, staring eyes.

He is survived by a son, James B.; a daughter, Rhumell Taylor; four granddaughters, Cheryl Morris, Carol Hunter, Trinia Roberts, and Raffael Currie; and five great-grandchildren. —Lee Kogan

Self-Portrait, 1996

At age 100 Birnbaum remarked, "If I was only 90 again... the things I would do!"

Visit our booth at the Outsider Art Fair, NYC

K.S. Art 73 LEONARD STREET

NY NY 10013 212 219 9918

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 27

19th CENTURY BARN STARS These wooden geometric decorations, high on exterior barn gables, not to be confused with "hex signs", served as the builder's signature and sometimes as ventilators. They range in size from 3'to 13'. Now they appear as grey or weathered matte white. Remounted indoors, they compel the eye. The star shown is 6' dia., Ca. 1880.

MORGAN ANDERSON AMERICANA P.O. Box 72, Keedysville, MD 21756 (near the intersection of 1-70 & 1-81) 301 416.2787 / 432.6925 (voice mail) AMERICAN COUNTRY FURNITURE,DECORATON & FOLK ART Anytime by appointment

MINIATURES

Robyn Banks "The Beaver" Beverland 1957-1998

Fred Webster 1911-1998 Fred Webster, a woodcarver from Fayette, Ala., died on May 27 at the age of 87. In the past two years, poor health had limited his artistic output. He was born on Feb. 10,1911, and

28 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

worked for many years as a teacher in the small rural schools of Fayette County.

Webster began to carve after retiring from his job as principal of Berry High School, and he spent some time working with other woodcarvers in North Carolina. Webster was also keenly interested in travel, and during his retirement years he visited all the continents.

His work has been exhibited at the Birmingham Museum of Art and is in many public collections throughout the country. He is survived by two daughters. —Jack Black Director, Fayette Art Museum, Fayette, Ala.

Robyn Banks Beverland, known as"The Beaver," died in Oldsmar, Fla., on Aug. 24 after a long illness. He was born on Mar.5, 1957, with the rare Wolfram Syndrome, which caused numerous health problems,including diabetes, cerebral palsy, and deteriorating eyesight.

Beverland began to paint in 1991,favoring house paint on paper or plywood, and he was encouraged by his parents. Beverland's colorful works, depicting cheerful scenes with people or ani-

mals, were shown in local flea markets. The artist was recommended to the Very Special Arts Gallery in Washington,D.C.,a nonprofit gallery that speciali7ps in the work of artists with disabilities; Beverland was a regular participant there beginning in 1992. He also participated in an annual art show, Folk Fest,in Atlanta,from 1995 to 1997,and his work was advertised regularly in Folk Art. In April, Beverland was honored at the Helen Keller Foundation's annual awards banquet in Atlanta.

Beverland is survived by his parents, Wanda and Jerald; two brothers, Jeri and Shawn; a sister, Hope; and a grandmother, Jerrie Kirby. —Lee Kogan

Billie Hutt 11111-T111 ',II

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"Decade of Dreams", acrylk on nine canvas panels, 42x56"

A new exhibit of Billie's work opens in the gallery, December 26, 1998.

Her work will also be on display in the gallery's booth at the Outsider Art Fair, January 21-24, in New York City.

It has been featured in Country Home Magazine, Brooklyn Bridge Magazine, Hadassah Magazine, and chosen as Santa Fe City's Art Poster.

Photos available upon request.

(LESLIE MUTH GALLERY The gallery is now open by appointment only in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

221 East de Vargas Santa Fe New Mexico 87501 Telephone and facsimile (505) 989-4620

Sybil Gibson (1908 - 1995)

Elegance ofColor 1964

Beached 1965 Blue Floral 1968

American Pie Contemporary Folk Artfrom the Southeast Elaine Johansen • 113 Dock Street • Wilmington, North Carolina 28401 (910)251-2131 • www.americanpieart.com

Ginger Young Gallery Southern Self-Taught Art By appointment 919.932.6003 Works by more than four dozen artists, including: Rudolph Bostic

Raymond Coins

Howard Finster

Sybil Gibson • Willie links • M. C. Jones • Joe Light R. A. Miller Reginald Mitchell Sarah Rakes Royal Robertson • J. P. Scott Lorenzo Scott Earl Simmons James "Buddy" Snipes Jimmie Lee Sudduth • Mose Tolliver • John Henry Toney Myrtice West • Willie White • Purvis Young

For a free video catalogue or a price list please contact: Ginger Young Gallery, 5802 Brisbane Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Phone/Fax 919.932.6003 • E-mail: gingerart@aol.com Website: http://members.aol.com/gingerart2/

Do You Have Me Eny Food by Nellie Mae Rowe Crayon on paper, 14"x 17, 1978

30 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

BRUCE SHELTON KATHY MOSES, GALLERY DIRECTOR SHELTON GALLERY Stanford Square 4239 Harding Road • Nashville, TN 37205 • (615) 298-9935 Fax (615) 298-9419 • www.sheltongallery.com • e-mail: sheltongal@aol.com

Owl (c. 1940) by William Edmondson (c.1874-1951).

Limestone, 11.75" x6" x8.75"

Also dealing in fine works of art by Thornton Dial Sr., S.L. Jones, Helen LaFrance, Tim Lewis, Herbert Singleton, and Edgar Tolson

The Holy Halls ofOther Walls(1985) by Rev. Howard Finster, #4494.

Oil on board with frame made by artist, 48" x 48". Other Finsters available.

Wilson Bigaud (Haiti, b. 1929-).

Oil on canvas, 52" x 52"(1969)

Exhibiting at the National Black Fine Arts Show, NYC January 29-31, 1999

Andrew Flamm & Michelle Hauser

ODD FELLOWS ANTIQUES

"Let There Be Light" Masonic teaching tool used in York Rite degree work representing the archway of King Solomon's temple.

Carved and painted wood. Circa 1890. 41" x 15" x 4"

P.O. Box 145, Mount Vernon, Maine 04352 • Tel:(207) 929-8909 • (207) 293-3569 EXHIBITING: AMERICANA

AT

THE

PIERS

• JANUARY

226 West 2151 Stree4 New York, N.Y. 10011 (212)929-8769, Appointment Suggested Subject to prior sale

32 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

18

& 17

Important Americana Including 20th Century American Art from the Collection of the Late Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. Sold to benefit the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Auction in New York: January 14, 15 and 16, 1999 Inquiries: Nancy Druckman or Lauren Bresnan (212) 606-7225 fax (212) 606-7038 Catalogue: 0SOTHEBY'S, INC. 1998 WILLIAM F. RUPRECHT, PRINCIPAL AUCTION

(800) 444-3709; outside the continental U.S. (203) 847-0465 fax (203) 849-0223 Sotheby's 1334 York Avenue New York, NY 10021 www.sothebys.com

Henry J. Darger (1892-1973) Bathing Scenes with the Vivian Girls and Cavalry Scene: A double-sided drawing Auction estimate: $10,000-20,000 To be sold on Friday, January 15, 1999

SOTHEBY'S

The Dot Man: George Andrews of Madison,Georgia Photo: courtesy the Morris Museum of Art,Augusta, Georgia

January 26• February 14 1999

FYI:Folk and Family: George and Benny Andrews

by Susie Mee The Clarion: Fall 1990, Vol 15, No.4

Opening reception: Tuesday January 26 5.9 PM

George Andrews• The Poor Little Gun • 1989• Oil on canvas • 18 x 24"

Broome Street NYC,NY 10013 The Broome Street Gallery 498 212, 941.0130 e-mail reginas@anny.org

David Butler

Be sure to visit our booth at the Outsider Art Fair January 21-24, 1999, in New York.

1898 — 1997

Collection Includes: Sam Doyle Howard Finster Reginald K. Gee Clementine Hunter Tim Lewis Albert Louden J.B. Murray Sarah Rakes Royal Robertson Nellie Mae Rowe And others.

GILLEY6

CALLMY F

R

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ME

8750 Florida Blvd.

Baton Rouge, LA 70815 (225) 922-9225 Fax:(225) 925-1136 Web site: www.eatel.net/-outsider

34 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

S

"Boat" 28 x 38 Enamel on Tin

Visit us in New York a• • • •4.

• a * 1110 I.. 44414 4

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6 &Olt • ••••• •0 4 • a a * SW 6•4••

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acrylic on paper 26" x 30.5"

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7th Annual Outsider / Contemporary Folk Art Exhibition January 15 - January 24, 1999 Art 54 Gallery 54 Greene Street, Soho corner of Broome Street & Greene Street 212. 226.1605 during exhibition Every day 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. and by appointment Meet the Artists • Closing Reception - Saturday, January 23, 7 - 10 p.m.

4.0000.1werwrippaa00000010mbrow•-

Marcia Weber/Art Objects 1050 Woodley Road • Montgomery, Alabama 36106 334.262.5349 • E-Mail: weberart @ mindspring.com • Fax: 334.567.0060 Website: http://weberart.home.mindspring.com

9ate/de Eaftitexer zuvia ea,u4(44 1,(evegatetut4l'70e4 iifter Seoce Ralph Aufder Heide Milton Bond Ree Brown Rita Hicks Davis Mamie Deschillie Minnie Evans Amos Ferguson

"PINKY'S HOUSE" 30X24 RITA HICKS DAVIS, Oil on board

Sybil Gibson Jack Savitsky Haitian Art & Masters Lorenzo Scott Ed Johnson Anne Strasberg Janice Kennedy Fred Webster Justin McCarthy Mary Whitfield Reginald Mitchell Harriet Wiseman Nikifor Malcah Zeldis

afrotwougt:314-993-9g51 9:314-993-9260

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10046 ea4awfRoad S.,dotax, 71â‚Ź0 63124

Rita Hicks Davis(1956 - )was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She began painting in 1987, is self-taught, and now lives and works in the Midwest. Like many of the wonderful Folk Artists of Nova Scotia, her work has an * Come See Us at the OUTSIDER ART FAIR, New York "old-world" charm that is tender and endearing. Her own January 21 - 24, 1999; BOOTH 29 unique style is obviously naive, while at the same time highly sophisticated.

IL of Atints ESTABLISHED 1973

'The jinest in Southern jolk L.Art

Nellie Mae Rowe (1900-1982)"Angel and Sheep", 1981, Crayon on Paper, 12"x 16", Signed right center

36 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

5325 Roswell Road, NE/ Atlanta, GA 30342 404-252-0485/FAX 404-252-0359

Robert Cargo

FOLK ART GALLERY Contemporary Folk Art • Haitian Spirit Flags Southern, Folic, and African-American Quilts

Sybil Gibson (1908-1995). Woman with Roses (untitled).

Tempera on paper, 211/2 x 16 inches, dated 1985.

Other quality paintings by Sybil Gibson in a variety of subjects, done between 1970-1985, are available—portraits of women, men, single and multiple figures, children, birds, cats, and flowers.

2314 Sixth Street, Downtown, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401 • Home Phone 205-758-8884 Open weekends only and by appointment • Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 2 to 5 p.m.

Mc"

:

A.G. Rizzoli. P38,36 & 37, The Place, The Man, The Job, (Trilogy) 1943,colored ink on rag paper

Julio G., Woman in Beige Dres3,1996, wood and paint

Look for us at the

Outsider Art Fair [self-taught, visionary, outsider, intuitive, art brut,folk] Jan. 22 — 24 / Preview Jan. 21 The Puck Building, New York, NY

Dorothy Binger,Home is Love,1994, mixed media

THE

AMES GALLERY 4 1 11Z

Dealers in exceptional self-taught, visionary, naive, and outsider art.

Bonnie Grossman, Director 2661 Cedar Street, Berkeley, California 94708 Telephone 510/845-4949 Fax 510/845-6219

A.G. Rizzoli: Architect ofMagnificent Visions, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., is available at the Gallery. Please contact us.

ANNOUNCEMENT

SAVE THE DATE, IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT PARTY The Board of Trustees of the Museum of American Folk Art is pleased to announce the Contemporary Center Benefit Party following the Preview of the Outsider Art Fair o-Chairs Taryn Leavitt and Elizabeth Stem, along with Advisory Chairs Anne Hill Blanchard and Didi Barrett and Junior Chairs Deborah Bush, Alexis Shein Contos, and Rachel Newman,have an exciting and memorable evening offestivities planned, including a live and silent auction featuring the Nellie Mae Rowe drawing pictured at right. Please join them in support of the Museum of American Folk Art and the newly formed Contemporary Center.

Your participation in this important annual fund-raising event helps to support the ongoing exhibitions and educational programs produced by the Museum.

Benefit Party tickets include admission to the Outsider Art Fair Preview and are priced as follows: Benefactor tickets are $1,000($830 is tax-deductible); Patron tickets are $500($340 is tax-deductible); Supporter tickets are $250($125 is tax-deductible); and Americus Group tickets, specially priced for those 35 years and younger, are $175($50 is tax-deductible). To make reservations for the Benefit Party, please call Jennifer Scott at the Museum's administrative offices (212/977-7170).*

I WILL GO AND SEE THE DENNEST Nellie Mae Rowe Vinings, Georgia c. 1979 Crayon on paper 18/ 1 2 x 24" Donated by Judith Alexander, to be auctioned at the Contemporary Center Benefit Party

Thursday, January 21, 1999 8:30 P.M. Skylight Ballroom, The Puck Building Lafayette and Houston Streets New York City

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 38

COW JUMP OVER THE MONE 1978 Colored pencil, pencil, and crayon on paper 19/ 1 2 v 25/ 1 4" Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1997.10.1

Nellie Mae Rowe in her yard, c. 1980

By Lee Kogan

group of drawings, sculpture, a painting, and a hand-sewn doll made by Georgia artist Nellie Mae Rowe—analyzing these works in the Museum of American Folk Art's permanent collection was all-important in the preparation of the exhibition "The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do," on view at the Museum from January 16 through May 16, 1999.1 Careful examination helped to illuminate Rowe's creative process, her impressive technique, and the development of her vibrant and characteristic style.

40 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 41

The Museum's collection of Rowe's work is composed of many gifts and a promised gift made over the past twenty years from art dealer Judith Alexander, former Museum director Robert Bishop, and collectors Estelle Friedman, Herbert Waide Hemphill Jr., and Chuck and Jan Rosenak. Hemphill remembered a relative of his informing him that there was a woman in Vinings, Georgia, who created the sort of "odd" works that would surely appeal to him. He sought her out and wholeheartedly agreed. He wrote in Rowe's guest book,"What a wonderful time!" A number of collectors visited the artist in the 1970s, before the 1976 exhibi-

and weather on this work (pencil and ink on cardboard) has softened the line and muted the colors, causing it to take on an ethereal quality. The dog has a sympathetic, vulnerable expression and is shown contemplating its food bowl in the foreground. While Rowe never owned a dog, she grew up surrounded by dogs in Fayetteville, Georgia. She spoke of Hoot and Holler, Chaw and Swaller, dogs who pranced around her parents' farm.

While Rowe claimed that she "didn't care for dogs," because they "were too much trouble," they are principal or important subjects in her work; dogs serve as companions, protective figures, and design elements and

and blue hat is simultaneously positioned in- and outdoors. Against an architectural background, dominated by the peaked roof of a shotgun house and its windows, is the cross-section of an interior with a chair and an oval rug. Trees and sky fill the background of this energetic crayon and pencil work. In this small drawing, as in others done over many years, Rowe's interest in quilting comes through.

Squares of color often outline the doors and windows of her houses. The geometric design of buildings, doors, and windows naturally lend themselves to one-, two-, and four-patch quilt patterns. Here, the patterns are clearly discernible in red and green.

THIS IS A WOMAN WITH ATTITUDE tion "Missing Pieces: Georgia Folk metaphorically represent the Art 1770-1976" was presented at the artist in "self-portraits."

Nellie Mae Rowe was Atlanta Historical Society, the first public showing of Rowe's artwork. born to Sam and Luella SwanHemphill acted as a consultant for the son Williams on July 4, 1900. exhibition. It also included the work From earliest childhood, she felt of folk artists Howard Finster and a deep need to express herself Mattie Lou O'Kelley, and nineteenth- graphically, drawing on scraps century African American quiltmaker of paper and cardboard and fashioning dolls from the family Harriet Powers, among others.

The Museum's collection laundry. One of her teachers, ranges from simple studies to such upon seeing her drawings during fully realized works as Cow Jump a family visit, remarked that she over the Mone(1978). Rowe's lexicon "could be an artist" if she "had of images is derived from the natural the chance."3 Another work, Untitled world (plants, animals, and human figures), is rooted in vernacular cul- (Man In Yellow Suit), features a ture ("haints," which are disembodied single, yellow-suited man promighosts in southern folk tradition), and nently placed in a red chair. The comes from the wellspring of her large, square-jawed male has an The young woman in Untitled vivid imagination in the form of oversize head and tiny hands and legs. remarkable hybrid creatures. Her geo- The feet are cropped out. This frontal (Woman and Plaid Background) metric forms and outlines of southern iconic figure, with dark short hair, (1950s), probably a self-portrait, architectural structures are reminiscent large staring eyes, and an open mouth, stands in three-quarter view with her of houses in her neighborhood. In is striking in part because of his place- right hand on her waist and her left addition to her drawings, she ment slightly off-center. There is a artn in an expressive gesture, as if to fashioned large dolls to populate the lively interplay of abstracted or pared- emphasize a point she is making. This interior and exterior of her home envi- down representational elements. The is a woman with attitude. The facial ronment—her "playhouse," created shallow picture plane and the off-kilter expression, direct hand gestures, careafter her second husband, Henry chair allow for a clearer view of the fully coifed upswept hair, and earring Rowe, died in 1948. These dolls were subject. The playful patterns—rounded all support the interpretation of this special companions for the childless penciled motifs above the chair, a woman as one of strong temperament artist and sometimes served as protec- pyramid form topped by the arabesque and ideas. The alternating vertical background design, and the boxlike green and white stripes of her blouse tors when placed near her front door.2 Among the earliest drawings in penciled designs in the chair's uphol- are dynamically placed against a backthe collection is an untitled picture of stery—provide a delicate counterpoint ground consisting of a chevron arrangement of alternating wide red a soulful, seated blue dog that, charac- to the figure.

In another work, a seated, and white stripes and thin penciled teristic of much of Rowe's work, displays human traits. The effects of time small-limbed female in a green outfit stripes at 90-degree angles. The com-

42 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

UNTITLED (HAND AND ANIMALS) 1982 Crayon and pencil on paper 14 165/e" Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1997.1.1

UNTITLED (MAN IN YELLOW SUIT) n.d.

