MAGAZINE OF INE Nir*EIJIVr
AMENS/Ur:POLK ART* WINTER 1999/2000 * $6.00
THEINTUITIVEEYE SELECTIONS FROM THE MENDELSOHN COLLECTION
JANUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 19 / FULL-COLOR RICCO/MARESCA GALLERY
CATALOG AVAILABLE
529 WEST 20TH ST 3RD FL NYC 10011 T 212/627-4819 F 212/627-5117 E rmgal@aol.com W www.riccomaresca.com
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.
Provenance: Robin Starr, Duxbury, MA and Catherine Cahill, New York, NY Literature:"New England Decoys,"(Delph), pages 108 - 109, illustrated, Architectural Digest
from a rig of twelve found in Portland, Maine. They were nailed in pairs to frames and used in shallow waters. Circa 1920,in original paint and condition, carved cedar with oak bills.
FOUR MERGANSER DECOYS
• AMERICAN FOLK ART
STEVE MILLER
TRACY GOODNOW ART & ANTIQUES
576 SHEFFIELD PLAIN ROAD (ROUTE 7) SHEFFIELD MA 01257 / TEL 413.229.6045 Hackney Horse, American, late 19th C., molded copper with traces of gilding, 22 1/2"h x 31"w
T AMES CASTLE
1900-1977
Untitled book, n.d. Soot, spit, found paper and string 1016" x 8"
Outsider Art Fair January 28-30, 2000, NY, NY j. Crist is the agent for the A. C. Wade Estate, Castle Collection, L.P.
CRIST
465 West Main Street Boise, Idaho 83702 phone 208.336.2671 fax 208.336.5615 web www.jamescastle.com e-mail art@jcrist.com
ARTISTS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Chelo Gonzalez Amezcua Cal & Ruby Black Evadney Cruickshank Sanford Darling Ras Dizzy Minnie Evans Gedewon Keith Goodhart Nick Herrera Anthony Hopkins Frank Jones Georges Liautaud Justin McCarthy Philome Obin Old White Woman Martin Ramirez Anthony Joseph Salvatore Jon Serl Herbert Singleton Gregory Van Maanen Purvis Young Anna Zemankova
*
Patrocino Barela Brother Everald Brown Leonard Daley Bruno Del Favero Sam Doyle Howard Finster Gera Bessie Harvey Chris Hipkiss Hector Hyppolite Kapo (Mallica Reynolds) Jose Delores Lopez Sister Gertrude Morgan Seneque Obin Daniel Pressley Roan Eagle Kevin Sampson Short Bull Bill Traylor Sylvester Woods Joseph Yoakum
*
As many of you may already know, Cavin-Morris Gallery has elected not to participate in the eighth annual Outsider Art Fair. This year we feel our artists will be better presented solely in an exhibition at the gallery, where we will be celebrating the millennial future and our 20th anniversary. We are working actively on making this a week of events in New York City centered around the work of self-taught artists. In coming years we would like to see this week as a series of coordinated events between many different kinds of museums, consulates, galleries and other institutions culminating in the Outsider Art Fair at the end of the week. As always, we will be open the entire weekend of the Outsider Art Fair and by appointment on the following Monday. We are located two short blocks from the Fair.
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
Photo: Jean Vong
KEITH GOODHART
Fetish for the Lost 1 i:41
Iqqq, onamel, wire, wood,37" x 31" x 8"
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.comicavinmorris.html
WALTERS BENISEK ART S. ANTIQUES ONE AMBER LANE • NORTHAMPTON • MASSACHUSETTS • 01060 • • ( 4 1 3) 5 8 6 • 3 9 0 9 • • DON WALTERS. • MARY BENISEK
Life-Sized Profile Portrait of Young Man New England • C. 1825 • Watercolor on Paper Framed Measurement: 25 inches X 19 inches
FOLK ART VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4/ WINTER 1999/2000
FEATURES
FOUND & PROFOUND: THE ART OF JAMES CASTLE Tom Trusky MILLENNIAL MISSIONARY: WILLIAM ALVIN BLAYNEY A Highlight from the Museum's Collection and Its Current Exhibition Brooke Davis Anderson Cover: Detail ofSPIRITUAL POWERS IN THE NATIONS /CHURCH AND STATE (double-sided): Reverend William A. Blayney(1917-1985), Thomas, Oklahoma, 1970-1971, oil on Masonite, 24 x24", Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, BlanchardHill Collection, gift ofM.Anne Hill and Edward V. Blanchard Jr., 1998.10.10A, B
Folk Art is published four times a year by the Museum of American Folk Art, 555 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-2925, 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 1999 by the Museum of American Folk Art, 555 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-2925. 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.
38
48
EMPIRE STATE MOSAIC: THE FOLK ART OF NEW YORK Paul S. D'Ambrosio
50
AMERICAN MASONIC RITUAL PAINTINGS William D. Moore
58
DEPARTMENTS
EDITOR'S COLUMN
8
DIRECTOR'S LETTER
13
GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY
14
MINIATURES
20
OUTSIDER ART FAIR MUSEUM BENEFIT
67
UNCOMMON ARTISTS VIII SYMPOSIUM AND DAY TRIP
68
BOOKS OF INTEREST
71
MUSEUM WEB SITE
77
MUSEUM REPRODUCTIONS PROGRAM
78
TRUSTEES/DONORS
82
MUSEUM NEWS
88
WINTER PROGRAMS
92
OBITUARY
93
TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS
94
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
96
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 7
EDITOR'S
COLUMN
ROSEMARY GABRIEL
n October, we celebrated the ground breaking for our new building on 53rd Street in Manhattan. In November, the exhibition "Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art" opened at the Museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery and our annual Fall Antiques Show Benefit Preview kicked off the next phase of our building campaign. It has been a very busy and exciting time—and the year 2000 promises to be the same, starting with the Outsider Art Fair and the Museum's annual Uncommon Artists symposium. For the latest news on our building, read the Director's Letter on page 13 and a recap of the ground breaking ceremony on pages 14 and 15."Millennial Dreams," a visually breathtaking exhibition and thought-provoking experience, will be on view through May. However,I cannot urge you enough to come celebrate the year 2000 with a visit to view it sooner. See pages 48 and 49 for information about the exhibition and for a discussion of William Alvin Blayney's double-sided work Spiritual Powers in the Nations/Church and State, one of the more contemporary artworks in the exhibition, written by Brooke Davis Anderson, director and curator of the Museum's Contemporary Center. Stepping away from the fanfare and sparkle of new buildings, gala benefits, and sumptuous exhibitions, our lead story on James Castle, by Tom Trusky, moves us into the quiet life and spare elegance of the work of this Idaho artist. In the Spring 1997 issue of Folk Art, associate editor Tanya Heinrich reported that "the artwork of James Castle, featured at the J. Crist booth [at the 1997 Outsider Art Fair], commanded great attention and after this event will surely find its way into many important collections." She was right. "Found & Profound: The Art of James Castle" starts on page 38. "Empire State Mosaic: The Folk Art of New York," a beautiful exhibition on view at the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown through December 31, provoked us to ask chief curator Paul D'Ambrosio to give us a mini tour by way of an essay in Folk Art. D'Ambrosio displays a great passion for his subject and covers three centuries of New York State folk art in a perfectly SUNBURST FROM ORIGINAL SALT LAKE TABERNACLE / artist unknown / Salt Lake City / 1852/ carved wood / 18 x 36" / Museum of Church developed nutshell, startHistory and Art, Salt Lake City ing on page 50. Also impassioned about his subject is Dr. William D. Moore,former director of The Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of Grand Lodge in New York City. He traces the history and meaning of American Masonic ritual paintings in an engrossing and beautifully illustrated essay starting on page 58. Since writing this essay for us, Dr. Moore has been named director of the Enfield Shaker Museum in New Hampshire. On behalf of the Museum,I wish Dr. Moore and his family all the best in their new home, and all of you the happiest holiday season and a resounding, trumpet-blowing, healthy, and truly fabulous 2000.
I
FOLK ART Rosemary Gabriel Editor and Publisher Jeffrey Kibler, The Magazine Group, Inc. Design Tanya Heinrich Associate Editor Jocelyn Meinhardt Production Editor Benjamin J. Boyington Copy Editor Sarah Munt Intern 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 Stephen N. Roache Director ofFinance and Operations Susan Conlon Assistant to the Director Irene Kreny Accountant Daniel Rodriguez Mailroom Beverly McCarthy Mail Order/Reception Collections & Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander Senior Curator and Director ofExhibitions Brooke Davis Anderson Director and Curator of The Contemporary Center Ann-Marie Reilly Registrar Judith Gluck Steinberg Assistant Registrar/ Coordinator of Traveling Exhibitions Sandra Wong Assistant Registrar Dale Gregory Gallery Manager Gina Bianco Consulting Conservator Elizabeth V. Warren Consulting Curator Howard Lanser Consulting Exhibition Designer Kenneth R. Bing Security Deparbnents Cheryl Aldridge Director ofDevelopment Beth Bergin Membership Director Marie S. DiManno Director ofMuseum Shops Susan Flamm Public Relations Director Alice J. Hoffman Director ofLicensing Janey Fire Photographic Services Christopher Cappiello Membership Associate Jennifer Claire Scott Special Events Coordinator Jane A. McIntosh 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/Curator ofSpecial Projects for The Contemporary Center 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 Linda Simon Associate Docent Coordinator Museum Shop Staff Managers: Dorothy Gargiulo, Caroline Hohenrath, Rita Pollitt, Suzanne Sypulski; Security: Bienvenido Medina; Volunteers: Marie Anderson, Olive Bates, Angela Clair, Sally Frank, Millie Gladstone, Nancy Mayer,Judy Rich, Frances Rojack,Phyllis Selnick, Lola Silvergleid, Maxine Spiegel, Marion Whitley Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop Two Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue at 66th Street) New York, NY 10023-6214 212/496-2966 Administrative Offices Museum of American Folk Art 555 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-2925 212/977-7170, Fax 212/977-8134, http://www.folkartmuseum.org
II WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
.1111 Try Me, 1981, housepaint on tin, 46" x 25 1/2"
THE LAROCHE COLLECTION 51 Pineview Road Bluffton, South Carolina 29910 fax 843-757-5628 phone 843-757-5826 available by appointment only
True to the
FORM
of the obsessive
outsider, two figures from fifty se
n in Calvin
Black's
AND
the original
Ruby
FANTASY
doll show.