Pencil and house paint on board 12 8" Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1997.1.5

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 43

plementary colors, separated by alternating bands of white, hold all the patterns in suspended balance and serve to highlight the unshaded warm yellow face and hands of the figure by bringing them forward, close to the picture plane and to the viewer.

In an untitled drawing of a profile bust, Rowe repeats the format of a figure with a large head and small body and limbs. The profile features a frontal eye—a device powerfully used by modernist masters and reminiscent of ancient Egyptian and Assyrian drawings. There is no background design, but the artist's skill in patterning is conveyed in the row of buttons on the subject's dress, repeated V-shaped designs on her bodice, and the repeated curving outlines of the figure's hair and snoodlike headgear.

The artist emphasizes the play of curves and straight lines by using a minimal color palette of alternating black and red.

In Untitled (Figure with Dark Glasses), a man/horse hybrid tickles the chin of a figure wearing sunglasses with its tail, and uses its shoelike appendage to touch the figure's nose. To compound the ambiguity of this strange, Dada-like work, the figure in sunglasses sports a mustache, an apparently female hairdo, and a shortsleeved pink blouse. The hairstyle may in fact be a male pompadour, a 1950s fashion rage and long favorite of Elvis Presley.

Rowe, who lived in Vinings (northeast of Atlanta) from the early 1930s until her death in 1982, was not cut off from popular entertainment.

She went to wrestling matches and the movies and watched programs on television. She may have been a fan of The Jeffersons, the first all-black family television series, which aired from 1975 to 1985. In 1978, she created a drawing of the lead female character, Louise Jefferson, giving her an

upswept coiffure. (Louise was the wife of successful businessman George Jefferson.) Another 1978 drawing features Elvis Presley in the twilight of his career and a caricature of his former self.

swirling orbs illuminate the sky with a suggestion of astral light that subtly glows in the moonlight. The cow body/female head, with roots in regional culture, underscores a female presence. (In southern vernacular cul-

UNTITLED (DON'T EAT THE MULBERRIES) 1978 Wax crayon on wove paper 19 x 24" Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1980.26.1

I

ROWE'S LARGE, DECORATIVELY EMBELLISHED

44 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Rowe's artistic development was not linear. Among her drawings of 1970-1978 are many with a single image or design element. Throughout her creative life, Rowe alternated between single-figured works and dense narrative compositions. However, between 1979 and 1982, Rowe produced a more sustained number of organic compositions, laden with symbolic nuance and technical virtuosity, including Untitled(Don't Eat the Mulberries)(1978), Three Sisters (1980), and the masterpiece Cow Jump over the Mone.

Cow Jump over the Mone invites interpretation on many levels.

The large cow/woman hybrid that dominates the picture is suspended against a brilliant blue sky. Two

ture, women are often referred to as "heifers."4)Rowe's cow/woman is on an imaginary flight into the sky, a journey that brings the well-known Mother Goose rhyme to mind.

Through her imaginative flight, the artist was neither trapped nor confined. When exercising her creative talent, Rowe was liberated and free.

Untitled (Don't Eat the Mulberries) is a strong narrative picture.

The subject, presumably the artist, her hands on her hips, is well dressed but barefoot. The animals that surround her, including a horse or mule seen within the cross-section of an outlined barn, face away. A small human female figure faces her. Exactly why Rowe commands the small female or the black dog against eating the mul-

THREE SISTERS 1980 Crayon on paper 16 20" sight Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1996.16.1

UNTITLED (FIGURE WITH DARK GLASSES) n.d.

Ballpoint pen and crayon on paper 12 9" Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1997.1.18

berries is unclear. She may have been interested in saving the fruit for the pigs and poultry as it was a valuable food source; she may have been planning to make mulberry wine, a family tradition6; or perhaps she was concerned that eating too many mulberries would create gastric distress. The picture's setting looks like that of Rowe's childhood and teen years.

With a work pail alongside her, she is surrounded by farm animals and pets, fruit trees, bushes, and the skeletal outline of a house with quiltlike blocks at the windows and door. The solid colors of the house, ground, field, and other background areas provide contrast to the patterned fruit trees and the figures placed throughout the composition. The patterned rows of mulberries, each one in its own space, articulates their prominence in the narrative.

In Three Sisters the young girls are holding hands and appear as a chorus. Their similarity of size, clothing, and pose and their linked hands suggest close familial bonds or friendship, but there are significant individual differences in their skin tones and hairstyles. Rowe's choice of skin color in this and other works is not necessarily representational: she often chose colors that looked best in her overall design.7 In this drawing, the artist utilizes one of the favored stylistic devices of her mature style by cotn-

partmentalizing the major forms and using negative space imaginatively.

Surrounding the two end figures are echoing shapes that result in designlike units; the negative space highlights the central figure. There is a lively interaction and constant movement between the positive and negative space filled with alternating highlighted and nestled figures. The deeply saturated warm and cool colors, especially in the bands surrounding the forms, add to the motion, as the warm colors come forward and cool colors recede.

Through her working years, Rowe integrated text with her graphic images. The texts were sometimes descriptive titles and occasionally mottoes; very often they were expressions of faith and/or personal credos. In one drawing, Rowe's large, decoratively embellished signature, which dominates the picture plane, declares the artist's positive sense of self.

Most of Rowe's text is religious. She displayed hand lettered mottoes around her house; "God is Real," "Whisper a Prayre," "Jesus Lves You. Belie on the Lord Jesus and Be Saved," "Beleave in God and He Will Make A Way Far You," "Lod Help Us To Help Sombody," "God Bless My House," and the mildly humorous "My You Be In Heaven a Hale Hour Before The Devil Know

1 1.1f !IfIi ilt.C.LA

,t ) .2.4

The Sun (1982). In this drawing, a stooping female figure in a green dress is in a room with the nestled head of a dog on her back; large red, curved shapes with black outlines seem to emanate from the figure's legs; a picture of bright yellow flowers in a yellow frame on a brown wall is off to the right; and the text "If You Ar On Your Way To The Moon, I'll Try The Sun" is contained in a balloon on the left. There may be a connection between the bent figure, the exaggeration of the area around the legs and feet, and the balloon message. In 1982, Rowe was rapidly deteriorating physically, but her works reflect a positive attitude toward life and the afterlife to which she looked forward.

Gavin Ashworth

;IGNATURE DECLARES THE ARTIST'S POSITIVE SENSE OF SELF You Ar Dead" were some she incorporated into her drawings. She also used "God is Love," "Peace," and "If You Want to Be Happy Call God up and and Tell Him What You Want" (after a gospel hymn with the actual title "If You Want to Be Happy Call on God and Tell Him What You Want").

A more personal message is encoded in the work If You Ar On Your Way To The Moon, I'll Try

In this drawing, Rowe's vivid palette and the picture on the wall support this idea, and the motto, also on a yellow ground, underscores her commitment to maintaining her individuality.8 In 1982, Rowe's art often hinted at death. For years, she was not well, but confided in no one except her nephew, Joe Brown Sr. She felt weak much of the time and sought medical attention for pain relief, but she continued to work until her death of multiple melanoma in October. Her deep spirituality, the comfort of family and friends, and her art helped her endure. Recognition from exhibitions and sales of works gave her an emotional boost and helped to pay her large medical bills. The artist's mood at the end of her life, revealed through

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 45

the figures and texts in her art, moved from puzzlement and worry to acceptance and even joy at the prospect of entering a wonderful "promised land."

Untitled (Hand and Animals), a work from this period, features one large arm emanating at an angle from a pattemed garment that is part of a torso.

A hand (the artist's?), thrust downward, is embellished with jewelry— two rings and a wristwatch—and holds a flower. Unlike hands in praise that are uplifted, this arm points downward, possibly suggesting Rowe's physical decline. The anxiety and confusion often displayed on the faces of her animal figures prior to 1982 give way to the peaceful countenance of a dove, the symbol of peace, that fills the negative space between the arm and the body. The major color is brilliant yellow—radiant, warm, and optimistic. The crosshatched pat-

a shallow picture plane without modeling, Rowe devised strategies for creating an illusion of depth by the imaginative use of positive and negative space, overlapping, and an intuitive understanding of how to use warm and cool colors to bring images forward or to make them recede.

Rowe reveals through the wide range of her subject matter and highly personal narratives her humor, vitality, common sense, and deep religious faith. These, along with her innate sense of design and color and the skillful variation of a selected vocabulary of form, rivet the eye and stir the heart.* Author's note: Special thanks to Judith Alexander for sharing memoties, providing biographical data and a compendium of tapes, and for

IT IS TEMPTING TO INTERPRET THIS WORK AS REFLECTIVE OF STRONG AFRICAN RETENTIONS terning and repeated curves in the bodice combined with the graceful, dancing flower in the figure's hand convey a liveliness and spirited approach not to the ending of life but to the anticipation of a glorious heaven.(See page 42.)

It is tempting to interpret this work as reflective of strong African retentions. An arm thrust down while another points up, as in the works of Bill Traylor and Mose Tolliver, suggests a stance that recognizes the unity of the earth and heaven, the natural and spiritual worlds, and the relationship of the ancestors and the past as part of a continuum. Although the hand points down in Rowe's drawing, the flower points straight up to heaven. One might posit that the shape of the flower stems and the ubiquitous arabesque motifs are related to veve, the Haitian graphic representations of the cosmogram.

This deceptively simple work is laden with an abundance of personal and cultural references.9 Rowe found her most expressive media for her unerringly well-constructed pictures in ordinary materials—cardboard, paper, Styro-

foam, graphite and colored pencil, ballpoint pen, felt-tip marker, and some gouache—but rarely in oil paint. Utilizing a consistent choice of

44 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

facilitating interviews with the artist's family.

Lee Kogan is the curator ofthe exhibition "The Art ofNellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do," organizedfor the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art; she is also the author ofthe accompanying catalog of the same title, to be released this month.

Kogan is the director ofthe Museum's Folk Art Institute and an adjunct assistant professor ofart and art education at New York University. She writes and lectures widely on thefield ofcontemporaryfolk art, and is a regular contributor to this publication.

NOTES 1 The subtitle "Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do" is taken from a traditional gospel song that was one of Rowe's favorites; it summed up her faith and life's credo. At Rowe's request, her friend Barbars Mitchell sang it at her funeral.

2 Robert Farris Thompson,interview by author, spring 1989, and Grey Gundaker, "Tradition and Innovation in AfricanAmerican Yards," African Arts 26(April 1993)for detailed discussions of African American gardens and yards.

3 Nellie Mae Rowe,interviews by Linda Connelly Armstrong, 1973(in preparation for Armstrong's award-winning film, Nellie's Playhouse (1983).

4 Clarence Major, ed., Juba to Jive: A Dictionary ofAfrican American Slang (New York: Penguin Books, 1994), p. 229.

5 William Bridgewater and Elizabeth J. Sherwood, Columbia Encyclopedia, 2nd

ed.(New York: Columbia University Press, 1956), p. 1339.

6 Joe Brown Sr.(Nellie Mae Rowe's nephew)and his granddaughter Cathy Perry, interview by author, Atlanta, December 1997.

7 Judith Alexander,telephone conversation with author, 12 September 1998.

8 Rowe may have been familiar with the gospel song that begins "You go to your church and I'll go to mine, but let's walk along together," lyrics that support the spirit of individuality and faith. The Lewis Family recorded "You Go To Your Church and I'll Go To Mine" in a Gospel Sing Out on a Star Day recording label from Madison,Tenn.

9 Maude Southwell Waldman,Signs and Symbols: African Images in African-American Quilts(New York: Studio Books in association with the Museum of American Folk Art, 1993), p. 84.

IF YOU AR ON YOUR WAY TO THE MOON, I'LL TRY THE SUN 1982 Crayon, pen, and pencil on board 2 1 9/ Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1997.1.7

"The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do" will be on view at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York from January 16 to May 16, 1999. It will be presented at The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.,from June 3 to August 15, 1999,the High Museum of Art in Atlanta from November 20, 1999,to February 26, 2000,and at the African American Museum in Dallas from March 18 to May 14,2000.

4400

The Art of Sybil Gibson

By John Hood

UNTITLED PORTRAIT Dunedin, Florida c. 1994 Acrylic on construction paper 18 x 12" Collection of Fred and Theresa Buchanan

Let me describe an artist. She is a white woman from the Deep South born into an affluent family. She attends private schools, gains a college degree, and teaches elementary school. She marries and has a daughter. Yet her personal life is chaotic.

Divorced from her first husband, she leaves their daughter to be raised by the child's grandparents in Alabama. She moves to Florida and marries again. Her husband dies, leaving her a small pension. At the age of fifty-five, she begins to paint compulsively and prolifically, creating thousands of ethereal images with tempera on grocery bags, newspaper, and cardboard. Some days she does one-hundred pieces or more. She wastes all her assets through lack of attention. Her art receives recognition in Miami. By the time a third one-woman show is mounted, she has returned to Alabama and never sees the show. Reappearing in a skid-row flat in Birmingham, she continues to paint. Estranged WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 47

from her family, she drifts from relative to acquaintance, and ends up in a retirement home in Jasper. She is kicked out for disruptive behavior.

Practically blind, she is brought by her daughter to a nursing home in Florida.

She has a cataract operation and resumes painting reams a day until she dies four years later.

This was Sybil Gibson's life. It would not have been more noteworthy than thousands of other sad and unfortunate lives except that Sybil Gibson had talent. The paintings she left behind demand that we take a much closer look.

Born to Monroe Aaron and Lenora Reid Aaron on February 18, 1908, in Dora, Walker County, Alabama,some twenty miles northwest of Birmingham, she was the second of six children. Her father was a banker, merchant, and coal mine operator. The Aarons were of old Alabama stock with money.

In 1929, Sybil married Hugh Gibson and settled in nearby Jasper.

Their daughter, Theresa, was born on September 9, 1932. The Gibsons were soon separated, and they divorced in 1935. At the urging of her father, Sybil Gibson left her daughter to be

48 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

raised by her parents and attended a number of Alabama colleges. Upon receiving a degree from Jacksonville State Teachers College in Alabama, Gibson returned to Walker County to teach grade school.

Because of a troubling sinus condition, she moved to Fort Myers, Florida, in 1945 or 1946. She again left Theresa, then in her mid-teens, behind with her family, and continued teaching grade school. After moving to Miami, she married David DeYarmon in 1950 or 1951.1 He later moved to Ohio without her and died there in 1958.

This wet-on-wet technique, with thin layers of paint, served to produce a consistently soft, delicate quality in her work. She sometimes painted several pieces at once. She approached many subjects with a highly stylized, lyrical touch, including still lifes, landscapes, flowers, birds, cats, children, groups of figures, and the recurring image of a single, haunted,female face.

Though she had briefly attended an art class at the University of Alabama, her career as an artist really started spontaneously in 1963. After coming across some striking gift-wrapping paper in a Miami department store, she said, "It's so beautiful, so charming, and yet so simple I could do it myself."2 From that point on, Gibson was an artist with a vengeance. She feverishly produced a series of paintings with tempera paint on damp grocery bags, which were first soaked in water in order to flatten.and unglue them, and found this medium suitable to her needs.

brush into the paint and began painting. One will find no evidence of presketching in my work, for I do not waste any time with such preliminaries or guidelines, which I have coined and labeled the "color book concept" that most people I can't never escape from . sit and copy something. That would be too much work. It must be completely my own creation. The amount of one's self which he can put into a work is the difference between he and the thousands of others

I am called a primitive painter because my work is free of all learning about drawing and color mixing. I just stuck my

DUCKS Alabama 1980 Tempera on kratt paper grocery bag 2" 1 2 37/ / 171 Collection of Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

who paint. I'll let you in on my secret of success—I never bend over backwards to be good, for who really knows what good is? It is a changeable essence— what is easy and natural for one to do.3

Courtesy Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery

UNTITLED Alabama c. 1980 Tempera on cardboard 3 4" 181 / 2 13/ Private collection

tion—with all respect to the teachers.

Art must come from within."7 Gibson's primary use of grocery bags was dictated by her state of poverty and the sheer volume of her artistic output. She did not like to use expensive art paper: "Good art paper turns me off, while something out of a trash pile turns me on."8 She loved the notion of using found material and couldn't resist picking up junk.

Gibson showed her paintings around Miami and they were well received. Elwin Porter, an instructor at the Art Institute of Miami who knew

Counesy Robert Cargo Folk An Gallery

Gibson claims that she didn't plan or presketch her work; rather, when she started on a page she didn't know what would come out. She let the paint tell her what to do. Yet what she painted wasn't simply random color and line. The faces or the pretty

pal subject in her later years—depict an expression clouded with sadness and mystery, with a somber palette of browns and grays highlighted by a touch of white and red. The impenetrable eyes—simply a black dot or gray over white—are an important feature. Juxtaposed against the softness of the figures, they create an ominous and subtly threatening gaze, an intense stare that holds the viewer.

In 1993, a reviewer for Journal North, a newspaper in Santa Fe, New Mexico, noted the tension present in the cheery images: "[T]he thing that

UNTITLED Alabama c. 1980 Tempera on kraft paper grocery bag 16 111 / 2" Collection of Sandra McPherson

little girls seated in flowers were a conscious presence in her mind when she worked:"I was painting my childhood memories. That's still the best way to start painting, because you're not copying. Your childhood memories are so different from anything else."4 She described reliving childhood feelings of fear: "It is such intense feeling that permits projections of it into our paintings, thereby permitting others to share our feeling.

Paintings without feelings are not very effective."5 While her series of flowers and children were often done in muted primary colors, Gibson's faces—a princi-

really comes off the wall at you is Gibson's pain... they're haunted, as if something horrible were happening just off to one side."6 She said that she let the brush and paint lead her, but she appears to have had a sure hand. Her brush strokes and color arrangements are not tentative or slapstick. She had a discriminating and determined brush.

While certainly influenced by the children she worked with, her one experience with an art class in college had no impact on her work: "It is my contention that art cannot be taught. I consider any art lessons which I was exposed to as just so much frustra-

UNTITLED Probably Alabama 1975 Tempera on kraft paper grocery bag 25 • 20" Collection of Claire Wilson

the artist, described her home as filled with works "stacked in teetering piles on top of the refrigerator, under the stove, under the bed, on tables and chairs—everywhere."9 In 1971, the Miami Museum of Modern Art gave Gibson a one-woman show. Bernard Davis, president of the museum, wrote that he had been watching Gibson for six years and found her an "important, natural painter who, with lack of detail, could accomplish pictures of such tenderness, beauty, and simplicity that they were really unique."I° A critic for The Miami Herald compared Gibson's work to that of Milton Avery and called her naive in

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 49

the European sense: "This formula is one of complete lyric freedom. Children have it for a short time . . .. I have seldom seen more beautiful passages of painting than some of those to be found in the dream gardens and dream children that Sybil Gibson has put down on commonplace grocery sacks." Her work has also been compared to that of Odilon Redon.12 Gibson never saw the exhibition in Miami. She had disappeared two years earlier, in 1969, after a period in which she lost her money and property because of her own improvidence and irresponsibility.