MAR! ON D I T
NALL
AR
HARRIS ANDV
WOODHAVEN, SIMSBURY TEL/FAX:
860.658.9333
E- MAIL:
marharartgaol.com
By Appointment
CT WEB:
N T I Q U ES
0 6 0 70
USA
www.art-collectors.com
JIMMY LEE SUDDUTH
Collection of mud portraits, 1989
THE LAROCHE COLLECTION 51 Pineview Road Bluffton, South Carolina 29910 fax 843-757-5628 phone 843-757-5826 appointment only available by
HILL GALLERY
ti
N.
fin
Navajo Pictorial Rug C.1920 61x34" 407 W. Brown St. Birmingham.MI 48009 T.248.540.9288
DIRECTOR'S
LETTER
GERARD C. WERTKIN
ednesday, October 13, 1999, was an especially exciting day for everyone associated with the Museum of American Folk Art. On that day the long-awaited ground breaking for the Museum's new building took place at 45 West 53rd Street in New York. It is one of those special moments that one returns to in thought again and again. The Museum has been planning for a permanent home almost since its founding in 1961. It was deeply moving for me to be at the construction site that beautiful morning and know that our dreams were to become reality. When I addressed the assembled guests at the ground breaking ceremony,I recalled visiting the Museum for the first time in 1969. I learned then what thousands of New Yorkers and visitors to the City already knew— here was a museum that celebrated America with eloquence and insight. It presented works of art that plumbed the depths of the American experience in all its wondrous diversity. I want to express my appreciation to Riccardo Salmona, deputy director, who has coordinated the building project and capital campaign with consummate dedication, creativity, and tenacity. Riccardo's unstinting efforts have been essential to our success. All of the members of the Board deserve to be acknowledged at this significant juncture, but I especially offer heartfelt thanks to Lucy C. Danziger, chair of the capital campaign. Lucy's enthusiastic and caring leadership have been nothing less than inspirational. Although the Museum has taken a giant step in its development as an institution, much remains to be accomplished. Our capital campaign cannot be concluded until all our members and friends join the effort. In the coming year, we will be in touch with you to discuss your participation in securing and endowing the Museum's bright future as a truly national center for the study and exhibition of folk art. I hope that you will respond generously. At this moment of substantial attainment in the history of the Museum,there have been some major changes in the leadership of the institution. Ralph Esmerian, a trustee since 1973 and president since 1975, has been elected chairman of the Museum's Board. An eloquent exponent of the field and one the Museum's true boosters over many years, he will continue to oversee the Museum's mission and to act as public spokesperson for the Board. Newly elected as president is L. John Wilkerson, a trustee since 1994 and treasurer since 1996. John has brought the well-honed skills of a distinguished career in business to his Board service and is helping the institution develop a stable financial base for its operations.