When she resurfaced in Birmingham in 1971, bereft and living in a seedy hotel, she said she had been studying weeds. Gibson was prone to periods of self-absorption and lost track of her daily affairs and personal relationships in the intense pursuit of her curiosities, like the stock market or religion.

That year, her work was also being shown at the Town Hall Gallery at the Birmingham University School.

A reviewer wrote, "[D]escribing the subtle charm of her paintings has baffled almost every writer who has tackled the chore. The paintings are not overpowering, they are truly fragile in the best sense. The colors are very delicate, and while Sybil Gibson's work is figurative, her realism is tempered with a certain dreamlike quality."13 In 1972, Gibson had two onewoman shows in Alabama, one at the Fayette Art Museum and the other at the Tuskegee Institute's Carver Museum. Jack Black, director of the Fayette Art Museum, who knew Gibson personally for many years, said of her early paintings, "Having been an elementary school teacher may have had something to do with her turning out so many fetching paintings of picturesque little girls."4 He records her as saying, "[Met the brush do what it seems to want to do. The paint itself will help you. As it blends with other colors it will suggest cues for you to follow. You can't go wrong if you follow your paint."5 We next pick up her life in a report from The Independent Florida Alligator, Gainesville, in the winter of 1979, when she was seventy-one. She was sharing a trailer with her cousin Bill Aaron and encouraging senior citizens to paint.16 By 1984 she was living

50 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

in Delaware House, a facility for the elderly in Jasper, where she had been for three years. Her sight was not good.

She was forced to leave Delaware House suddenly in 1986 for apparently disruptive behavior. She stopped painting because of her deteriorating eyesight in 1988. In 1991, Gibson's daughter, Theresa Buchanan, took charge of her mother's life. Gibson was legally blind and under protective custody. Buchanan moved her to the Dunedin Care Center in Dunedin, Florida, and arranged for a cataract operation. With her eyesight restored, Gibson was soon back at work, covering her bed and floor with stacks of new paintings. This commitment to her work continued until her death four years later on January 2, 1995, at the age of eighty-six.

Through her daughter's intervention, her life was finally organized and her work preserved.

Sybil Gibson's work is included in the permanent collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama; the Fayette Art Museum, Fayette, Alabama; the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, Georgia; the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama; the Museum of American Folk Art, New York; the New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana; and the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York. Her work is also on view in a permanent installation at The Birmingham Airport.

It is impossible to tally the number of paintings Gibson created.

She undoubtedly completed many thousands over three decades, but most were thrown away or destroyed: "I lost more priceless art to the dump than any other artist ever did."' Her work is detached from the workaday world of ordinary people. It does not reflect an awareness of or connection with the social upheaval in the South during her lifetime. It is a world of enchanting flowers and pretty little girls, yet there is more.

Sybil Gibson was more than an eccentric nomad who compulsively painted on grocery bags. The idiosyncratic and mysterious quality of her paintings has a compelling appeal.

Painting was her life and gave it meaning. Recognition and attention

came from her work. She was not just another difficult old lady. She was an artist. * John Hood is an advertising sales representativefor Folk Art magazine. He received a certificate infolk art studies from the Museum's Folk Art Institute in 1994. He and his wife, Laima, have traveled extensively through the American South, visitingfolk artists and collecting their work.

NOTES 1 While Sybil DeYarmon was her legal name,the artist signed all of her works "Sybil Gibson."

2 Kathy Kemp and Keith Boyer, Revelations: Alabama's Visionary Artists(Birmingham, Ala.: Crane Hill Publishers, 1994), P. 66.

3 Betsy Lavanna,"Sybil Gibson—An Artist Burning with Ideas," Daily Mountain Eagle(Jasper, Ala.), 1 September 1972.

4 Kemp and Boyer, op. cit.

5 Linda Baker,"Sybil Gibson: She Likes Making Something Out of Nothing," Daily Mountain Eagle (Jasper, Ala.), 24 February 1984.

6 Mark Van deWalle,"Naive Art at Muth: Mixture of Innocence, Experience," Journal North (Santa Fe, N.Mex.), 1 July 1993.

7 Sybil Gibson,"Autobiography," in Sybil Gibson (Miami, Fla.: Miami Museum of Modern Art, 1971).

8 Chuck Rosenak and Jan Rosenak, Museum ofAmerican Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists(New York: Abbeville Press, 1990), p. 137.

9 Griffin Smith,"Sybil Gibson, Artist, Where Are You?" The Miami Herald, 30 May 1971.

10 Bernard Davis,"A Neglected Artist," in Sybil Gibson (Miami, Ha.: Miami Museum of Modern Art, 1971).

11 Smith,op. cit.

12 D. Eric Bookhardt, review in Art Papers, November/December 1992, n.p.

13 Howell Raines,"Here She Is, Miami Herald, in Birmingham," The Birmingham News, 20 June 1971. Raines is now the editorial page editor at The New York Times.

14 Jack Black, interview with the author.

September 1998.

15 Jack Black,"Art Museum Opens Third Season Sunday with Show by Sybil Gibson," Fayette County Broadcaster (Fayette, Ala.), 21 September 1972.

16 "A Second Childhood," The Independent Florida Alligator(Gainesville, Fla.), 15 February 1979.

17 Rosenak and Rosenak, op. cit.

ABSTRACT WITH THREE FACES Dunedin, Florida 1993 Tempera on newspaper 27 21" Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Theresa Buchanan, Mother's Day gift from Sybil Gibson to her daughter, Theresa, 1993 1993.8.1

THE ENCHANTMENT Fig. 1 MAGIC LAKE Artist unknown United States 1850s-1860s Black chalk over lampblack pigment with white chalk and scraping on board prepared with white ground and marble dust 20'.z• 27,We Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, M. & M. Karolik Collection, 62.115

OF THE MAGIC LAKE The Origin and Iconography of a Nineteenth-Century Sandpaper Drawing

By Shelley R. Langdale

Fig. 2 THE MAGIC LAKE, A SCENE FROM THE PILGRIM OF LOVE John Sartain (1808-1897), after James Hamilton (1819-1878) United States Illustration in Sartain's Magazine X, no. 4 (April 1852) Mezzotint, etching, and line engraving 4"/io 6.7,0" Reproduced courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library; photo courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

A

radiant beam of moonlight stretches across the water, striking the craggy outreaches of the mouth of a giant cave and illuminating two figures. With arms raised, they gaze toward the sky, where ethereal spiritlike forms hover above island trees (Fig. 1). Magic Lake is one of a number of romantic sandpaper drawings' that were given to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in the 1950s and early 1960s as part of the Martha and Maxim Karolik Collection of nineteenth-century American watercolors and drawings.2 Although "sandpaper" is the popular term used to designate such drawings, the paper support is not sandpaper as we know it today. The board on which the drawings were made was prepared with a mixture of varnish and marble dust, giving it a rough texture and slight shimmer similar to modern sandpaper.

The Magic Lake subject was apparently very popular among the sandpaper artists, for while

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 53

this drawing is one of only two Magic Lakes owned by public institutions, many examples exist in private collections.3 The following exploration of the origin and sources of both the image and the technique used in the Boston drawing reveals the reasons for these mostly anonymous, amateur artists' fascination with the Magic Lake scene.

A number of drawings on sandpaper have been found in the area of Chester, Vermont, some of which even depict identifiable buildings or sites in Chester. This phenomenon has led to speculations about possible connections between the drawing technique and Chester schools. Ornamental drawing and watercolor were often taught at girls' academies along with embroidery, reading, writing, and geography.4 According to the annual school catalog for 1855, the Chester Academy did in fact include the technique, listed as "monochromatic drawing," in their course offerings.3 The name Lucy Prouty, which appears on the roster of students listed in this catalog, was also found on the frame of a monochromatic sandpaper drawing that came to the Museum of Fine Arts with Magic Lake.6 Both the Prouty drawing and Magic Lake were found together near Chester sometime in the 1940s.7 Thus there is a strong probability that Magic Lake was also made by one of the female students at the Chester Academy. The provenance of Boston's Magic Lake, the female names signed on other Magic Lake drawings, and the fact that the technique was specifically directed toward young women strongly suggest that many of these artists were female.' The appeal of the subject to many of these young women was undoubtedly largely based on the context in which the original image appeared.

The original Magic Lake image appeared as an engraved illustration to Henry B. Hirst's story "The Pilgrim of Love" in Sartain's Magazine for April 1852 (Fig. 2).9

54 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Although short-lived (1847-1852), Sartain's Magazine was among the more popular monthly journals of its day.' The magazine featured major contemporary authors such as Edgar Allen Poe, James Fenimore Cooper, William Cullen Bryant, and Henry Longfellow, and was particularly admired for its illustrations, most of which (including The Magic Lake) were engraved by co-owner and renowned printmaker John Sartain (1808-1897). Illustrations in magazines and journals were one of the main sources of "fine art" prints in the nineteenth century. Such prints, which most often reproduced paintings or other works of art, were frequently copied by schoolchildren and amateurs as well as aspiring professional artists. Apparently encouraged to follow this practice, our young draftsperson selected Sartain's print as her model.

The dramatic increase in literacy in the 1840s and 1850s, particularly among women and children, resulted in a surge in the publication of periodicals and a corresponding boom in the production of illustrations." Visual "embellishments," as much as well-known authors, played a key role in the competition between journals, and many illustrations were consciously directed toward the growing female audience." Elegantly bound gift books that featured lavish steel engravings were prominently displayed in the parlor to be shared with the entire family." Periodicals and magazines were similarly enjoyed: engravings were cut out and framed, stories and poems were read and reread, and craft articles and patterns were referred to repeatedly. The printed illustrations for Sartain's Magazine included fashion plates, sentimental subjects (such as mother and child, young couple, and flowers), and historical, biblical, and literary scenes as well as portraits. Engraved landscapes appeared much less frequently, usually in the guise of a his-

Fig. 3 THE MAGIC LAKE—A SCENE FROM THE PILGRIM OF LOVE Marion H. Wheelock United States Dated January 8, 1853 Black chalk over lampblack pigment with scraping on thick paper prepared with white ground and marble dust 19'/e 285/0 Collection of Steven Paul Duplisea and Jan Atamian; photo courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Fig. 4 THE MAGIC LAKE—A SCENE FROM THE PILGRIM OF LOVE Angelina WIealey ?]

United States 1853 Black chalk and lampblack pigment with scraping on paper prepared with white ground and marble dust 21'Ac 26'Y,c" National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., gift of Bates and Isabel Lowry, 1986.70.18

torical or sentimental narrative. Thus a romantically savage, mysterious landscape like the Magic Lake would have stood out among its more ordinary companions, and its prominent placement as the frontispiece to the April issue would undoubtedly have caught the attention of the reader.'4 However, the image becomes even more compelling when it is understood in the context of the story that accompanies the print.

Hirst's story "The Pilgrim of Love" is written in verse and tells a fantastical tale of Brunhilda, a young girl who is plagued by dreams of a mysterious handsome king.

He regards her with "looks so full of fire," stirring such a passion in the girl that she becomes obsessed with discovering his identity. Having sought the aid of witches and sorcerers to no avail, Brunhilda disguises herself as a page and flees her castle in search of her love. In her travels she encounters a hermit who is mysteriously aware of her quest and invites her into his cave (the setting chosen for the illustration) to rest from her journey. The hermit awakens her before dawn and asks her to describe her beloved so that he might be summoned. Brunhilda is amazed when the hemnt informs her that her vision is not a king, as she had imagined, but a spirit who had come down from the spirit world while she lay sleeping by the Rhine. Brunhilda agrees to confront her fate and allows the hermit to call the spirits forth. The hermit invites her to sit inside a "mystic ring," which he then enters, and proceeds to call forth the "Wanderers of the Night" with a wave of his wand and a chant that echos throughout the cave. It is this moment in the story that was selected for the Sartain's Magazine illustration and later reproduced in the drawing.

Like most artists who use prints as sources, the unknown maker'5 of the Magic Lake drawing has taken cer-

tain liberties in the translation of the details of the landscape forms (the textures and shapes of the trees, clouds, and rocks) and has heightened the contrast of light and dark. Our artist has increased the number of spirits in the sky and given them more definitive forms than the "shadowy figures [which roll] across the skies" that are barely distinguishable from the clouds in the print.16 However, the essential elements of the composition of the original print have been retained. The most significant difference is that the circle of stones ("mystic ring") in which the two main characters stand, which is included albeit subtly in the print, is absent in the drawing. This is particularly interesting given the significance of the ring in the story and the great effort the artist made to describe the spirit forms that are almost imperceptible in the print.

The creator of the drawing may have read the story and overlooked the detail of the ring, or perhaps she worked from the illustration alone. Regardless, the spirit figures and the rocky forms of the cavern clearly captivated her, as they did the other Magic Lake copyists. In addition to the marvelous, nearly anthropomorphic, abstract qualities of the landscape forms, she seems to have taken a particular fancy to the female spirit who is drawn much larger than the other spirits and adorned with a fantastic trailing winged garment. This artist also took great delight in carefully delineating Brunhilda's hair, clearly identifying her as a young girl (perhaps the artist herself?) rather than a girl disguised as a page, as described in the story.

The romantic appeal of the "Pilgrim of Love" certainly would have captivated the young female reader. The Magic Lake scene represents the crucial turning point in the story—the moment Brunhilda learns the identity of her love and how to find him. However, the plot continues to

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build to a shocking conclusion. Brunhilda's visionary lover appears and confers with the hermit, who instructs her to embark on a treacherous journey to a ruined abbey "deep in the dark recesses of its hills."7 Pursued by "Demons . . . [of] Water Air and Fire," Brunhilda fords rivers and climbs mountains with the aid of the hermit's magic lute. Upon reaching the abbey she jumps into an open tomb (as instructed), where her mortal life is extinguished and her soul is freed to reside with her lover in the spirit world of Paradise. One can imagine the appeal of this racy romance about a young girl who casts her responsibilities aside to seek her true love. It is important to note that the carefully constructed conclusion of the story would also be interpreted as the attainment of a spiritual "ecstasy," describing the fulfillment of a mortal soul when united with God in heaven." To a young Victorian girl (or woman) who is consistently bombarded with instructive stories and magazine editorials on the importance of moral virtues and her role as the pious homemaker, child rearer, and charity worker in the age of the "Cult of True Womanhood" (1820-1860),'9 this calling to religious devotion veiled in the passionate story of obsessive love set in an exotic distant land would be almost irresistible.

The motivation behind our artist's decision to copy the Magic Lake magazine illustration can thus be seen both as a function of the broad role prints played in the dissemination, appreciation, and production (by means of copying) of art in other media and in terms of the specific attraction of the Magic Lake image in particular. But apart from the popular practice of copying prints, the wide availability of the print through Sartain's Magazine, and Hirst's engaging story, the artist would have been inspired by the Magic Lake image based on its relation to current artistic styles. A

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short account of the man who created the design is essential to understanding the aesthetic context in which the image would have been received.

John Sartain commissioned the British-born American artist James Hamilton(1819-1878)to design the Magic Lake image.2째 Sartain was a great admirer of Hamilton's ' work and encouraged him to pursue a career as an artist.2 Hamilton was highly regarded as a marine and landscape painter. His particular fascination with the dramatic effects of the reflection of a sunset or moonlight across stretches of water reveal an affinity for the expressive qualities of light associated with the American Ltuninist painters who were his contemporaries.22 (See Fig. 8.) The romantic setting of the pivotal moment in Hirst's story, when the hermit wields his magical powers just before dawn as the moon lies low on the watery horizon, would have greatly appealed to his personal artistic sensibilities. These concerns were reflective of a larger aesthetic current represented by the English artists J.M.W. Turner and John Martin. Often referred to as "the American Turner,"23 Hamilton shared the English artist's interests in color, weather, and light, and was frequently cited for his similarly free and bold painting technique.24 Hamilton's admiration for Turner was undoubtedly fostered by Sartain, whose own interest in the grand effects of the English Romantic painters is evident in the laudatory reviews and articles he wrote on the work of Turner and Martin for his magazine.25 Such articles would have likewise shaped the aesthetic tastes of his readers by heightening their awareness of contemporary artistic trends.

At mid-century, when artists and authors were striving to establish a distinctively American culture and transcendentalist interests permeated the society, the sublime landscapes of painter Thomas Cole, along with the writings

Fig. 5 THE MAGIC LAKE Artist unknown United States 1850s-1860s Black chalk over lampblack pigment with white chalk on thick paper prepared with white ground and marble dust 22% 29" (framed) Private collection; photo courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Fig. 6 THE MAGIC LAKE G.L. Cummings United States 1864 Black chalk over black pigment, with white chalk and scraping on board prepared with white ground and marble dust 203 / 4 28/ 1 4" Collection of lames Thomas Flexner, New York

of Emerson,Thoreau,Irving, and Cooper,set the course for the Nationalist, Romantic, and religious currents of the period, which were perceived as embodied in the natural landscape of the New World.26 Shortly after the death of Cole in 1848, Sartain wrote:"No one could fail to be struck with the spiritual progress manifest in his works, from his early landscapes, full of the sentiment of our forests and mountains, to the wild imaginative beauty which pervades his 'World and Cross'...filled with the purest and loftiest poetry; not Shelley himself could have built a more beautiful cloud-creation, than that down which the angels descend to meet the Christian on the mountain-top."" Certainly the provocative qualities of landscape described here would have struck a chord in the amateur artist as she attempted to capture in her own drawings the mystical, untamed wilderness portrayed in Magic Lake.

Literature became especially important to the visual arts as sensory experience was imparted with philosophical significance, moral import, and poetic feeling. The American taste for Romantic imagery was fed by English "Gothic" novels, which emphasized the confrontation of faith and reason, Christianity and paganism, and forces of spirituality and mysticism. Contemporary reality was exchanged for a world of fantasy, dreams, and the contrived world of literature, which was often based on ancient sagas, legends, and folk tales. The spirituality of the natural world and the mysticism of archaic legends were often combined with religious sentiment and moral conduct so that seemingly "pure" landscape subjects could be read in terms of complex iconographical content and/or literary references. Epic poems such as Hirst's might be viewed in this context as popularized (and possibly plagiarized?) stories echoing the sentiments espoused in the

"Gothic" novels, which furthered the public's appetite for Romantic subjects."

Beyond the compelling narrative and the aesthetic attractions of Magic Lake, certain pragmatic factors contributed to the artist's selection of this print as the basis for her work: the strong contrasts of the moonlit scene and the night atmosphere reproduce well in black and white and are naturally enhanced by the technique of sandpaper drawing.

The technique originated early in the nineteenth century and was promoted as a productive leisure occupation for young women. Learning to draw in general was regarded as an essential component of education in the nineteenth century, regardless of a person's talent. Analogous to writing in its usefulness for expressing ideas and observations, drawing was considered an uplifting activity that fostered an appreciation for the beauties of nature and encouraged self-improvement as one sought to refme one's technical skills. For young women, drawing was primarily considered a "finishing" process, part of their role as the guardians of culture in the household. Young women's drawings and embroidered pictures were proudly displayed in their parents' homes as evidence to male suitors of their abilities, education, and refinement.

A wide variety of drawing methods was described in the 145 drawing manuals published in the United States between 1820 and 1860.29 Early on, sandpaper drawing appeared under the category of ornamental drawing as a means of producing decorative fire screens, writing portfolios, and other useful items as well as framed pictures.

Although the scholarship on nineteenth-century American folk art has greatly advanced in the last two decades, little has been done in the study of sandpaper drawings." The earliest known description of the technique appears in B.F.

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Gandee's book The Artist or, Young Ladies' Instructor in Ornamental Painting, Drawing, etc., published in both London and New York in 1835.3' The importance of the technique is evident in the fact that one quarter of the manual is dedicated to instructions for the process. The text is written as a dialogue among a mother, her daughter, and a cousin (who assumes the role of the instructor) concerning the preparation of "articles" for a charity sale. Both the mother and cousin use the daughter's learning process of trial and error as a forum to develop her patience, humility, persistence, and other important virtues considered vital to a well-mannered young woman.

First, the student prepares the surface for her drawing. The instructing cousin recommends purchasing prepared boards to save the student both time and money (a list of art supplies is included at the end of the book).32 However, the instructor emphasizes the need to know how to prepare the boards, since the process was new and the student might have difficulty obtaining the boards outside a large city. The student is instructed to apply a varnish mixture (mastic varnish, and nut oil with flake white, chrome yellow, and yellow ochre colors) to a piece of millboard and then to sift finely ground white marble dust through muslin onto the sticky surface. The pigments generally used produced a buff color(which would provide an appropriate middle tone for most compositions), but these could be altered to suit the particular subject: "a moonlight scene for instance, should be done upon a surface nearly white... and a mid-day effect will require a darker tint of yellow for a ground." After the board had dried for a week, the excess dust was brushed off with a clothes-brush, and the surface was evened by lightly rubbing it with fine sandpaper. Now the student could begin the drawing.

The first lesson describes how to produce a drawing in black and white, though the ultimate goal, once the skill of the massing and shading of forms was mastered, was to create a colored image. The young woman is instructed to place a small amount of dry lampblack pigment on the board. Working from dark to light with a piece of soft leather, she proceeds to rub in the sky, shape the clouds, and lay in the tonal gradations of the scene. Knives and the sharp corners of stiff pieces of leather are employed to create highlights and describe details by scraping off pigment to expose the lighter marble-dust ground. According to the instructions, highlights are created by removing rather than adding pigment. Applied white chalk is evident in the area of the clouds above and across the moon (which was scraped out) in Boston's Magic Lake, and similar applications of chalk have been found in other examples, although it is used sparingly—most of the highlights are rubbed or scraped out as prescribed. Contours, effects of light and atmosphere, and even reflections are all achieved by varying the amount of pigment and the pressure with which it is applied to the surface. A pointed piece of chalk in a portcrayon (crayon holder) is used to sketch in branches of trees, prominent objects in the foreground such as figures or animals, or "any other object that is very dark and narrow."'This use of chalk is evident in the rocks and "grass" in the right foreground near the figures, in some of the tree limbs, and along the contours of the cave border in Boston's Magic Lake. Errors could be erased by rubbing

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with a clean piece of soft leather, and in instances of complete disaster the surface could be washed with a soft brush, soap, and water and dried so that the artist could begin again.

When the drawing was completed, a fixative was sprayed over the surface. If the picture was to be framed without glass, three coats of varnish were applied to give it "the appearance of an oil painting."35 If the work was to be framed, only the foreground area was varnished to "considerably improve the effect," but then glazing was required to protect the surface from collecting house dust. Like most of the monochromatic drawings that have survived, Boston's Magic Lake is unvarnished. The amateur artists may have had difficulty in applying the varnish without disturbing the surface, which the instructor cautioned against, or perhaps they simply preferred the tactile surface of the unvarnished drawing. Regardless, popular taste apparently won out because the instructions in a manual published in 1861 suggest using a fixative, but varnishing is not included in the process.36 According to Gandee, sandpaper drawing was initially given the elegant title "Grecian Painting" because of its "near resemblance to the effect of several paintings discovered on the walls of ancient Grecian palaces."37 In spite of the grandiose name, the technique was promoted as "perfectly easy of acquirement to any one who could draw a little with a pencil" and capable of impressive results "of so high a finish, and such exquisite softness, that anyone unacquainted with the method, must suppose many days of close application to have been given to a picture which really occupied not more than two or three hours."

Self-instruction, made possible through popular art manuals, combined with the art classes offered by itinerant teachers and schools to make art instruction available to a large, highly receptive public." The popularity of the sandpaper drawing technique in particular is evident not only in the many drawings that have survived but in its often prominent inclusion in nineteenth-century art manuals and course offerings. In his description of Gandee's book, Carl Drepperd notes that "many itinerant American instructors, 1836-1845, taught 'Grecian Painting' as the sure pathway to art."" Drepperd cites and reproduces an advertisement (c. 1845-1846) for lessons in "Grecian Painting" that were taught by G.W. Anderson, which included testimonials from satisfied customers: a clergyman from Savannah, Georgia, states, "It has enabled my daughter (who had no previous instruction) to execute Landscape Scenery with a degree of accuracy which is really surprising," while a judge from Edenton, North Carolina, reports, "Mr. Anderson has given lessons to a number of young ladies of this place in painting, and his success as a teacher entitles him to the confidence of the public."' The search for specific sources of instruction for the technique is complicated by the fact that the name of the process changed to "Monochromatic Painting" in the late 1840s. Many practitioners also referred to it as "Monochromatic Drawing" and included it along with more straightforward crayon and charcoal drawing methods in their writings and teaching.

The itinerant artist and teacher Silas Wood Jr. (1816-1885), who authored two books on the technique, has been credited with changing its name as well as aspir-

ing to raise the medium above its ornamental associations to the level of the fme arts." By the late 1850s, "Grecian Painting" referred to a much more remedial and elaborate practice of painting and varnishing engravings that relied on the lines of the engraving to defme forms and provide shading. Both techniques are described in Madame L.B. Urbino's 1861 book,Art Recreations.43 The change in title indicates a shift in focus from the ultimate goal of producing colored drawings suggested by Gandee to an emphasis on black and white. James Flexner attributes this change of taste to the development of charcoal drawing as an independent art form in France by artists of the Barbizon school in the 1860s and 1870s." Certainly if black and white works by famous artists were acceptable for display, there was no reason for the student of art to work in color. More monochromatic drawings on sandpaper survive than their color counterparts and are often more successful. The simplicity of the medium, limited to gradations of black and white, gave the artist a certain confidence of execution that allowed her to concentrate on the

Fig. 7 THE MAGIC LAKE Currier & Ives United States lithographic Finn First version, c. 1857-1872 Lithograph printed in black 1.0%iv 14/ 1 2 " Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, gift of Clifford S. Ackley in memory of Diane Harsh, 1992.563

brightness."48 Taken together, the advice of these instructors would almost prescribe the selection of Sartain's Magic Lake print as the subject for a sandpaper drawing.

Most of the drawings after The Magic Ilike are generally similar, each artist emphasized or eliminated different details depending on his or her skills and interests. The presence or absence, number, and type of spirit forms, the details of the girl's hair and clothing, the cloud formations, and the strength of the moonlight were the most frequently altered elements. Two examples by relatively sophisticated hands are well documented by the inscriptions scratched into the surfaces across the bottom of the drawings: "The Magic Lake—a scene from The Pilgrim of Love / Marion H. Wheelock / Jany 8th 1853" (Fig. 3) and "The Magic Lake— / A Scene from The Pilgrim of Love / By Angelina W[ealey?] No. 2 1853"(Fig. 4). Miss Wheelock's drawing may be regarded as the most compositionally precise copy of Sartain's print presently known, and her execution of fine linear detail reveals her to be a fairly proficient draftsperson. While Miss "Wealey" has faithfully recorded most elements, she shows greater artistic license in her enhancement of the moon's brightness and her imaginative placement of four bearded male spirits in a flying rambarque with a swirling tail(instead of attaching the swirling form to the standing woman's mantle as in both Boston's and Miss Wheelock's interpretations). The evidence of a certain ability combined with the careful documentation of these accomplished drawings suggests that they were executed as school assigninents.49 The artist's knowledge of the story "The Pilgrim of Love" may have been a factor in her choice of compositional details. An anonymous drawing of The Magic Lake, in a private collection (Fig. 5), appears to be the work of a dutiful but less talented artist. The basic composition is retained, but the spirit figures are entirely absent from this image, made all the more conspicuous by the attempt of the artist to suggest the cringing reaction of Brunhilda in the foreground—to what does she react? This would suggest that the artist was unfamiliar with the story and based her drawing solely on the image (perhaps cut from the magazine?) and elected to portray the hard-to-read spirits as cloud formations. Only one of the Magic Lake drawings most basic elements of shading and encouraged expressive known to this author (Fig. 6) includes the "mystic ring" use of bold contrasts. described in Hirst's story and very subtly suggested in the In Gandee's text, emphasis is placed on the copying print. This drawing was made by a woman, probably in her of prints (which were predominantly black and white) youth, known only by an inscription on the frame: "Charles before proceeding to draw from nature. In particular, the has not many pictures. If he cares for this it is his. Work instructor recommends mezzotint engravings "as bearing done in 1864 by his mother... G.L. Cummings."" Cumthe nearest resemblance to the effect produced by this mings may have been more aware of the literary context process... but any good engravings or lithographic draw- (which is evident in her inclusion of the prominent ring of ings will answer your purpose."45 In his 1848 publication, stones defined by eye-catching highlights), but she does not Wood quotes a contemporary newspaper review of the appear to have been bound by it. She demonstrates a "Monochromatic Painting" medium, which describes the remarkable freedom in her treatment of other compositional aspiration"... to acquire this art in such perfection as to elements: the spirits have become a cluster of floating be able to produce a picture, that shall almost rival a Mez- heads and Brunhilda and the hermit turn to gaze at one zotint in its mellowness, beauty and delicacy."46 Madame another instead of both looking skyward, thereby dramatiUrbino suggests "We have seen moonlight views, in this cally altering the original Sartain image. style of painting more beautiful than any thing else."47 FurDespite the wide range of skill and the varying ther instructions in Gandee describe the use of a white degrees of accuracy in recording Sartain's The Magic Lake ground for moonlit subjects so that "the reflection of the print, all of these drawings demonstrate personalized intermoon on rippling waves [is] present[ed] as a stream of pretations of the image, which suggest the potential of the

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landscape scene as an acceptable forum for young women to explore their imaginations, as well as imparting a certain originality and vitality to what are essentially reproductive images.

The heyday of the "Monochromatic Drawing" technique seems to have occurred between 1836 and the 1860s.

The drawings made after Sartain's print date from as early as 1853 (Figs. 3 and 4) to as late as 1864 (Fig. 6), though most are undated and some could have been made even later. Although Sartain's print was published in 1852, the Magic Lake image would have been perpetuated after its initial publication by repeated readings of the magazine over the years or by the removal of the print from the magazine for framing or for pasting into a scrapbook. There were also several variant Magic Lake prints made after Sartain's image that were published by Currier & Ives, which placed the image into even greater circulation.

After 1852 until about 1880, the New York printing firm of Currier & Ives was primarily devoted to creating and marketing a stock of inexpensive decorative pictures to make art affordable for everyone. The public's desire for topical, fine art, and amusing prints had been cultivated by the media boom of the 1840s and 1850s. With the increasing demand for images, Currier & Ives frequently resorted to "borrowing" subjects and compositional ideas from already existing prints (a common practice). The firm apparently created three different lithographic versions of Sartain's The Magic Lake, with some alterations (Fig. 7 is the first version).5'The most striking changes in the Currier & Ives image are the addition of a rock in the right foreground, the absence of the spirits in the sky, and the rearrangement of the two figures, now both seen in profile.

The hermit, in the guise of a bearded, Christlike figure, clasps a book (perhaps a Bible) and a staff (formerly the magic wand), while Brunhilda is shown in a dress kneeling at his side like a disciple.

This Christianization of what began as an essentially secular image might be viewed as a deliberate, overly literal interpretation (without taking Hirst's story into account) geared for the broadest possible audience: the Christlike figure and disciple would appeal to the pious churchgoer while the picturesque landscape setting would appeal to those with transcendentalist or pantheistic interests. The translation of the Magic Lake image (originally designed to illustrate a "Gothic" tale of a German girl) into an image ostensibly religious in content would not have been considered such a dramatic leap as it might now appear. As we have seen, the mysticism associated with ancient legends and religious sentiment were often intertwined in nineteenth-century literature as well as art, particularly for the benefit of a popular audience. Currier & Ives were undoubtedly aware of the many possible literary and cultural interpretations, and would have sought to capitalize on the potential popularity of the print from all of these perspectives. A number of monochromatic drawings on sandpaper were produced after Currier & Ives' The Magic Lake, but not nearly as many as were made after Sartain's print.

It is not surprising that sandpaper drawings have not caught the attention of art museums in the past, since their draftsmanship can be somewhat crude, and although most are monochromatic, some of the works in color can be gar-

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ish. Others, however, as exemplified by several versions of the Magic Lake, show a remarkable level of skill and creativity. The myriad inspirations behind the monochromatic drawings of the Magic Lake may serve as a methodological example to be applied to other popular subjects executed in this medium. Drawings such as those made after Thomas Cole's The Voyage ofLife (issued as a print by James Smillie in 1848) could prove equally rich in cultural connections and contextual sources of inspiration. It is hoped that this study of the origins and the iconography of the Magic Lake "sandpaper" drawings has suggested the importance of this underexplored medium in the proliferation and dissemination of popular imagery in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century and has provided interesting insights into the creative impulses of the female amateur American artist.* Shelley R. Langdale is the Assistant Curator ofPrints at The Cleveland Museum ofArt. Her areas ofexpertise are nineteenthand twentieth-century American and Italian Renaissance prints and drawings. She received her M.A. in art historyfrom Williams College in 1989 and has worked at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; The Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; and the Museum ofFine Arts, Boston. The ideafor this article was prompted by the research she conductedfor an exhibition of Americanfolk art on paperfrom the collection ofthe Museum of Fine Arts in 1992, and a college course that she taught on Americanfolk art in 1994.

NOTES 1 Also frequently referred to as "sandpaper paintings." Since the majority of works are done in black and white and the media used are primarily drawing materials,I prefer to use the term "sandpaper drawings."

2 The Karolik Collection contains several thousand drawings and watercolors executed between 1800 and 1875, a considerable portion of which were made by "folk" or nonacademic artists.

3 At present, I know of seventeen monochromatic drawings and one color pastel executed on "sandpaper," one pencil and charcoal drawing on plain paper, and one oil painting, all of which are based on the Magic Lake image. The National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C., is the only other public institution that has a sandpaper drawing of the Magic Lake subject in their collection. The New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown is the only other major public repository of sandpaper drawings, but they do not possess a drawing of this subject.

4 See Carl W.Drepperd,American Pioneer Arts and Artists(Springfield, Mass.: The Pond-Eckberg Company, 1942), pp. 46,48.

5 I am indebted to Barney Bloom of the Vermont Historical Society in Montpelier for locating this catalog in the Society's archives.

6 Lucy Prouty, The Garden ofParadise, made after the engraved illustration The Loves ofthe Angels published in Godey's Lady's Book(August 1850). See M. & M. Karolik Collection ofAmerican Water Colors & Drawings 1800-1875(Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1962), cat. no. 1190,fig. 286. The frame is now lost but the derivation of the artist's name from a notation on the frame is documented in the museum's files.

7 Correspondence from the previous owner of the drawings in the object files of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

8 Recent research by Randall and Tanya Holton suggests that while many of the artists who used this medium were female (and we shall see that the Magic Lake subject was particularly appealing to young women),the technique was practiced by both genders at a variety of ages, and by amateurs as well as professionals.

See "Sandpaper Paintings of American Scenes," The Magazine Antiques(September 1996): 359.

Fig. 8 BAYOU IN MOONLIGHT James Hamilton United States 1860s Watercolor on paper 151 / 2" diam.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, M. & M. Karolik Collection, 55.746

9 Henry B. Hirst,"Rhein-Wein—Flagon First: The Pilgrim of Love," Sartain's Magazine X,no.4(April 1852): 285-289.

10 The magazine was founded in 1847 as the Union Magazine of Literature and Art. In 1848 John Sartain and William Sloanaker purchased the magazine and changed the title to Sartain's Union Magazine ofLiterature and Art, which was frequently shortened to Sartain's Magazine.

11 In 1825 there were approximately 100 periodicals other than newspapers published in the United States, and by 1850 there were nearly 600. See Frank Luther Mott,A History ofAmerican Magazines 1741-1850(New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1930), pp. 341-343,348-349.

12 It was not uncommon for a publisher to pay more for a printing plate than for an article or, on occasion, to pay more for a print than for the entire literary contents of an issue. See Ann Katharine Martinez,"The Life and Career of John Sartain (1808-1897): A Nineteenth Century Philadelphia Printmaker" (Ph.D. diss., George Washington University, 1986), p. 35; and Mott, O.cit., p. 519.

13 Katharine Martinez,"Messengers of Love,Tokens of Friendship': Gift Book Illustrations by John Sartain," in The American Illustrated Book in the Nineteenth Century (Winterthur, Del.: The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1987), pp. 89-91.

14 While the magazine often included a number of illustrations,fashion plates, and vignettes, three special images— "splendid works of art, intended to be framed and preserved"("Our Premiums," Sartain's Magazine VI, no. 1 [January 1850]: 103)— were featured at the front of the issue, even if the article to which they related appeared further on.