VII
Barry D. Brislcin, a trustee since 1998, was elected treasurer. In his short service, Barry has already made a major contribution to the institution. Another important development is that Trustee Joyce Cowin— who, with her late husband Daniel, first became active in support of the Museum over twenty years ago, and who endowed the museum's Daniel Cowin Permanent Collection Gallery at Lincoln Square—has taken a seat on the Executive Committee of the Board. I offer my thanks and congratulations to all these new officers. In the midst of great activity on the administrative side of my duties as director, I also took on the curatorship of an exhibition for the year 2000 that brings together some fascinating—and timely—ideas. My work on "Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art" has filled me again with enormous respect for the curatorial process. Senior Curator Stacy C. Hollander, who also serves as director of exhibitions, supervises the Museum's exhibition programs with an absolute commitment to excellence and a true sense of responsibility to the public that the Museum serves. Concerned as much for detail as for the larger questions, Stacy sets an exceptionally high standard. I was fortunate, indeed, to have her as my partner in the development of"Millennial Dreams." I am delighted that the exhibition is accompanied by a 40-page full-color catalog, which contains essays by Randall Balmer, chair of the department of religion at Barnard College, Columbia University, in New York, and me, and a full checklist of the exhibition. The exhibition catalog may be purchased for $10($9 for members)from the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop,2 Lincoln Square, New York, NY 10023. To order, please call 212/496-2966. I want to thank the talented Tanya Heinrich, associate editor, for the creative way in which she edited and designed the catalog. SAINT MICHAEL VANQUISHING The exhibition could not have been preTHE DEVIL / artist unknown! without the generous support of sented South Texas! early twentieth Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. My century / oil on domestic oilcloth! 68 44" / Witte Museum, gratitude goes to all our good friends at San Antonio, Texas Fireman's Fund, as well as to Trustee Julie Palley, her husband, Sandy, and to Cheryl Aldridge, the Museum's director of development. This issue of Folk Art will reach you in the very last month of the 1900s. Although a new century and a new millennium technically will not begin for another year, there is a true sense of anticipation in the air. At this time of change,I extend to all the Museum's members and friends my warmest wishes for a New Year of peace and prosperity. May all our millennial dreams be fully realized. *
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 13
The Museum
The project team (left to right): Riccardo Salmona, Brian Falconer, Dominick DePinto, Jonathan Reo, Phil Ryan, Stacy Hollander, Peter Guggenheimer, Jennifer Tulley, Matthew Baird, Ann-Marie Reilly, Melanie Ide, Tod Williams, Ralph Appelbaum, Lawrence Petretti, Billie mien, Justin Buhvell, Kristen Solury, Gerard Wertkin, Seamus Henchy, Tom McClain, Cheri Fein, and Mary Thomas
Museum Deputy Director Riccardo Salmona hard at work in a backhoe
n Wednesday, October 13, 1999, under a bright fall sky, a delegation of New York City and State officials, community leaders, Museum Trustees and staff, and invited guests, turned the first spade of earth for the Museum of American Folk Art's permanent home on West 53rd Street. Museum Director Gerard C. Wertkin offered opening remarks and acted as master of ceremonies. New York City Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Schuyler G. Chapin and New York State Senator Roy M. Goodman welcomed the Museum to 53rd Street and praised its contributions to the cultural life of New York. Ralph 0. Esmerian, chairman of the Board of Trustees, spoke elequently of the Museum's past and promise for the future. Many of the numerous elected officials, dignitaries, and Museum supporters present that crisp fall
O
14 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
morning had waited patiently two Special recognition was given decades for this exciting day. It to the project's architects, Tod was back in 1979 that the Museum Williams and Billie Tsien, whose of American Folk Art purchased designs for the Museum have the site for the new building from already received national and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund international praise. Representawith the friendly interest of tives from Ralph Appelbaum Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller. Associates and Pentagram, the She envisioned a Museum's exhibimidtown tion designers museum district and graphic consisting of a designers, variety of culrespectively, tural institutions Owners Repreand corporate sentative gallery Seamus spaces that Henchy and would provide a diverse Associates, and and stimulating cultural and artisPavarini Constructic experience for visitors and The celebratory tion Co., Inc., which native New Yorkers alike. The cake, a will build the Museum, remarkable Museum of American Folk were also among the interpretation of Art's arresting new building is a handpainted enthusiastic throng of dome-top trunk the capstone of this cultural supporters. the Museum's "community," which includes in Following the cerecollection, the American Craft Museum mony, yellow school generously and the Museum of Television donated by Sylvia buses transported guests Weinstock Cakes & Radio, and is anchored by back to the Museum's Ltd. The Museum of Modern Art. Eva and Morris Feld