Usually these prints consisted of one fashion plate or flower image, one wood engraving, and one intaglio picture.

There was always at least one intaglio print featured per issue.

15 The drawing is titled and signed at lower left: "Magic Lake /

by M.K.[?][N or H]ous" 16 A seated spirit is described in the story: "the Monarch of that central world...Sat swathed with jewelled stars"(Hirst, op. cit., p. 287). The remainder of the spirit's description allowed for a wide range of interpretations:"Some figures stood a thousand feet in height;/ Others were dwarfish; some had bat-like wings;/ Some seemed like slaves while others wore the / crowns and robes of demon kings"(p. 287).

17 Ibid., p. 288.

18 "And naked as a seraph, and as fair / The maiden's soul arose and gazed around / with wondering orbs, like one who wakes from / sleep on an enchanted ground./ Beneath her lay the faded form she left,/ Above her spread the glistening,jewelled skies,/ Before her stood her glorious, mystic love,/ devotion in his eyes. /'Come to my heart, my queen', the Being cried: / Here in this eden,evermore abide,/ Immortal like myself, my passionate one, my!beautiful, my bride!"(Ibid., p. 289.)

19 Editorials written by Caroline Kirkland for the Union Magazine ofLiterature and Art(which became Sartain's Magazine) exemplify the most direct form of such instructive literature:"A Picture of Life, Not Without a Cloud"(I, no.6[December 18471: 266-272);"Innocence and Fidelity"(167), and "Steps to Ruin" (288). Any number of such articles and similar texts may be found in Godey's Lady's Book(1830-1898),Peterson's Magazine, The Ladies' Companion,and a host of other popular periodicals of the day. For further discussion of a woman's role in mid-nineteenthcentury society, see Ann Douglas, The Feminization ofAmerican Culture(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977)and Barbara Welter, "The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860,"American Quarterly 18(1966): 151-174.

20 Text in bottom margin below title reads:"Engraved by John Sartain from an Original Drawing by James Hamilton." This inscription was cropped from the image reproduced in Fig. 2.

Sartain testifies to the originality of the image:"The Magic Lake is the first in order of the embellishments in the April number, and was designed expressly for this work, and used in illustration of Mr. Hirst's beautiful poetic story of'The Pilgrim of Love" (Sartain's Magazine X,no.4[April 1852]: 356).

21 Arlene Jacobowitz,James Hamilton 1819-1878 American Marine Painter(New York: The Brooklyn Museum, 1966), pp.

11-12; John Sartain,"James Hamilton," Sartain's Magazine X, no.4(April 1852): 331—note that this article appears in the same issue as the Magic Lake print.

22 John Wilmerding,"The Lurninist Movement: Some Reflections," in American Light: The Luminist Movement 1850-1875 (Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1989), pp. 131-132.

23 Jacobowitz, O.cit., p. 23.

24 John I.H. Baur,"A Romantic Impressionist: James Hamilton," The Brooklyn Museum Bulletin XII, no. 3(spring 1951): 2, 4; ibid., pp. 21-26.

25 "Mr. Turner is justly regarded... as the greatest landscape painter that has ever lived.'He is the Shelley of English painting ... producing in the end works in which colour and language are but vestments of poetry"(artist's obituary, Sartain's Magazine X,no. 3[March 1852]: 280—this notice appeared on the last page,immediately preceding the April issue, which contained the Magic Lake frontispiece). Sartain expressed similar sentiments about Martin:"Martin's great characteristic is his power of depicting the vast, the magnificent, the terrible, and sometimes the beautiful... mountain [piled] on mountain to the sky till the eye and the brain ache with the wonder and excitement"("Editorial," Sartain's Magazine IV,no. 1 [January 1849]: 75-76; Sartain's print after Martin, The Announcement to the Shepherds, was included in this issue).

26 See Henry Tuckerman,Book ofthe Artists: American Artist Life Comprising Biographical and Critical Sketches ofAmenican Artists(New York, 1867), pp. 187-188, as quoted in Barbara Novak,"On Divers Themes from Nature: A Selection of Texts," in The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800-1950(New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1976), p. 62:"[N]umerous modem artists are distinguished by a feeling for nature which has made landscape,instead of mere imitation, a vehicle of great moral impressions. As modern poets have struck latent chords in the heart from a deeper sympathy with humanity, recent limners have depicted scenes of natural beauty, not so much in the spirit of copyists as in that of lovers and worshippers. . And where should this kind of painting advance, if not in this country? ... under the inspiration of a genuine love of nature `to hold communion with her visible forms' in order to achieve signal triumphs in landscape,from the varied material so lavishly displayed in our mountains, rivers, lakes and forests—each possessing characteristic traits of beauty, and all cast in a grander mold, and wearing a fresher aspect than any other civilized land."

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27 "The Cole Gallery," Sartain's Magazine III, no.6(June 1848): 286.

28 "The Pilgrim of Love" was the first in a two-part series in Sartain's Magazine; Hirst's sequel,"Rhein-Wein—Flagon Second: The Legend of Lurlei," appeared in the May 1852 issue (p.

363). The second story seems to be based on a German folk legend that grew out of the ballad "Lore Lay." The only apparent connections between Hirst's two stories are the reference to the Rhine and the theme of two lovers, one mortal and one of another world; however,Lurlei is a siren rather than a spirit, and the plots differ greatly.

There is a general reference in "The Pilgrim of Love" to the German medieval epic poem The Nibelungenlied in the use of four-line stanzas, the presence of the Rhine, and the selection of Brunhilda for the name of the main character. There is a closer parallel between the ending of Hirst's story and the fourth cycle of Wagner's operas Der Ring des Nibelungen (which were loosely based on the medieval poem),in that the featured character, Brunhilde, sacrifices her life to spiritually join her loved one.

However, Wagner's operas were not written until 1869-1876.

Since Wagner's stories were only partially based on the epic poem,there may be another German story on which these works were based. German literature was regularly reviewed in many periodicals of the day and a specific discussion of the Nibelungen story can be found in "Fairy Land and Fairy Lore," Godey's Lady's Book(June 1847): 302. So the nineteenth-century audience would have been familiar with a variety of literature derived from German sources.

29 Diana Korzenik, Drawn to Art(Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1985), p. 51.

30 The only published studies devoted to sandpaper drawings known to me are: James Thomas Flexner,"Monochromatic Drawing: A Forgotten Branch of American Art," Magazine ofArt 38, no. 2(February 1945): 62-65; Melvin Elliott,"Drawings on Sandpaper," Spinning Wheel(July—August 1974): 18-20; James Thomas Flexner,"Moonlit Mysteries"(based largely on his 1945 study),Art and Antiques(September 1988): 95-97,136; Bates Lowry,"Marble Dust Paintings," in Lookingfor Leonardo: Naive and Folk Art Objects Found in America by Bates and Isabel Lowry(Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 1993), pp. 25-35; and Randall and Tanya Holton,"Sandpaper Paintings," pp. 356-365.

The Holtons are currently writing a book on the history of sandpaper painting.

31 Carl Drepperd lists the New York edition in American Drawing Books(New York: New York Public Library, 1946), p. 10.

English art instruction manuals flooded the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century, many of which were quickly published in variant editions in America to meet demand. See also Korzenik, op. cit., pp. 50-53.

32 The names of commercial suppliers of prepared boards appear on two drawings in the Karolik Collection in Boston: an oval blind stamp on the verso of Signs of Winter(Karolik Collection, cat. no. 1187)reads "Reynolds Abraded Surface Drawing Boards," and "S. Wood,Jr's No. Monochromatic Boards" is printed on the verso of The `Minnehaha' and the Fort William Henry Hotel, Lake George, New York(Karolik Collection, cat. no. 1179,fig. 277). The "S. Wood,Jr" probably refers to the itinerant artist/teacher Silas Wood Jr., who produced prepared boards for sale and was a major proponent of the medium.

33 B.F. Gandee, The Artist or, Young Ladies'Instructor in Ornamental Painting, Drawing, etc.(London and New York: 1835), P. 40.

34 Ibid., p. 31.

35 Ibid., p. 34.

36 Madame L.B. Urbino, et al., Art Recreations(Boston: J.E. Tilton and Company, 1861), p. 73.

37 Gandee, op. cit., p. 6. At that time, the American fascination

62 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

with Greek and Roman culture, viewed as a model for American government, art, and literature, may have lent the title a certain grandeur and sophistication well beyond the merit of the amateur technique.

38 Ibid., pp. 5-6.

39 Gandee states in his introduction that the source of motivation for the publication of his book was the great success of the instructions that he had mailed on occasion to absent pupils. See also Korzenik, op. cit., pp. 37-53.

40 Drepperd, American Drawing Books, p. 10. It is unclear how Drepperd arrived at the range 1836-1845 since no source for this information is cited.

41 Drepperd, American Pioneer Arts and Artists, pp. 40,55.

42 See Silas Wood Jr., Practical Directions in Monochromatic Painting (Cincinnati, 1847) and A Few Observations on Monochromatic Painting (Cincinnati, 1848). As I have not had the opportunity to see copies of either of these rare books,I have relied on the research of Randall and Tanya Holton,"Sandpaper Paintings," pp. 358-359.

43 Urbino et al., op. cit., pp.67-69,77-128. The instructions for "Monochromatic Drawing" are similar to Gandee's, except that black crayon is used instead of lampblack pigment, a sponge is introduced as a tool, and the instructions are more concise.

44 Flexner,"Monochromatic Drawing," p. 64.

45 Gandee, op. cit., p. 35.

46 Holton, op. cit., p. 358.

47 Urbino et al., op. cit., pp.68-69.

48 Gandee,op. cit., p. 23.

49 The inclusion of "No. 2" in Miss Wealey's inscription suggests that this may have been one of several versions executed while learning the technique.

50 See Flexner,"Monochromatic Drawing"(p. 62)and That Wilder Image: The Painting ofAmerica's Native Schoolfrom Thomas Cole to Winslow Homer(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1962), p. 263, illus. The citation in the latter reference mistakenly lists the artist as "E.L." instead of"G.L.""G.L." has been confirmed by Flexner as the correct reading of the initials in the inscription.

51 Two "medium" folios and one "postcard"(from a set of six landscapes, no existing examples of this version are currently known). The first version was made between I857—when Ives became a partner in the firm and his name was added to prints— and 1872, when the firm moved from their 152 Nassau St. address (which appears with the firm's name underneath the title in the bottom margin of the print—trimmed from the impression reproduced here). The second version, also "medium," was executed on a new stone while the firm was still located at 152 Nassau St.(at least one impression exists with this address). Other impressions with the firm's 1877 address, 115 Nassau St., indicate that this stone was printed over an extended period of time. This second version is cruder, the texture of the cave border is harsher, and small alterations have been made such as the addition of a trunk on the tree on the center island, the shortening of the man's beard, and other minor changes. Such insignificant changes suggest that the first stone was probably ruined and the popularity of the subject merited the production of a new stone. Impressions with the 1877 address can be found at the New York Historical Association in Cooperstown and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. See Gale Research Company, Currier & Ives: A Catalogue Raisonne (Detroit: Gale Research Company,Book Tower, 1989), cat. nos. 4196-4198; Frederic A. Conningham, Currier & Ives Prints: An Illustrated Check List(New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1970), cat. nos. 3871,3870,3438/3869; and Harry T. Peters, Currier & Ives: Printmakers to the American People(New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company,Inc., 1929), cat. nos. 2873,2409,2402a/2873a.

IN 1984,THE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART received a gift of two impressive marble dust(or sandpaper) drawings that had descended in the family of the donor, Leighton G. Roberts. Each is inscribed with the artist's name. Abigail Gardner, and a descriptive title of the scene portrayed. As Randall and Tanya Holton noted in their article "Sandpaper Paintings of American Scenes- in the September 1996 issue of The Magazine Antiques, American landscapes and historical scenes were among the most popular subjects in a medium that reached its heyday during the 1850s and 1860s. The drawings illustrated in -The Enchantment of The Magic Lake," Shelley Langdale's essay in this issue, and one of the Gardner drawings in the Museum's collection deviate from this rule of thumb. Although one is a depiction of New York's City Hall and the surrounding park, the other is a narrative rendering of a religious subject.

Religious subjects were perhaps less common in this medium, but they were typically selected for and by young women as appropriate themes for their art projects, and were often based on published images. The origins of the marble dust drawing inscribed And the Angel of God Called to Hagar Out ofHeaven remain obscure, but more success has been achieved in identifying the source for View of the Park Fountain & City Hall N.Y. This scene is derived from a lithograph published in New York in 1851 by James Merritt Ives, before he joined forces with Nathaniel Currier. The artist has simplified some elements of the lithograph and embellished others; for instance, she added the stalls and awnings on the lower left side of the iii drawing. As Abigail Gardner is purported to be from New York City and her drawing was made three years after the publication of the Ives lithograph, her interpretation may in fact have been from personal observation. Both scenes are fine examples of the romantic monochromatic drawings executed in the mid-nineteenth century.

AND THE ANGEL OF GOD CALLED TO HAGAR OUT OF HEAVEN Abigail Gardner New York City 1853-1854 Charcoal on marble dust paper 17/ 1 2 251 / 2 " Museum of American Folk Art gift of Leighton G. Roberts, 1984.20.1

VIEW OF THE PARK FOUNTAIN & CITY HALL N.Y. Abigail Gardner New York City 1853-1854 Charcoal on marble dust paper mounted on board 17 25'7 Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Leighton G. Roberts, 1984.20.2

— Stacy C. Hollander, Curator, Museum of Anterican Folk Art

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 63

art fair self-taught intuitive visionary outsider art brut

january 22 - 24, 1999 friday noon - 8pm admission $12

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sunday noon - 7pm

wheelchair accessible

preview january 21 6pm - 9pm information: 212.777.5218

symposium: uncommon artists VII

saturday january 23

presented by the museum of american folk art and new york university

information: 212.977.7170

the puck building lafayette & houston streets soho, new york city "The Outsider Art Fair... is a fixture of the New York art season" The New York Times

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"Testing the Water", a one-of-a-kind watercolor 2814x 2374 framed

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66 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

THE ART OF NELLIE MAE ROWE

Nittet-Nitte aad a Mae( Won't Da

By Lee Kogan

Published by the Museum of American Folk Art

The first major exhibition catalog to explore the full

112 pages

range of creativity and technical virtuosity of Georgia

84 color illustrations

artist Nellie Mae Rowe.

hardbound 12 x 9"

In this full-color, beautifully illustrated volume, with a foreword by Gerard C. Wertkin and an introduction by Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Lee Kogan tells Nellie Mae Rowe's story and discusses her exuberant art with great insight, understanding, and sensitivity.

The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe is a must for anyone interested in the exciting field of twentieth-century folk art.

$30.00 10% discount for Museum members To order your copy, call the Museum's Book and Gift Shop at 212/496-2966 The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do is on view at the Museum of American Folk Art January 16—May 16, 1999

TRUSTEES/DONORS

MUSEUM

OF

AMERICAN

FOLK

ART

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Executive Committee Ralph 0.Esmerian President Frances Sirota Martinson, Esq. Executive Vice President and Chairman, Executive Committee Lucy C. Danziger Executive Vice President

Joan M.Johnson Vice President Bonnie Strauss Vice President L. John Wilkerson Treasurer Jacqueline Fowler Secretary Anne Hill Blanchard Samuel Farber Julie K.Palley

Members Joyce B. Cowin Joseph F. Cullman 3rd David L. Davies Vira Hladun Goldmann Susan Gutfreund Kristina Johnson,Esq. Nancy Mead

George H. Meyer,Esq. Lauren S. Morgan Cyril I. Nelson

Lewis P. Cabot Edward Lee Cave Mrs. Daniel Cowin Mr.& Mrs. Edgar M.Cullman Mr. 8z Mrs. Edgar Cullman Jr. Joe & Joan Cullman Susan R. Cullman Lucy & Mike Danziger Peggy & Richard M. Danziger David L. Davies Ray & Susan Egan Ralph 0. Esmerian Sam & Betsey Farber Bequest of Eva & Morris Feld

Jacqueline Fowler Vira Hladun Goldmann Cordelia Hamilton Johnson & Johnson Joan & Victor Johnson Kristina Johnson Susan & Robert Klein The Edith & Herbert Lehman Foundation, Inc. Lipman Family Foundation Paul Martinson, Frances Martinson & Howard Graff in memory of Burt Martinson Mr.& Mrs. Dana G. Mead George H. Meyer

Lauren & Keith Morgan Cyril Irwin Nelson Bequest of Mattie Lou O'Kelley Julie & Sandy Palley and Samuel & Rebecca Kardon Foundation The George & Myra Shaskan Foundation, Inc. Bonnie & Tom Strauss Maureen & Richard Taylor David & Jane Walentas Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP John & Barbara Wilkerson Robert & Anne Wilson Five anonymous donors

Robert & Kathy Booth Mr.& Mrs. Steve Burnett Christie's Cravath, Swaine & Moore Duane, Morris & Heckscher Gallerie 721 Gateway 2000 T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Barbara & Dave Krashes Louis Dreyfus Corporation The Joe & Emily Lowe Foundation, Inc. Eric Maffei Vincent 8z Anne Mai MBNA America, N.A. Microsoft Matching Gifts Program Morgan Stanley Foundation Philip Morris Companies Inc. Steven Piccone, Merrill Corporate Dorothea & Leo Rabldn Marguerite Riordan William D. Rondina The William P.& Gertrude Schweitzer Foundation, Inc. Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons,Inc. George F. & Myra Shaskan Jr. Peter J. Solomon Sotheby's Lynn Steuer Time Warner Unilever United States Foundation, Inc. Two anonymous donors

David & Didi Barrett Bergen Line, Inc. Ellen Blissman Mr.& Mrs. James A. Block Richard Braemer & Amy Finkel Barry D. Briskin Edward J. & Margaret Brown John R. and Dorothy D. Caples Fund Joseph & Barbara Cohen Allan & Kendra Daniel Richard M.& Peggy Danziger Michael & Janice Doniger Nancy Druckrnan Richard C.& Susan B. Ernst Foundation Scott & Lauren Fine Fortress Corporation Jay & Gail Furman Peter & Barbara Goodman Warren & Sue Ellen Haber Marion Harris & Jerry Rosenfeld Stephen M. Hill International House of Blues Foundation International Paper Company Foundation Pepi & Vera Jelinek Harry Kahn Allan & Penny Katz Steven & Helen Kellogg Mr. & Mrs. Ronald S. Lauder Jerry & Susan Lauren Fred Leighton, Ltd. Patrick M.& Gloria M. Lonergan Maine Community Foundation The Overbrook Foundation J. Randall Plummer Daniel & Susan Pollack Drs. Jeffrey Pressman & Nancy Kollisch

Trustees Emeriti Cordelia Hamilton George F. Shaskan Jr.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS The Museum of American Folk Art has announced a $31 million campaign to construct and endow a new home on 53rd Street. As of November 1, 1998, nearly $15 million has been raised from the following donors: Big Apple Wrecking & Construction Corporation Edward V. Blanchard & M. Anne Hill Florence Brody

RECENT MAJOR DONORS FOR EXHIBITIONS AND OPERATIONS The Museum of American Folk Art greatly appreciates the generous support of the following friends:

TENNECO The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Two anonymous donors

$100,000 and above Estate of Daniel Cowin Lucy C.& Frederick M. Danziger Ralph 0. Esmerian Estate of Laura Harding L. John & Barbara Wilkerson Anonymous

$10,000—$19,999 Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company John R.& Dorothy D. Caples Fund Virginia W.Cochran Country Living Credit Suisse First Boston The Dietrich American Foundation & H. Richard Dietrich Jr. William B. Dietrich & William B. Dietrich Foundation Kristina Johnson, Esq. Mr.& Mrs. Robert E. Klein The LEFF Foundation Kiyoko & Nathan Lerner Nancy Mead The Magazine Group Marstrand Foundation George H. Meyer, Esq. George H.& Kay Meyer Lauren S. Morgan The Pinkerton Foundation Pioneer Valley Art Foundation, Inc. The Judith Rothschild Foundation Schlumberger Foundation, Inc. Jean S. & Frederic A. Sharf Fund Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. Anonymous

$50,000—$99,999 Edward V. Blanchard & M. Anne Hill General Cigar Company Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund Julie K.& Samuel Palley Barbara & Thomas W.Strauss Fund Anonymous $20,000—S49,999 Burnett Group Edward Lee Cave Peter M.& Mary Ciccone Mrs. Daniel Cowin Joseph F. Cullman 3rd David L. Davies & Jack Weeden Raymond C.& Susan Egan Virginia S. Esmerian Samuel & Betsey Farber Jacqueline Fowler Vira Hladun Goldmann Mr.& Mrs. John H. Gutfreund Estate of Maridean Watt Hutton Joan M.& Victor L. Johnson National Endowment for the Arts Pfizer Inc Restaurant Associates Industries, Inc. The Smart Family Foundation Inc.