Gallery at Two Lincoln Square for a champagne and cake celebration for all Museum members,staff, and volunteers. These festivities doubled as the kickoff event for the next phase of the Capital Campaign. Working closely with Campaign Chair Lucy C. Danziger will be Museum Trustee Anne Hill Blanchard, who has agreed to serve as Individual Solicitation Chair. With $22 million raised to date, Danziger announced the Museum's decision to increase the total goal to $33 million, based on the Campaign's current success. The realization of the next, public phase of the campaign will depend on the generosity of longtime Museum supporters and members. This, at last, is the Museum's moment. A truly exhilarating day closed with Chairman Ralph Esmerian's toast to the Museum's future, to its loyal and supportive members, and to the Museum Opening in 2001. —Riccardo Salmona, deputy director
Breaks Ground Representatives from several divisions of Takashimaya help the Museum celebrate its ground breaking (left to right): Kazuo Kusunoki, Museum Board President L. John Wilkerson, Tadakiko Hatano, Museum Board Treasurer Barry Briskin, Kenji Takamatsu, Museum Board Chairman Ralph Esmerian, and Kazuhiko Kishi
Capital Campaign Committee members Virginia Cave, Anne Hill Blanchard, Lucy Danziger, and Monty Blanchard
Celebrating the long-awaited moment are from left to right): Board Chairman Ralph Esmerian; Director Gerard Wertkin; Trustees Jacqueline Fowler, Joe Culhnan, Joyce Cowin, and Anne Hill Blanchard; New York State Senator Roy M. Goodman; Trustee Emerita Cordelia Hamilton; Commissioner of New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Schuyler G. Chapin; Trustees David Davies, Julie Palley, Nancy Mead, Frances Martinson, Lauren Morgan, Susan Gutfreund, Kristina Johnson, and Barry Briskin; Deputy Director Riccardo Salmona; Trustees George Meyer and Lucy Danziger; and Board President L. John Wilkerson
A Fine and Rare Decorated Writing Box Probably New England, Circa 1830, 14"x n1 / 2"x 7"
Country and High Country Furniture, Folk Art, and Decorative Accessories
JASON DIXON AND LARRY TUCKER It
614
HATHERLEIGH LANE ((LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 40222
it
PH 502-426-6355
We are always interested in purchasing American furniture, folk art, hooked rugs and primitive paintings of the 18th and 19th C. email: tuckerstatiOn@ka.net Subject to prior sale
CHRISTIE'S
ART
IMPORTANT AMERICAN FURNITURE, SILVER, PRINTS, FOLK ART AND DECORATIVE ARTS Auction: New York, January 21 at Christie's Viewing: January 15-20 Inquiries: Susan Kleckner at 212 636 2230
Edward Hicks (1780-1849) William Penn's Treaty with the Indians oil on canvas, 24/ 1 4 x 30 inches
20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York 10020 Catalogues: 800 395 6300 www.christies.com
World War I Patriotic Quilt Pennsylvania origin
S 1 ELLA
RUBIN Fine Antique Quilts and Decorative Arts
12300 Glen Road Potomac, (Near Washington, n By appointment
IF
UNTER„ I
8
8
6
9
8
8
JAN( MR I' 27- 30
Be sure to visit our booth.
OUTSIDER FAIR
GILLEY8
CALLELN R
A
M
ES EST. 1978
Quilt,c.1938,54 x 72,Appliqued.
18
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
8750 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA 70815 225.922.9225 www.eatel.net/—ou tsi der Photo by T Neff
ALLAN Americana
KA
Multi-figure Whirligig carved and painted wood Ohio Ca. 1920
Allan & Penny Katz•By Appointment
25 Old Still Road•Woodbridge, CT 06525 (203) 393-9356
MINIATURES
AMERICAN PRIMITIVE GALLERY 594 Broadway #205 New York, NY 10012 Mon - Sat 11-6 212-966-1530
RAYMOND MATERSON PICTURES SEWN FROM UNRAVELED SOCKS
COMPILED BY TANYA HEINRICH
Soulful Works of the South The High Museum of Art Folk Art and Photography Galleries (404/577-6940)in Atlanta is presenting "African American SelfTaught Art: High Museum of Art Collection" through April 15, 2000. This exhibition focuses on ceramics, textiles, furniture, paintings, and sculpture created by southern African American artists, both recognized and anonymous. Synthesizing African, European, and American traditions, artists such as Thornton Dial Sr., William Edmondson, Minnie Evans,Dilmus Hall, Bessie Harvey, Frank Jones, Son Ford Thomas,and Bill Traylor were able to invest their art with a new dynamism characteristic of the Southeast. Using unconventional materials, these artists explored both their common heritage and their individual experiences. A clay memory jug
UNTITLED / Minnie Evans (1892-1987)/ 1969/ crayon and pencil on paper! 111 / 4 x 9/ 1 4"/ High Museum of Art, Atlanta, T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Collection
designed to commemorate a loved one and embellished with a variety of objects such as shells, glass, mirrors, and watch faces exemplifies the remarkable aesthetic expression of African American artists.
Otherworldly Offerings
MARK MCGU IRE
2.75 X 2.25 in.
EL TO HELL (Chicago)
20 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
2.5 x 2 in.
"We Are Not Alone: Angels and imaginative exhibition. Also on Other Aliens" is on view at the view:"Holy Fire: The MatchAmerican Visionary Art Museum stick Artistry of Gerald (410/244-1900)in Baltimore Hawkes," through Jan. 9, 2000. through Sept. 3, 2000. Curator Susan Subtle Dintenfass brings together 260 works depicting all those who inhabit the uni- UNTITLED (Three Imaginary Figures)/James Castle / Boise, Idaho / n.d. / soot and spit, found paper!9/ 1 2x 10/ 1 4"/ verse, visible and invisicourtesy of J. Crist Gallery, Boise, Idaho ble, including aliens, angels, fairies, mermaids, and imaginary friends. Bottlecap alien bunnies by Grace and Clarence Woolsey, highly detailed embroideries by Raymond Materson, and drawings and paintings by James Castle, Paul Laffoley, Ionel Talpazan, August Walla, Adolph Wolfli, and Jack Zwirz are among the artworks included in this
AARON BIRNBAUM
Aaron Birnbaum,(1895-1998) SHIP, 1996, acrylic on wood,16 X 31 inches
K.S. Art
VISIT OUR BOOTH AT THE OUTSIDER ART FAIR, NYC 73 LEONARD STREET
NY NY 10013 212 219 9918
MINIATURES
Chicago Collections back in Chicago After a successful run in Paris, "Outsider + Folk Art from Chicago Collections" returns to the United States, where it will be on view at the Terra Museum of American Art(312/664-3939) in Chicago from Jan. 14 to April
2, 2000. The exhibition includes works by Henry Darger, William Dawson,Lee Godie, Bill Traylor, Gregory Warmack("Mr.Imagination"), Derek Webster, and Joseph Yoakum.
Instrumental Heritage "Rhythms of the Soul: African Instruments in the Diaspora" is on view at the California African American Museum (213/7447432)in Los Angeles through June 11, 2000. The derivation of North American musical traditions can be traced back to 17thcentury Africa. From gospel, jazz, and blues to reggae, ska,
rock, and rap, the music of the New World has been profoundly influenced by people of African descent. In this exhibition, a variety of instruments and video footage of ceremonies and other musical performances reveal the significance of the African musical traditions in the African Diaspora.
Muffler Men Enliven the Commute The distinct Los Angeles artistic tradition of automotive repair shop "muffler men" will be brought to life in an exhbition at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History (310/825-4361) in Los Angeles through March 26,2000."Muffler Men,Munecos, and Other Welded Wonders" includes 32 contemporary sculptures created by mechanics who weld together used workplace materials such as mufflers, spark plugs, tubing, and catalytic converters to advertise their services. The tradition dates to the 1950s and thrives in the automobile culture of the region. Commonly seen on rooftops, sidewalks, and
VACUUM CLEANER ROBOT WOMAN / Octavio Franco / Lincoln Auto Repair and Muffler, Santa Monica, California / c. 1999/ recycled automotive parts/ courtesy UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History
fences, the creative and lighthearted assemblages enliven the vast landscape with images from popular culture, mythology,folklore, nature, and even of the artists' co-workers. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 21
MINIATURES
ghe
MANHATTAN ART & ANTIQUES CENTER The Nation's Largest and Finest Antiques Center. Over 100 galleries offering Period Furniture, Jewelry, Paintings, Silver, Americana, Orientalia, Africana and other Objets d'Art. 1050 SECOND AVENUE(AT 55TH ST.) NEW YORK, N.Y. 10022 PRESENTS
A whimsical find from a remarkable, rare COLLECTION of Hutchinson motto rugs about ROMANCE!
Extraordinary Quilts "Eyewinkers, Tumbleturds and Candlebugs: The Art of Elizabeth Talford Scott" is on view at The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (336/725-1904)in Winston-Salem, N.C., through Feb.6,2000. This is the first retrospective of acclaimed quiltmaker Elizabeth Talford Scott. Born in 1916 in South Carolina, Scott learned quiltmaldng as a child from her mother. But it wasn't until the 1970s that Scott, drawing upon African traditions, resumed the creation of exhilarating quilts, utilizing unconventional colors and designs and unexpected materials such as shells and bones. Scott's unusual quilts defied the imposed categories of high and low art. More
than 45 quilts dating from 1930 to 1997 will be on view in this exhibition.
ALIEN DOLL / Elizabeth Talford Scott / Baltimore / 1992/ fabric and mixed media / 26 x 7" / collection of the artist
Intuit Celebrates the King
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.the-maac.com • Email: info@the-maac.com Open Daily 10:30-6, Sun. 12-6 Convenient Parking • Open to the Public
22 WINTER 1999/2C00 FOLK ART
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art(312/243-9088) in Chicago will celebrate all things Elvis Presley this winter with an exhibition and benefit dinner-auction on Jan. 8, 2000. Organized by curator Patty Carroll, an Elvis expert, the exhibi-
tion, on view through March, will feature an extravaganza of paintings, drawings, and sculpture inspired by the iconic American superstar in his many incarnations. The benefit dinner menu will include the singer's favorite foods.
Folk Art in the Sunshine State In 1995 the City of Orlando, Fla., purchased a work by Jesse Aaron that became the nucleus of a folk art collection. To commemorate almost five years of collecting by the city's public art program, its Mennello Museum of American Folk Art(407/2464278)is presenting an exhibition of selected works from its permanent collection through Jan. 2, 2000. Artists in this growing
collection include Felipe Archuleta, Earl Cunningham, Kenny Dickerson, Brian Dowdall, John Gerdes, Sybil Gibson, Clementine Hunter, Mama Johnson, Woody Long, Taft Richardson, and Purvis Young. The museum,in association with Orlando's public art program, hopes to create a sustained interest in folk art and artists in Florida.