SS WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

S4,000—$9,999 American Folk Art Society American Woodworker ARTCORP Cecille Barger & Myron Benit Shure Alvin J. Bart & Sons Beard's Fund

$2,000—$3,999 A La Vieille Russie, Inc. ABC,Inc. Dr. Charles L. Abney Jr. Amicus Foundation, Inc.

(continued on page 72)

BOOK

R EV IEW

Spiritually Moving A Collection of American Folk Art Sculpture Tom Geismar and Harvey Kahn Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York 1998 160 pages with gatefold, plus 16page insert 281 photographs, including 125 in full color 16/ 1 2x 113A" $125.00 hardcover and slipcasecl Spiritually Moving: A Collection ofAmerican Folk Art Sculpture is probably the most beautiful book on American folk art to come along ... ever. The book,on traditional American folk sculpture, is in itself a work of art. Beautifully photographed by Dave Hoffman and exquisitely designed by Tom Geismar, Spiritually Moving almost eclipses its subject and becomes a book about book design and photography.

The reader or, in this case, the viewer(since there is very little to read in this stunning picture book)can see weathervanes, decoys, ship's figureheads, horses—running,jumping, and standing still—dogs, fish, birds, and angels from one of the finest private collections of American folk sculpture. However exciting the images, little information on the subject is provided, despite a helpful sixteenpage catalog section, which is duplicated as an insert and tucked into the back cover so that one can follow along with the fullcolor images without flipping back and forth.

Considering the collective scholarship of the team responsible for this gorgeous publica-

AMERICAN STONEWARE COLLECTORS tion—Harvey Kahn, an eminent collector and curatorial advisor to this collection; Don Walters, a prominent art and antiques dealer and former curator of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center; and Ralph Sessions, former chief curator for the Museum of American Folk Art, art historian, and author of the catalog section—one might have expected more concrete information on this collection.

The book's size is a blessing and a curse. Because of its oversize format, the images are huge and glorious, especially when one considers those illustrated across a two-page spread—one object is illustrated on a twopage spread with a double gatefold! But again, a however: this book, at 17, 4x 12/ 1 4"in its slipcase, may be too big for most bookcases or even most coffee tables. All of that said, I wholeheartedly agree with Gerard C. Wertkin, the Museum's director, who says,"This superbly designed volume resolves any doubts that the best of American folk sculpture is art in the truest sense of the word," and with Nancy Druckman, director of American folk art at Sotheby's, who says,"This book is elegant, creative and majestic... no further argument needs to be made about the unusual quality, grace and power of American folk art." With the holidays upon us, I suggest that Spiritually Moving: A Collection ofAmerican Folk Art Sculpture, in hardcover and beautifully slipcased, make it to your very special gift list.

Spiritually Moving

"AUCTION AND APPRAISAL SERVICES"

Carl Wissler 2015 Lilitz Pike Lancaster, PA. 17601 717-569-2309

Richard C. Hume P.O. Box 281 Bay Head, N.J. 08742 732-899-8707

HYPOINT

AMERICAN

ANTIQUES & FOLK ART •

Matchstick Cathedral 16" Long

JANE S. CIEPLY 847-540-0615 •BARRINGTON,IL 60010

—R.G.

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 69

In Memorq of Our Moil Vreelota Son.

Waimpl. Barth& Bever/and

1957

1998

Robyn's world was His Family, His Bible, His Town, His Art Work and YOU,the thousands of beautiful people who smiled when you viewed his little paintings.

Robyn was deaf in one ear. Blind in one eye and only 30% vision in the other. . . He was diabetic with a rare syndrome called "WOLFRAM SYNDROME".. . Robyn has known all of his life that he would not lived past the age of 45. BUT, EVERY DAY WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO OUR "BEAVER".. . He never once complained about his condition. To him, his purpose in life was to make others happy. His paintings were simple and always uplifting. He never tried to send a complicated message thru his art work. He just wanted you to smile at his art work. People would comment to him on what a gift he had in how he mixed colors. Robyn would just smile and nod his head. Robyn was color blind.

Our "BEAVER" HAS GONE TO A BE'.1. 1hR PLACE. Maybe GOD will let him paint the HEAVENS now and then — Robyn always called his paintings "HIS CHILDREN". Robyn, your children will live forever. As long as one of ROBYN'S paintings is viewed, THE BEAVER'S memory WILL LAST FOREVER...

-(To Know Robyn Was To Love Him — Do not stand at mygrave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamondgTints on snow.

I am the suniOt on ripenedgrain, I am thegentle autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush, Iam the swift uplifting rush ofquiet birds in circkdflight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at mygrave anday, I am not there, I did not time.

—Author Unknown—

Robyn, Your Family Loves You, You Were A Blessing From Go&

SILCVEINI fOLk 4441 41te14614 ATLANTA, GEORGIA Nortb Atlanta Trade Center (I-85 & Ipdiao Tr. Rd.)

600 LOTS

SPRING AUCTION MARCH 13 & 14 1999 Sam Doyle (1906-1985) "Dr. Crow" - Famous Local Root Doctor, Received Power Through a Rattlesnake

CATALOG • $25 • Fully-Illustrated, Hundreds of Color Pbotos Send (becks to: 5967 Blackberry L. Buford, GA 30518 •770 932-1000 FAX 770 932-0506• EMAIL slotingnetdepot.con)• GAL #2864

TRUSTEES/DONORS

MUSEUM

OF

AMERICAN

FOLK

ART

Continuedfrom page 68 Raymond & Linda Simon Louise M. Simone Nell Singer Mr.& Mrs. Elliot K. Slade R. Scudder & Helen Smith Jeff Soref The Judy & Michael Steinhardt Foundation in honor of Ralph 0.

Esmerian Donald & Rachel Strauber Jim & Judy Taylor Peter & Lynn Tishman United States Trust Company of New York Don Walters & Mary Benisek Irwin H.& Elizabeth V. Warren Peter & Leslie Warwick Olive F. Watson Anonymous S1,00041,999 Alconda-Owsley Foundation Marna Anderson Deborah & James Ash Patricia H. Berkovitz Mr. & Mrs. James A. Block Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Block Seema Boesky Mr.& Mrs. Sheldon Bonovitz Botanica Marvin & Lois P. Broder Diana D. Brooks Edward J. & Margaret Brown Lawrence & Ann Buttenwieser Carillon Importers Inc. Cirker's Moving & Storage Co., Inc. Liz Claiborne Foundation The Coach Dairy Goat Farm Katie Cochran & Michael G. Allen Conde Nast Publications Mr. & Mrs. Edgar M.Cullman Lewis B.& Dorothy Cullman Cullman & Kravis, Inc. Marion Dailey Mr.& Mrs. Allan Daniel Aaron & Judy Daniels Mr. & Mrs. Frederick M. Danziger Mr.& Mrs. Richard Danziger Michael Del Castello Mr.& Mrs. Robert E. Denham Derrel B. DePasse Don & Marian DeWitt Mr. & Mrs. Charles Diker Mr.& Mrs. Jack Dodick Eve Dorfzaun The Echo Design Group,Inc. Mr.& Mrs. Alvin H. Einbender Theodore & Sharon Eisenstat Epstein Philanthropies John Farber & Wendyll Brown Jill Gallagher Mr.& Mrs. Bruce Geismar Fred & Kathryn Giampietro Mr. Howard Gilman Dr. Kurt A. Gitter & Ms. Alice Yelen Eric J. & Anne Gleacher Barbara Goldsmith The Goodnow Fund Barbara L. Gordon Baron J. & Ellin Gordon

72 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Eugene M. Grant and Company Robert M. Greenberg Stanley & Marcia Greenberg Bonnie Grossman Anne Groves Agnes Gund & Daniel Shapiro Cordelia Hamilton Mr.& Mrs. James Harithas Robert F. Hemphill Jr. Robert J. & Fern K. Hurst Sandra Jaffe Linda E. Johnson Harvey & Isobel Kahn Louise & George Kaminow Mr. & Mrs. Gerald P. Kaminsky Mr.& Mrs. Michael Kellen Diane D. Kern The Hess & Helyn Kline Foundation Mr.& Mrs. Stephen Lash Mr.& Mrs. Jerry Lauren Mark & Taryn Leavitt Diana Lee in memory of Seymour Margulies Barbara S. Levinson Peter 8z Nadine Levy Lynn M.Lorwin Dan W.Lufkin & Silvia Kramer Christopher & Linda Mayer The Helen R.& Harold C. Mayer Foundation Judith McGrath Robert & Meryl Meltzer Michael 8z Gael Mendelsohn Mr.& Mrs. Stanley G. Mortimer III Cyril I. Nelson Bernard Newman Philip V. Oppenheimer Mr.& Mrs. Richard D.Parsons Burton W.Pearl, MD Guy Peyrelongue Mr.& Mrs. Daniel Pollack Polo Ralph Lauren Morris & Anna Propp Sons Fund, Inc. Irene Reichert Mr.& Mrs. Keith Reinhard Paige Rense Betty Ring John & Robert Robson William D. Rodina Selig D. Sacks The San Diego Foundation Charmaine & Maurice Kaplan Fund Mr.& Mrs. Marvin Schwartz H. Marshall Schwarz Stephen Score Semlitz Glaser Foundation Joseph & Janet Shein Mr.& Mrs. Ronald Shelp Harwicke Simmons Joel & Susan Simon Mr.& Mrs. Elliott Slade Sanford L. Smith George & Susan Soros Mr.& Mrs. William Stahl Jr. David & Ellen Stein Patricia & Robert Stempel Mr.& Mrs. Geoffrey Stern Doris & Stanley Tanenbaum

Mr.& Mrs. Jeff Tarr Cathy E. Taub & Lowell C. Freiberg Maureen Taylor David Teiger Tiffany & Company Mr.& Mrs. Peter Tishman Mr.& Mrs. Michael A. Varet Gerard C. Wertkin G. Marc Whitehead John & Phyllis Wishnick Laurie Wolfe & Ann C.S. Benton Susan Yecies Mr.& Mrs. William Zabel Two anonymous donors $500—$999 Joe C. Adams Ted Alfond Ms. Mary Lou Alpert Richard C.& Ingrid Anderson R. Randolph Apgar & Allen Black The Bachmann Foundation, Inc. Jeremy L. Banta Frank & June Barsalona Henry Barth Charles Benenson Dr. & Mrs. Alex Berenstein The Bibelot Shops Peter & Lynn Bienstock Mary F. Bijur Mrs. Helen Bing Leonard Block Seema Boesky Jeffrey & Tina Bolton Joseph & Joan Boyle Ian G.M.& Marian M. Brownlie Gale Meltzer Brudner Guy K. Bush Robert T. Cargo Cavin-Morris Gallery The Chase Manhattan Foundation Matching Gift Program Karen D.Cohen Suzanne Cole Mr.& Mrs. Stephen H. Cooper Judy Cowen Michael F. Coyne & Monica Longworth Cathy Cramer Mr.& Mrs. Lewis Cullman Susan R. Cullman Kathryn M. Curran Julie S. Dale Mr.& Mrs. Richard Danziger Gary Davenport Keith De Lellis Alvin & Davida Deutsch Mr.& Mrs. Gerald T. DiManno Lynne W.Doss Cynthia Drasner Howard Drubner Arnold & Debbie Dunn Alfred Engelberg Mr.& Mrs. Anthony Evnin Ross & Gladys Faires Burton & Helaine Fendelman Frank & Fran Frawley Ken & Brenda Fritz Denise Froelich Galerie Heike Curtze

Daniel M.Gantt Mr.& Mrs. Bruce Geismar William L. 8z Mildred Gladstone Harriet & Jonathan Goldstein Mr.& Mrs. Baron J. Gordon Mrs. Terry S. Gottlieb Howard M. Graff Marilyn A. Green Mr. Robert Greenberg Peter Greenwald & Nancy Hoffman Grey Advertising, Inc. Susan Rosenberg Gunman Anton Haardt Foundation Robert & Elizabeth Harleman Pria & Mark Harmon Brian C. & Ellen Harris Mr.& Mrs. James Hartithas Audrey B. Heckler Stephen Hessler Robert L.& Marjorie Hirschhorn Leonard & Arlene Hochman Rebecca Hoffberger Raymond E. Holland Carter Houck Ellen E. Howe Robert J. Hurst Imperial Wallcoverings, Inc. Laura N. & Theodore J. Israel Mr.& Mrs. Thomas C. Israel Ann Jocelyn/Bank of New York Betty W. Johnson & Douglas F. Bushnell Guy Johnson Robert J. Kahn Louise & George Kaminow Cathy M. Kaplan Dr. & Mrs. Rudy Kasni Sherry Kass & Scott Tracy Fran Kaufman & Robert C. Rosenberg Leigh Keno Mary Kettaneh Jonathan & Jacqueline King Barbara S. Klinger Lee & Ed Kogan Mr.& Mrs. Theodore A. Kurz Robert A. Landau Evelyn 8z Leonard A. Lauder Wendy & Mel Lavitt Mr.& Mrs. John Levin James & Frances Lieu Carl M.Lindberg Mimi Livingston Monica Longworth & Michael F. Coyne Earle & Carol Mack Ian W. MacLean Richard & Gloria Manney Michael T. Martin Virginia Marx Al Marzorini Mr.& Mrs. John A. Mayer Jr. Kelley McDowell Grete Meilman Mr. 8z Mrs. Robert Meltzer Robert & Joyce Menschel Mr.& Mrs. Danny Meyer Evelyn S. Meyer (continued on page 76)

THIRD ANNUAL

THE NATIONAL BLACK r[Rir ART SHOW JANUARY 29 - 31 1999 FRIDAY NOON - 8PM

SATURDAY 11AM - 8PM

$12 Admission

Café

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SUNDAY 11AM - 6PM

Wheelchair Accessible

PREVIEW JANUARY 28 6PM - 9PM $50, Includes one readmission & catalog

THE PUCK BUILDING Lafayette & Houston Streets, New York City

URA H "HEAVE,"(DETAIL

LECTURE SERIES Saturday January 30th

Information: 301.564.6602

WAINWRIGHT/SMITH ASSOCIATES 68 East 7th Street New York, NY 10003-8499 212.777.5218 Fax: 212.477.6490 smith@freeverse.com American Visions Magazine

SGP STEDMAN GRAHAM & PARTNERS

EPSTEIN/POWELL

Light of the Spirit

66 Grand St., New York, N.Y. 10013 By appointment(212)226-7316

Portraits ofSouthern Outsider Artists

Jesse Aaron Rex Clawson Mr. Eddy Victor Joseph Gatto (estate) Lonnie Holley S.L. Jones Lawrence Lebduska Charlie Lucas Justin McCarthy Old Ironsides Pry Popeye Reed Max Romain Ody Saban Jack Savitsky Clarence Stringfield Mose Tolliver Chief Willey George Williams Luster Willis ...and other outsider artists (We're a short walkfrom the Outsider Art Fair)

By Karekin Goekjian and

Robert Peacock Foreword by Donald Kuspit ,Introduction by Gerard C. Wertkin

"His images are not

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI ORDERS: 1-800-737-7788 AmEx • Discover • MC • Visa http://www.upress.state.ms.us

the usual set pieces portraits tend to be... but rather dynamic renderings of the self taught artists in their private milieus, surrounded by their art." -Donald Kuspit $60 hardcover $35 softcover

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 73

Inspired by nineteenth century designsfrom the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art's collection ofover 400 quilts.

222 COLUMBUS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO CA 94133

PHONE 415.782.1250 FAX 415.782.1260

32nd

WILTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

ANTIQUES SHOW March 20 & 2 ,1999 Wilton High School Field House Route 7, Wilton, Connecticut WILTON,the acclaimed venue for the most exciting antiques shows in the country, brings together more than 100 distinguished dealers offering country and high-style period furniture, American and European decorative arts, folk and fine art for its 32nd annual antiques show.

Comprehensive in scope, it offers wonderful objects from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, handsomely presented and at a range of prices. It is planned to serve both advanced collectors and those beginning to acquire authentic antiques.

Managed by Marilyn Gould

Early buying and continental breakfast Saturday 8:30 - 10 a.m., Admission $25

Saturday & Sunday 10 to 5 Admission $8 with ad $7 Easy to reach by major highways and Metro North R.R. to Cannondale station and only 50 miles from New York City.