Andrew Flamm & Michelle Hauser
ODD FELLOWS ANTIQUES
Set offour, two-sided Masonic teaching tools, painted tin and wood, circa 1850, diameter 7"
P.O. Box 145, Mount Vernon, Maine 04352 •(207) 293-3569
LEROY PERSON
Chair,c. 1975
polychrome incised wood on metal
31 x 20 x 23"
1907-1985
January-February
LUISE ROSS GALLERY 568 Broadway New York 212 343-2161
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 21
MINIATURES
THE
ZETTER
MARY PROCTOR
Local Signage "Roadside Attractions: Folk Art Along the Byways," an exhibition that reveals the humor of highway culture in western Virginia, is on view at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum (540/365-4416)in Femun, Va.,
through March 2000. Several clever forms of advertising designed to entertain travelers on the road will be on view,from neon signs for home-cured meat to birdhouses in the form of Army tanks.
Pressley in North Carolina "Sweet and Bitter Street: A Daniel Pressley Retrospective" will be on view at Winston-Salem State University's Diggs Gallery (336/750-2458)in North Carolina through Dec. 18. Daniel Pressley (1918-1971)created wood reliefs, wood sculptures, and paintings that address the breadth and complexities of the urban African American experience. Organized by curator Shari Cavin,the exhibition consists of more than 120 works,including the artist's rarely exhibited personal journal. Also on view is "Who was Vester Lowe? Uncovering a Winston-Salem Woodcarver."
My Grandma Didn't Need A Whip Paint, material, glue on wood 11" x 24"
BRIDGE TO CHAPEL HILL / Daniel Pressley/ Brooklyn, New York / c. 1960/ carved wood relief /49 x 17/ 3 4 x/ 3 4 "/ Museum of American Folk Art / Blanchard-Hill Collection, gift of M. Anne Hill and Edward V. Blanchard Jr. / 1998.10.38
The Howard and Jean Lipman Collection
3261 Celinda Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 Ph: 760-730-4630 Fax: 760-730-4632 WEBSITE: www.zetteroutsidencom e-mail: lzetter@pacbell.net
24 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
"The Eye of the Collector: Works from the Lipman Collection of American Art" will be on view through Feb. 13, 2000, at the Arizona State University Museum (480/965-2787)in Tempe. The exhibition bears witness to the enormous influence Howard and Jean Lipman had on 20th-century
American art; Jean Lipman was a dedicated pioneer in the research and preservation of American folk art. Many works in the collection—which covers a wide range, from folk art and jewelry to furniture, toys, and fine art— have never been on public display.
Series on the Self-Taught As part of a series of exhibitions focusing on the work of selftaught artists, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center(920/4586144)in Sheboygan, Wis., will offer "Nek Chand: Healing Properties" from Feb.6 to May 14, 2000. This exhibition presents one artist's efforts to recycle objects of modernization, much the same way that nature recycles itself, in an examination of the recuperative and renewing properties of art. On view will be selections from Nek Chand's "Rock Garden" in Chandigargh, India, a vast parklike environment populated with serene clusters of animals and figures
created from recycled industrial debris. From May 3 to May 7,2000, the Center will host a national symposium on the study, exhibition, and preservation of the work of self-taught artists. Also on view will be "Loy Bowlin/The Rhinestone Cowboy"(Feb. 13 to May 7,2000)and "Our Wisconsin Home: Selections from the Permanent Collection"(through May 20,2000).
Cultural Issues To Be Examined The Dover Art League,Inc. (302/674-0402) will present "The Politics of Culture Conference" and "A Collage of Cultures V: Many Visions, One Community... The Millennium Exhibition" at Delaware State University in Dover on April 15, 2000. The conference and exhibition are the culmination of a six-year out-
reach project that has focused on the work of immigrant artists of Mexican, Guatemalan, Haitian, Native American, Asian/Pacific, and European descent living in Delaware.
C.W. Conner For a complete inventory of paintings, visit our website:
www.americaohyes.com Or cal11.800.FolkArt to receive a mini-catalog of his work.
The Influential Sterling Strauser "Sterling Strauser Retrospective: Modernism Revisited" is on view at the Reading Public Museum (610/371-5850)in Reading, Pa., through Feb. 27, 2000. Selftaught, Strauser began painting at the age of 15. Continuing in the tradition of Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer,and the Ashcan School, Strauser's brand of realism was an intellectual reaction against the growing popularity of the European avant-garde. Although he frequently visited New York City and mingled with artists like Louise Nevelson and
Milton Avery, Strauser was committed to working from life in rural America,keeping his artwork as direct and unpretentious as possible. His influence on fellow self-taught artists was remarkable; in promoting Victor Joseph Gatto, Justin McCarthy, and Jack Savitsky, Strauser ignored his own career. In conjunction with the exhibition, there will be a symposium on Dec.4, 1999,followed by a silent auction of some of the artist's work.