•5 1/2 miles north of Exit 39B Merritt Parkway • 8 miles north of Exit 15, 1-95 • 12 miles south of Exit3, 1-84•

OF

MUSEUM

TRUSTEES/DONORS

AMERICAN

FOLK

ART

Continuedfrom page 72 Timothy & Virginia Millhiser Ira M. Millstein Randall Morris & Shari Cavin Museums New York Ann & Walter Nathan Mr.& Mrs. Bruce Newman Victor & Susan Niederhoffer Mr.& Mrs. John E. Oilman Paul L.& Nancy Oppenheimer David Passerman William & Terry Pelster The Perrier Group of America Anthony J. Petullo Mr. & Mrs. Laurence B. Pike Terry R. Pillow Mr.& Mrs. Jack Rabin

Mr.& Mrs. C. Carl Randolph in memory of Margery G. Kahn Mr.& Mrs. F.F. Randolph Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Milton S. Rattner Ricco/Maresca Gallery Mr.& Mrs. Peter C. Rockefeller Roger & Alyce Rose Mr.& Mrs. Martin Rosen Mr.& Mrs. Winthrop Rutherford Jr. Elizabeth Lee Sample & Brenda Powers Merilyn Sandin-Zarlengo Judy A. Saslow Diane H. Schafer Linda & Donald Schapiro Paul & Penelope Schindler Margaret Schmidt

Richard J. & Sheila Schwartz Mrs. Stewart Seidman Mr.& Mrs. Robert Shapiro Arthur & Suzanne Shawe Bruce B. Shelton Dr. Christian Shriqui Randy Siegel Mr.& Mrs. Raymond Simon Nell Singer Dr. Meredith F. & Gail Wright Sinnans John & Stephanie Smither Sotheby's Mr.& Mrs. Donald Strauber Mr.& Mrs. Victor Studer Myles & Roberta Tanenbaum Ruben Teles & James Adams Donald & Barbara Tober

Dorothy Treisman Mr.& Mrs. Raymond S. Troubh Anne Vanderwarker Andrew Vansiclde Mary Ellen Vehlow Mr.& Mrs. George Viener Karel F. Wahrsager Jennifer Walker Clifford & Gayle Wallach Mrs. Sue Ann Weinberg Bennett & Judie Weinstock Mr.& Mrs. Roger Weiss Herbert Wells Anne G. Wesson Jane Q. Wirtz Susi Wuennenberg Diana Zanganas Jon & Rebecca Zoler

Allan & Kendra Daniel Michael Del Castello Nancy Druckman Peter & Barbara Goodman Barbara L. Gordon Howard M. Graff Bonnie Grossman Samuel Herrup Pepi & Vera Jelinek Harvey Kahn Allan Katz

Susan Kleckner Barbara & David !Crashes Ronald & Jo Carole Lauder Dan W.Lufkin Keith Morgan J. Randall Plummer Roger Ricco Marguerite Riordan Jean S.& Frederic A. Sharf Joseph & Janet Shein Raymond & Linda Simon

Richard & Stephanie Solar Arthur Spector Donald & Rachel Strauber David Teiger Wendy S. Ullmann Sirs von Reis Irwin H.& Elizabeth V. Warren Anonymous

Ted Ludwiczak Ray Mann George H. Meyer Cyril I. Nelson

Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Maurice C.& Patricia L. Thompson Virginia Zabriskie

JEAN LIPMAN FELLOWS Co-Chairmen Patrick Bell & Edwin Hild Meredith F.& Gail Wright Sinnans 1998 Members Mary Benisek & Don Walters Robert & Kathy Booth Marvin Broder Edward J. & Margaret Brown Alexis & George Contos Renaye Cuyler

RECENT DONORS TO THE COLLECTIONS Jacqueline Loewe Fowler Robert Goldwitz Herbert W. Hemphill Jr.

Gifts Judith Alexander Ralph 0. Esmerian Stephen Feeney

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Select Southern Pottery LYNN MELTON

Leroy Person Steven Abee Howard Finster Richard Burnside David Jarrell Raymond Coins Rita Hicks Davis J.B. Murry Thornton Dial

CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN 10111 ART & SETT -TAUGHT All Mike Smith • At Home Gallery A 3916 Pondfield Court Greensboro, North Carolina 27410•Athome98@aol.com ...

2 2 2 ct

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P.O Box 10152 'Greensboro NC 27404-0152 *7 : e-mail <LMelton222@aol.com> ' (336) 632-1413 '4 v.:41,1.41t:41i.B-Ktrtxt-Alt-,41.:4KAL.-41ejsrceim„,4 r4ric.-41Eart-jawt-iptaiitarDire.grgfigorematicla

76 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Sarah Rakes Benny Carter James Harold Jennings Mary T. Smith Vollis Simpson Jim Sudduth Melissa Polhamus Mr. Eddy Minnie Evans

Mose Tolliver Si. Jones Gerald DePrie Clyde Jones Herman Bridgers Henry Speller B.F. Perkins

By Appointment Only

336/664-0022

Warren and Sylvia Lowe Part 2 plus selected consignments 1lAM New Years Day 1999 Preview December 31' 7Pm-12:30Am 8Am-11I New Years Day Color Catalog $40 Bid and View Live! • wvvw.livebid.com

Kimball M. Sterling, Inc.• Outsider Art Auctions 125 West Market • Johnson City, TN (TFL-1915) (423)928-1471 fi http://sterlingsold.com

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HOWARD FINSTER Charles Simmons at work

R.A. MILLER

Representing: Benny Carter, Charles Simmons & Others

J.B. MURRY MOSE T. NELLIE MAE ROWE And Other Outsider Artists

Newly Discovered Artist: Reverend J. A. King & Others

SOUTHERN FOLK ART PICKER PO. Box 1312, Ridgeway, VA 24148 (540) 956-3669

John Denton 102 Main St., P.O. Box 429 • Hiawassee, GA 30546 (706) 896-4863 • Fax (706) 896-1212

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

77

MUSEUM

REPRODUCTIONS

PROGRAM American Pacific "Evening Star" bedcover

ALICE J. HOFFMAN

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART COLLECTION

Representing more than 300 years ofAmerican design,from the late 1600s to the present, the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art CollectionTM brings within reach ofthe public the very best ofthe past to be enjoyed for generations to come.

New Directions The Museum welcomes its newest licensee: * AMCAL,Inc. Mark the date!

AMCAL,known for its distinctive collection of art calendars, is creating a wall calendar for the year 2000 that features unique quilts from the Museum's collection, dating as far back as 1848 and as recently as 1986. Beautiful imagery,stunning colors, and a specially designed date pad make the Glorious American Quilts 2000 Calendar a perfect gift to give or receive.

News from Museum Licensees Share our legacy; look for new products from our family of licensees, featuring unique designs inspired by objects from the Museum's collection. * American Pacific Enterprises We're covered! Four new bedcover designs—"Sunburst Star," "Harvest Star,""Grandma's Floral," and "Double Wedding Ring"—were featured throughout October and November on QVC. Star Bright!... Museum designs continue to shine. American Pacific introductions for 1999 at the New York Textile Market this October were a huge success.

"Evening Star," a true standout, was the star attraction. Look for Museum patterns to be featured next spring in a Federated department store nearest you and as a special opportunity on QVC's program Today's Value. *Galison Send a note, send a recipe! Just think—friends and

78 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

family may even reply with an Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding, Brown-Eyed Susans,Fluffy Cornbread, Billy Goat Cookies, or Shoofly Pie!"New Recipes from Quilt Country," a set of ten cards and envelopes featuring exquisite Amish quilts from the Museum's collection and five classic country recipes, is now available. *Graphique de France Trumpeting angels! Two unique weathervanes from the Museum's collection— Fame and Archangel Gabriel— are featured on holiday note cards

by Graphique de France. Everyone will welcome these guardian angels, printed on environmentally friendly paper of the highest quality and packaged in red boxes. *Mary Myers Studio Merry Christmas! Mary Myers' home, as featured in the December issue of HOME,is a wonderland of whimsy. The family Christmas tree, decorated with nutcrackers

by Myers,is crowned with the Archangel Gabriel. Mary adapted this design from a weathervane in the Museum's collection. There are now 12 nutcrackers in the Museum series, with new ones slated for 1999. * Wild Apple Graphics Ltd. Stamp of approval! The Museum's Girl in Red Dress with Cat and Dog, by Ammi Phillips, was issued by the United States Postal Service in August as part of its "Four Centuries of American Art" stamp series. What better way than this to send the charm-

• Galison New Recipes from Quilt Country" note cards

Mary Myers Archangel Gabriel nutcracker

of American folk art. If you have any questions or comments regarding the Museum of American Folk Art Collectionnl, please contact us at 212/977-7170.

Family of Licensees

Graphique de France Fame and Archangel Gabriel holiday note cards

ing Girl in Red Dress with Cat and Dog art poster from Wild Apple Graphics. The poster, available in two sizes, and the stamp are perfect for framing.

Dear Customer Your purchase of Museumlicensed products directly benefits the exhibition and educational activities of the Museum. Thank you for participating in the Museum's continuing efforts to celebrate the style, craft, and tradition

Abbeville Press(212/888-1969) gift wrap book with gift tags and quilt note cube.* AMCAL,Inc.(800/824-5879) year 2000 calendar.* American Pacific Enterprises (415/782-1250) quilts, shams, and pillows.

Carvin Folk Art Designs,Inc.(212/7556474)gold-plated and enameled jewelry.* Concord Miniatures(800/888-0936) 1"-scale furniture and accessories.* Danforth Pewterera, Ltd.(800/222-3142) pewter jewelry, keyrings, and frames.* Enesco Corporation (800/436-3726) decorative home giftware collection.* Galison (212/354-8840)boxed note cards.* Gallery Partners(718/797-2547) scarves and ties.* Graphique de France (800/444-1464)note cards.* Hermitage des Artistes(212/243-1007)tramp art objects.* Imperial Wallcoverings,Inc.(216/464-3700) wallpaper and borders. Limited Addition (800/268-9724) decorative accessories.* Manticore Products,Inc.(312/595-9800)screensavers, mousepads, and coasters.* Mary Myers Studio (800/829-9603)nutcrackers and nodders.* Syratech Corporation (617/5612200) holiday and decorative home accessories. Takashimaya Company,Ltd. (212/350-0550) home furnishings and decorative accessories(available only in Japan). Tyndale,Inc.(773/384-0800)lighting and lamp shades. Wild Apple Graphics,Ltd.(800/7568359)fme art reproduction prints and posters.* *Available in Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop. For mail-order information, please call 212/496-2966.

Holiday Cards Greeting Cards Prints Ori9inal Art

The Man in the Moon Reflects the Holiday Spirit The 1998 Museum of American Folk Art Holiday Trees

Brochure Available

St. Madeleine Sophie's Center Serving Adults with Developmental Disabilities

2119 East Madison Avenue El Cajon,CA 92019 -1111 Phone: 619.442.5129 E-mail: stmsc@stmsc.org Website: www.stmsc.org

Phyllis Sherman, one ofjust a small number of master craftsmen in the Historical Society of Early American Decoration (HSEAD),created these lovely mirrored ornaments for the Museum's 1998 holiday treesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;she was inspired by the moon dials that appear on clocks made in the nineteenth century.

Over the last few years different chapters of HSEAD have designed, executed, and donated a variety of ornaments to decorate the Museum's annual holiday trees. Phyllis Sherman and her fellow Hudson Valley chapter members have graciously put their time and talent into making this year's holiday tree exhibition very special indeed.

The Historical Society of Early American Decoration is dedicated to teaching and preserving the techniques used on decorative articles found in early American homes. For more information on HSEAD and the location of a chapter in your area, write to Beverly McCarthy at the Museum of American Folk Art,61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023, or call 212/977-7170. Come see this year's holiday trees, on view now through January 9, at the Museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery on Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets.

Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. Admission is free.

Folkwear is Campus Collection's line of 100% cotton T-shirts that feature the original works of outstanding contemporary folk artists.

With more than 30 colorful, expressive designs, Folkwear offers the largest selection of wearable art.

Just call or write for our brochure.

Campus Collection P.O. Box 2904 Tuscaloosa, AL 35403 (800) 289-8744 or (205) 758-0678 www.folkwear.com

Mose T Woodie Long Howard Finster James Harold Jennings Jimmy Lee Sudduth Sarah Rakes Annie T Brian Dowdall Jerry Coker

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 79

MUSEUM

John Martin 6a11ery

NEWS

BY TANYA HEINRICH

Navajo Foil: Art. etc Marquetry Opens onday, Oct.5, marked

M Mamie Deschille's Grey Jackrabbit 38"x 25"

7077 E. Main Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 55251 4,02.423.91(00 E-mail:finartinvogeemsacorn Website: John Martin 6allery on all major browsers

the opening reception of the long-awaited exhibition "Masterpieces in Wood: American Folk Marquetry from The Hirschhorn Foundation," on view at the Museum through Jan. 10,1999. A gala feeling prevailed as Museum members,trustees, staff, and friends milled about the galleries assembled with decorative objects and furniture elaborately patterned with marquetry. Marquetry—an overlay technique in which intricately cut and shaped wood chips and veneers are used to create variegated surfaces—was brought to the United States during the 1840s by skilled German immigrants, mostly anonymous, who worked in the furniture trade here.

TENNECO'S chairman and CEO, Dana G. Mead, and his wife, Museum trustee Nancy Mead

art

Drawn from the collection of Robert and Marjorie Hirschhorn and recent gifts to the Museum, guest curator Richard Miihlberger selected a fine array of decorative objects,including chairs, tables, boxes, clocks, game boards, cabinets, abed,and an astonishing secretary comprised of 22,000 pieces and 300 different types of Robert Hirschhorn and Fred Shad

Trustee Joan Johnson and the Museum's architect Tod Williams

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A Unique Assortment of Paintings, Drawings and Crafts.

Call or write for more information.

312.40'1.4604 P.O. Box 618563 • Chicago, IL 60661-8563 Collectors Robert and Marjorie Hirschhorn with their daughter, Carolyn Joy Schenker, on left

80 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

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wood. Collector Robert Hirschhorn graciously led a few impromptu mini tours and discussed the work at length.

Representatives of exhibition supporters TENNECO,American Woodworker magazine, and (top photo) Leslie Keno, Morrison H. Hecksher, and Leigh Keno (middle photo) The Museum's Americus Group chairperson Alexis Contos, trustee Kristina Johnson, and George Contos

Nellie Mae Rowe Exhibition and Catalog he Museum's winter season will feature the exhibition "The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do,"on view from Jan. 16 to May 16, 1999. Nellie Mae Rowe(1900-1982), a selftaught African American artist from Vinings, Ga.,created colorsaturated, energetic works on paper, enigmatic chewing gum sculptures, whimsical dolls, photographic collages, and assemblages offound objects.

Curator Lee Kogan has selected approximately 80 works to show Rowe's artistic development within the social and historical contexts in which she lived.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a 112-page illustrated catalog and an array of public programming,including a symposium. For details, see p. 86.

The presentation is supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Judith Rothschild Foundation,and the New York State Council on the Arts.

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UNTITLED (NELLIE IN HER YARD), Nellie Mae Rowe, Vinings, Georgia, 1978, felt-tip marker 2 20, Museum 1 and pencil on Foamcore, 17/ of American Folk Art, gift of Judith Alexander, 1997.5.1

David Sloan, editor and publisher of American Woodworker, and Museum director Gerard C. Wertkin

International Paper Company were present. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum published American Folk Marquetry: Masterpieces in Wood, a handsome 240-page color-illustrated book with comprehensive historical information and a complete checklist. The book is available at the Museum's Book and Gift Shop. For mail-order information, please call 212/496-2966.

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GALLERYCAMINO REAL

Gallery Center, 608 Banyan Trail, Boca Raton, Florida 33431

THORNTON DIAL: 1987 - 1998 MASTER ASSEMBLAGES A Unique Retrospective Exhibition ON VIEW November 12 through December 6, 1998 Available till May 1, 1999

Contact for further information: Marjorie Margolis, Gallery Director Tel: 561.241.1606 Fax: 561.241.9273 Suzanne Shawe 212.249.0067 Visit our Web Site : www.CLAM.org

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART DI

MUSEUM

NEWS

nonymous Folk Art ilton Pagan Super-Heroes arvin Henry Urban Scenes

Left to right: symposium panelists Robert Shaw, Dottie Moore, and Yvonne Porcella

ob Conrad Wooden Weapons illiam Ross Simpson Sexualized Mythology tephen Anderson Portraits, Etc. eekeela Smith Obssesive Paper Mosaics C. Spooner Visionary Inventor's Drawings (1910-193 ugene Von Bruenchenhein Paintings and Drawing aymond Krivacka Homemade Money teven Leavitt Ink Miniatures and Paintings obe "40,000" Murphy Altered Photos ircus, Sideshow, and Tattoo TTI1,11

ckERga Ilery

307 N. Glenwood hicago, IL 60660 73.743.2825 veling sho s and appointments

5 An Energetic Quilt Weekend he Museum's 4th Annual Quilt Weekend,held in conjunction with the summer exhibition "Edge to Edge: Selections from Studio Art Quilt Associates," was held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11 and 12. The bold and energetic art quilts, a contemporary expression of the quiltmaking tradition, served as a fitting backdrop for the lively gathering of quiltmakers and quilt enthusiasts converging in the Museum's galleries. So many participants were interested in the all-day quilt workshop "Painting Techniques on Fab-

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Amish Quilts on View in Spring 1999 pproximately 20 Amish quilts from the Museum's permanent collection— with the familiar bars, squares, and center diamonds—will be on view at the Museum from May 22 to July 25, 1999."Beyond the Square: Color and Design in

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ric for Quiltmakers" that the instructor, renowned quilt artist Yvonne Porcella, agreed to teach an additional workshop. The heavily attended symposium, coordinated by Cathy Rasmussen, director of Studio Art Quilt Associates, boasted a panel of Porcella, author Robert Shaw,and quilt artist Dottie Moore. Demonstrations were given by the Empire Quilt Guild; Long Island Quilters Society; Quilters of Color Network of New York,Inc.; Quilters' Guild of Brooklyn; and Women of Color Quilter's Network.

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Amish Quilts" will highlight the quiltmakers' strong and consistent design aesthetic, with quilts of highly saturated color, precision in pattern, and simplicity of line.

Photographs of Amish life by Jan Folsom will also be on view.

The Decorative-Finish Family thens Teles' popular Folk Art Institute hands-on crafts ourse on decorative finishes this spring was something of a family affair. Each student hailed from the same family, with the exception of one who,as a roommate and close friend of one of the participants, is really considered one ofthe bunch. It all started with Cathy Pratt—she has four brothers and four sisters. Pratt took a few hands-on crafts workshops at the Institute and her sister Suzanne Reibling followed suit. And,as the whole family loves to do things together, the two sisters decided to recruit some of the others.

The family members included sisters Cathy Pratt, Suzanne Reibling, and Eileen Blake; Pratt's daughter Jennifer, Riebling's

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"Red Swan Tavern" Ltd ponied 11.11( 1824 ILI ril paiinq Enjoil kids...apt, (A 01(1 N(AV EIKIICIIKI Box 616 Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950 978-462-7761

daughter Julie; Blake's daughters Cathleen and Molly; and the sisters' nieces Mary Liz Manning and Karen Cullen. The friend, not pictured in the photograph,is Carlin Kenny. The spring 1999 Folk Art Institute session begins Jan. 18; "The Decorative Finish," a five-session course on the basics of marbleizing, gild, and crackled finishes, begins Mar. 11. For more information or a course brochure, please call the Institute at 212/977-7170.

Left to right: Cathy Pratt, instructor Rubens Teles, Mary Liz Manning, Molly Blake, Suzanne and Julie Reibling, Jennifer Pratt, Karen Cullen, and Cathleen and Eileen Blake 82 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Left to right: Museum security guard Kenneth Bing, trustee Kristina Johnson, shop volunteer Arleen Luden, and deputy director Riccardo Salmona

Membership Drive Celebration n Aug. 5, Museum of American Folk Art trustees, staff, docents, and volunteers gathered at the home of trustee Kristina Johnson in Princeton, NJ., to celebrate the successful completion of the 1997/98 Membership Drive. The garden party was the culmination of a year-long effort, spearheaded

by Johnson,to increase the membership of the Museum. Delicious refreshments and a guided tour of Johnson's house and wonderful folk art collection were part of this delightful summer evening.

In recognition of dedicated shop volunteer Arleen Luden's extraordinary effort to sign up new members,Johnson presented

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her with a hooked rug from her personal collection. Luden recruited 38 new members while working in the shop. Deputy director Riccardo Salmona signed up 16 new members and security guard Kenneth Bing received the thirdplace prize with 15 new members.

The following people also contributed significantly to the success of the drive: Marie Anderson, Madelaine Gill, trustee Julie Palley, Brian Pozun,Phyllis Selnick, Linda Simon,and Myrna Tedlis.

The membership department is extremely grateful to Kristina Johnson and everyone in the Museum family who worked so tirelessly to sign up new members.

Folk Art Explorers' Club Tours Italy uring the first twelve days of October,28 Museum members toured Italy with the Folk Art Explorers' Club.

Starting in Rome and ending in Milan,the intrepid explorers covered hundreds of miles of beautiful Italian countryside while visiting museums,artists, quiltmalcers, and local shops.

The tour began with a visit to the impressive collections of Rome's Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari, which include outstanding examples of ceramics, religious folk art, painted carts, puppets, and other forms of Italian folk art. A full

ip

morning was spent visiting the artists and facilities of La Tinaia, an art workshop in Florence for people with mental illnesses. Dino Menozzi,publisher of L'Arte Naive/Arte Marginale, arranged for private viewings of works by Bruno Rovesti and Pietro Ghizzardi, two of Italy's most well known naive artists. Award-winning quiltmaker Annamaria Brenti welcomed the group to her studio in Frascati, and a quilting group in Conegliano organized a special exhibition and reception at their lovely town's beautiful old castle.

Prosecco,the local sparkling wine, was served and the Museum was

Alancy Veaver Fine & FoCk Art Conservator Contemporary Pia Artpotter and Woodcarver 76 Weaver Road Ph (770) 748-7035

Cedartown,GA.30125 Email restorer@mindspring.com

http://www.mindspring.com/â&#x20AC;&#x201D;restorer/restorer.htm

JOHN C. HILL - ANTIQUE INDIAN ART

6962 E. 1st Ave. Suite 104 Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 (602)946-2910 email: antqindart@aol.com

Sio Shalako Kachina Late 19111 century, 13" tall.

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART 83

MUSEUM

NEWS

Patricia Palerrnino Studio Contemporary Folk Art

The Folk Art Explorers in the Piazza San Marco, Venice

"Two by Two" 9029 Greylock Street, Alexandria, Virginia Phone: 703-360-4757 Fax: 703-360-4114 Web Site: http://www.cdad.com/palermino Represented by FRANK J. MIELE GALLERY 1086 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 Tel: 212-249-7250

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presented with a quilted banner made of local fabrics specially for the occasion.

In addition to sightseeing among some of Italy's most famous monuments, churches, and museums,the group also enjoyed a full day at the famed monthly flea market in the Tuscan town of Arezzo; a visit to Deruta,the ceramics capital of Umbria; a private lunch at the Ruspoli Castle in Vignanello; and a brief stop at artist Niki de Saint Phalle's sculpture garden inspired by the symbols of the tarot deck.

CIE H1TIJERY

outsider

TRAVELING

Beth Bergin and Chris Cappiello of the membership department would like to thank the following people for making this ambitious program a success: Annamaria Brenti, the Faguli family, Mirella Lucchetta and the quilters of Conegliano, Dino Menozzi,Romano Romoli of Casa dei Tessuti, the Rovesti family, Claudia Ruspoli, Dana Simionescu and the artists and staff of La Tinaia, and Maggy Wittmer,our multilingual guide and an indispensable partner in the planning and executing of the program.

EXHIBITIONS

Mark your calendars for the following Museum of American Folk Art exhibitions when they travel to your area during the coming months: Oct. 31, 1998—Jan. 24, 1999 Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century: An American Anthology Presented in two parts at Amon Carter Museum Fort Worth,Texas 817/738-1933 and Modem Art Museum of Fort Worth Fort Worth,Texas 817/738-9215

Howard Desnos "Ouchr 1998 marker on paper 6',c 8 1/2'

C ainceet."7

By Appointment 421 Hudson Street #220 N.Y. N.Y. 10014 (ph) 212-989-7845 • (fax) 627-1797 • www.waresforart.com

84 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Feb. 20—Apr. 18, 1999 Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century: An American Anthology Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester Rochester, New York 716/473-7720

May 15—Aug. 15, 1999 Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century: An American Anthology Wexner Center for the Arts The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 614/292-0330 Oct. 1, 1999—Feb.6, 2000 An American Treasury: Master Quilts from the Museum of American Folk Art The Toledo Museum of Art Toledo, Ohio 419/255-8000

It's more than just another credit card it's a contribution.

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garde rail gallery http://www.garde-rail.com 312 first avenue south #5 - seattle, wa -98104 tel: 206.623.3004 - email: garde-rail@garde-rail.com

contemprwaryfolk art selftaught art

"Leaping Lizard" 7 Color Screen Print

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(Edition 100) 1996 $350

HOWARD FINSTER SILK

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Signech limited edition Howard Finster Silk Screen Prints availablefrom $75 to $750.

Over 45 original woodpieces also available.

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DAVID LEONARDIS GALLERY 1352 N. PAUL1NA STREET • CHICAGO, 11 60622 773.278.3058

www.dIg-gallery.com

TTY users, call: 1-800-833-6262 Please mention priority code FDNI when you call.

There are costs associated with the use of this card. You may contact the issuer and administrator of this program, MBNA American Bank, to request specific information about the costs by calling 1-800-847-7378 or writing to P.O. Box 15020, Wilmington, DE 19850.

'Certain restrictions apply to this benefit and others described in the benefits brochures sent soon after your account is opened.

MBNA and MBNA America are federally registered service marks of MBNA America • Bank, N.A. MasterCard is a federally registered service mark of MasterCard International Inc., used pursuant to license.

O 1997 MBNA America Bank, N.A. ADG-OAAB-8/97 ADG-8-4-97 ADG-I-1-5

4 `Consider The Ant" 6 Wu Screen Print (Edition 100) 1994 $500

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART U

WINTER

* * * AT THE * * *

SATURDAY & SUNDAY

JANUARY 16 & 17 * Celebrating Americana Week In New York*

400 ANTIQUES EXHIBITS Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 90 & 92 12th Avenue at 50th through 55th Streets

NEW YORK CITY Free Shuttle to & from The Winter Antiques Show at the Park Avenue Armory & Antiques at the "Other" Armory,Lexington Avenue at 26th St. Admission $10.00 * Show Hours - Saturday & Sunday 9 am.to 5 p.m.

S'fELLA SHOW MGMT.CO.212-255-0020

IOUSE" BY SAMUEL MIRELEZ

www.antignet.com/Stella for up to date dealer listings & hotel information

CYRIL BILLIOT

PROGRAMS

Exhibition Programs "The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do" Museum of American Folk Art/ Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, Columbus Avenue between 65th & 66th Streets, New York City Wednesday,January 20, 1999 Curatorial Lecture/Booksigning 5:00-7:00 P.M. Lee Kogan, curator Friday, January 22,1999 Gallery Tour,4:00 P.M. Lee Kogan, curator Wednesday,January 20, 1999 Symposium,6:00-8:00 P.M. Presenters: Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Lee Kogan, Richard A. Long, Maude Wahlman Moderator: Gerard C. Wertkin Thursday,March 25, 1999 Lecture,6:00 P.M. Robert Farris Thompson Sunday Afternoon Children's Workshops 2:00-4:00 P.M. For children ages five and up Materials fee: $1 An ongoing series of crafts workshops held every other Sunday. To confirm dates, call 212/595-9533.

SAINTE-JAMES BOUDROT ARTIST CHUCKIE

SULTAN ROGERS

BURGESS DULANEY

BERNICE SIMS

GLASSMAN

HERBERT SINGLETON

Sunday Afternoon Family Programs 4:00 P.M. March 7, 1999 Storytelling, Malika Lee Whitney

REV. J. L. HUNTER 5t JONES CHARLEY KINNEY R. A. MILLER

March 14, 1999 Gospel Music,The Singing Conquerors April 18, 1999 "Underground Railroad, Not a Subway" Dr. Shroeder Cherry, puppeteer

The exhibition and programs are made possible by support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Judith Rothschild Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts. Programs are open to the public; admission is free. .Information: 212/595-9533.

Inside Outsider Art in New York-1999 A Museum of American Folk Art Explorers' Club day trip to Westchester County to tour two private collections and the exhibition "Private Worlds: Classic Outsider Art from Europe" at the Katonah Museum of Art Thursday, January 21, 1999 9:30 A.M.-4:00 P.M. Museum members $70.00 Non-members $80.00 Motor coach transportation and lunch are included. Enrollment is limited. Reservations: Membership Department, 212/977-7170.

Uncommon Artists VII: A Series of Cameo Talks A symposium presented by The Contemporary Center of the Museum of American Folk Art and New York University Saturday, January 23, 1999 2:00-4:00 P.M. New York University Barney Building, 34 Stuyvesant Street(off 9th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues), Room 105 New York City Museum members $30.00 Non-members $35.00 Greetings: Dr. Judith Weissman, Gerard C. Wertkin; Introduction: Lee Kogan;Presenters: Alice Rae Yelen (Eddie Kendrick), Julia Ardery (Edgar Tolson), Chuck Rosenak (Nicholas Herrera), John Beardsley (Creating the Outsider) Reservations: Folk Art Institute, 212/977-7170.

Day Trip & Panel Discussion Sunday,January 24, 1999 10:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. "Private Worlds: Classic Outsider Art from Europe," Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York Museum members $15 Non-members $18 (motor coach transportation additional) Panel: Roger Cardinal, Johann Feilacher, Robert Greenberg, Phyllis Kind, Lee Kogan Moderator: John Beardsley Reservations: Folk Art Institute, 212/977-7170

SI WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

BOOKS

OF

INTEREST

he following recent titles are available at the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop at 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, New York City. To order by mail, please call 212/496-2966. Museum members receive a 10% discount.

American Cabinetmakers: Marked American Furniture, 1640-1940, William C. Ketchum Jr. with the Museum of American Folk Art, Crown, 1995,404 pages, hardcover, $45 American Folk Marquetry: Masterpieces in Wood, Richard Miihlberger, Museum of American Folk Art, 1998, 240 pages, hardcover, $65 American Painted Furniture, Cynthia V.A. Schaffner and Susan Klein, Clarkson Potter, 1997,224 pages, hardcover,$65 The Art ofNellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do,Lee Kogan, Museum of American Folk Art/University Press of Mississippi, 1998, 112 pages, hardcover, $30 The End Is Near! Visions of Apocalypse, Millennium and Utopia, Roger Manley, Dilettante Press, 1998, 192 pages, hardcover, $55, paperback, $34.95 Folk Art ofSpain and the Americas: El Alma del Pueblo, Marion Oettinger Jr., editor, San Antonio Museum of Art/Abbeville Press, 1997, 200 pages, hardcover, $49.95 Glorious American Quilts: The Quilt Collection ofthe Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, Elizabeth V. Warren and Sharon L. Eisenstat, Museum of American Folk Art/Penguin Studio, 1996,203 pages, hardcover, $34.95

Southern Vision's

Plains Indian Drawings 1865-1935: Pagesfrom a Visual History, Janet Catherine Berlo, editor, The American Federation of Arts and The Drawing Center/Abrams, 1996, 240 pages, hardcover, $60

Pottery and Folk Art PO Box 526 • Seagrove, NC 27341 (336) 381-3090 Lainer Meaders • Reggie Meaders • Louis Brown Terry King • Davis Brown • Hewell Family

Sacred Arts ofHaitian Vodou, Donald J. Cosentino, editor, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1995,445 pages, paperback, $58 Secrets ofthe Dark Chamber: The Art ofthe American Daguerreotype, Merry A. Foresta and John Wood, National Museum of American Art/Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995, 324 pages, paperback, $37.95

C.J. and Billy Meaders • Nub Meaders E.J. Brown • Anna King Crystal King • B.B. Craig

Self-Taught Artists ofthe 20th Century: An American Anthology, Elsa Longhauser, Museum of American Folk Art/Chronicle Books, 1998, 252 pages, hardcover, $60, paperback,$35

Specializing in

Southern Folk Art, Pottery If you want it, we can find it!

z

The Shaker World: Art, Life, Belief John T. Kirk, Abrams, 1997, 286 pages, hardcover,$60 Spiritually Moving: A Collection ofAmerican Folk Art Sculpture, Tom Geismar and Harvey Kahn, Abrams, 1998, 176 pages, hardcover,$125 The Temptation: Edgar Tolson and the Genesis of TwentiethCentury Folk Art, Julia S. Ardery, The University of North Carolina Press, 1998, 353 pages, paperback, $19.95

WEATHERVANE FOLK ART TOM WELLS 324 MAIN STREET THOMSON GEORGIA 30824 706-595-1998

706-597-0899 :0)1

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT www.weathervanefolkart.eom

Tramp Art One Notch at a Time: The Craft, the Techniques & the Makers, Clifford A. Wallach and Michael Cornish, Wallach-Irons Publishing, 1998, 176 pages, hardcover, $65

DONNA WILSON JAKE MeCORD Z.BARMSTRONG EARNEST LEE LEONARD JONES WILLIE MKS WILLIE TARVER RALPH GRIFFIN MOTHER S.C.HUDSON AND MANY OTHER ARTISTS

WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

MAIN STREET ANTIQUES and ART Colleen and Louis Picek Folk Art and Country Americana :

ryj

(319)643-2065 110 West Main, Box 340 West Branch, Iowa 52358 On Interstate 80

Send a self-addressed stamped envelope for our monthly Folk-Art and Americana price list

INDEX

TO

A 19th c.Topsey Turvey Doll 16" tall

ADVERTISERS

A Gallery 84 Harry N. Abrams Inc. 14 American Pacific 74 American Pie 30 American Primitive Gallery 21 American Stoneware Collectors 69 The Ames Gallery 38 Morgan Anderson Americana 28 Barbara Archer Gallery 19 Art from the Inside 80 At Home Gallery 76 The Broome Street Gallery 34 Campus Collection 79 Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery 18,37 Cavin-Morris Gallery 2 Christie's 13 Country Living Inside Back Cover John Denton 77 Epstein/Powell 73 Laura Fisher 24 Fleisher/Oilman Gallery 3 Galerie Bonheur 36 Gallery Camino Real 81 Garde Rail Gallery 85 Sidney Gecker 32 Giampietro Back Cover Gilley's Gallery 34 Christopher Gurshin 82

11111 WINTER 1998/99 FOLK ART

Anton Haardt Gallery 26 Carl Hammer Gallery 10 Marion Harris 16 Hedgerow House 65 John C. Hill 83 Hirsch!& Adler Modern 11 Hypoint 69 K.S. Art 27 Allan Katz Americana 17 Knoke Galleries 36 Paige Koosed 66 David Leonardis Gallery 85 Main Street Antiques and Art 88 John Martin Gallery 80 MBNA America 85 Frank J. Miele Gallery 25 Steve Miller 1 Leslie Muth Gallery 29 Mary Myers Studio 65 Thurston Nichols 7 Odd Fellows Antiques 32 Olde Hope Antiques, Inc. 9 Aron Packer Gallery 82 Patricia Palermino Studio 84 William Peltier 20 Jay Potter 65 Quester Gallery 12 Ricco/Maresca Gallery Inside Front Cover â&#x20AC;˘

Rosehips Gallery Luise Ross.Gallery Judy A. gasloiv Gallery Select Southern Pottery Shelton Gallery John Sideli Slotin Folk Art Auction Sanford L. Smith & Associates Sotheby's Southern Folk Art Picker Southern Vision's St. Madeleine Sophie's Center Stella Show Management Company Kimball M. Sterling, Inc. Tops Gallery University Press of Mississippi Angela Usrey Gallery Wainwright/Smith Associates Walters/Benisek Wanda's Quilts Weathervane Folk Art Nancy Weaver Marcia Weber/Art Objects Wilton Historical Society Yard Dog Ginger Young Gallery

22 23 81 76 31 8 71 64 33 77 87 79 86 77 66 73 20 73 4 70 87 83 35 75 86 30

Country Living kai4;t.b C-Ou14 1-)rrs•Ja Y

itiv?0,011111

20 YEARS AS AMERICA'S SOURCE FOR FOLK ART AND ANTIQUES A

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A PAIR OF CARVED WHIRLIGIGS Cape Cod, c. 1900 • H. 22 inches

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25 East 73 Street New York 10021 (212) 861-8571 • Tues-Sat 11-5:30