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AMERICA*OH,YIES! Our galleries are located in: Washington, D.C., 2020 R Street, N.W. and Hilton Head Island, S.C., 17 Pope Avenue Executive Park Road
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WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 25
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Alex A. Maldonado, Maldonado Giant Auditorium ,oil on canvasboard with painted frame, 1987, 20"x 24"
Winter Antiquities Show December 27-29, 1999 Sweeney Center Santa Fe, NM
THE
AMES GALLERY MI=
Outsider Art Fair [self-taught, visionary, outsider, intuitive, art brut, folk] January 28-30, 2000 Preview January 27 The Puck Building, New York NY
Bonnie Grossman, Director • 2661 Cedar Street, Berkeley, CA 94708 • Telephone 510/845-4949 • Fax 510/845-6219
Featuring self-taught artists, including:
GREY CARTER Objects of Art
Harold Crowell Victor Joseph Gatto Ted Gordon John Holly Paul Lancaster Malcolm McKesson Mark Casey Milestone Justin McCarthy Ricky Needham Joe Polinski Jack Savitsky Edwin Welsh Brooks Yeomans
...and many more
Jack Savitsky Sleigh Ride 13" X 19", oil on canvas board
Mclean, Virginia 734-0533 (703) By appointment gcarter@pressroom.com www.greyart.com
AMERICA*01I,YES! Our galleries are located in: Washington, D.C. 2020 R Street, N.W.
Hilton Head Island, S.C. 17 Pope Avenue Executive Park Road
Tommy Chen
For a complete
inventory of paintings, visit our website: www.americaohyes.com
Or cal11.800.FolkArt to receive a mini-catalog of his work.
WIN•11ER 1999/2000 FOI K \12- 1
27
Nellie Mae Rowe Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Her Birth December 17 - February 26
Nellie Mae Rowe, Untitled, 1981; 18"H x 231/2"W; Oil Pastel, Graphite on Paper.
For an appointment in New York during The Outsider Art Fair, January 27-31, call 1-888-217-6285.
Barbara
ArcherGallery flOatAWaYBIdg.
The 1123 Zonolite Rd.•Suite 27•Atlanta, GA 30306• p - 404.815.1545•f - 404.815.1544 email - barbaraarcher@mindspring.com •www.barbaraarcher.com •www.sothebys.com
GARY BIRCH (American, b. 1946)
AMERICAN WILLIAMS ART GALLERIES Specializing in the sale of 19th & 20th century American art
P.O. Box 158175 Nashville, TN 37215 (615) 297-2547
Located: Village Green, 4119 Hillsboro Road, Nashville, TN
"Male Figure" 19 1/4 inches tall (including base) Mixed media: wood (burl) mallet head, horn, bone, leather, iron, paint, etc.
AMERICA*01I,YES! Our galleries are located in: Washington, D.C. 2020 R Street, N.W. :5 • ,• " 1;;,;;;‘,:=N4 erter
Hilton Head Island, S.C. 17 Pope Avenue Executive Park Road
Kacey Carneal For a complete inventory of paintings,
visit our website: www.americaohyes.com
Or cal11.800.FolkArt to receive a mini-catalog of her work.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 29
Cowboys and Indians 48" x 60"
Anne Bourassa Archival Iris prints on Somerset Satin Printed by Cone Editions Visit our website at. www.annebourassa.com E-mail: abourassa@erols.com Print Show: Spector
510 Bainbridge Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 (215) 238-0840
CONTEMPORARY FOLK ART BRUCE
SHELTON
KATHY MOSES,GALLERY DIRECTOR Helen LaFrance, b. 1919
SHELTON
GALLERY
Helen LaFrance, b. 1919
STANFORD SQUARE 4239 HARDING ROAD NASHVILLE, TN 37205 (615) 298-9935 (615) 298-9419 FAX E-MAIL: sheltongal@aol.com www.sheltongallery.com
(1 vcd wooden articulated dolls, preacher 20", wife 18"
Exhibiting at The Fourth Annual National Black Fine Art Show Feb. 3-6, 2000, Puck Building, Soho, NYC. Kathy Moses will be on hand to sign her new must-have book for collectors, Outsider Art ofthe South, Schiffer Publishing
MINNIE ADKINS LINVEL BARKER JERRY BROWN THORNTON DIAL CHRIS DONNELLY ROY FERDINAN I) HOWARD FINSTEI: HOMER GREEN HELEN LAFRAN: TIM LEWIS BRAXTON PONDER Dow PUGH ROYAL ROBER I SON MARIE ROGERS SULTON ROGERS HERBERT SINGLETON JIMMY LEE SUDDUTH MOSE TOLLIVER TROY WEBB BOBBY WILLIFORD HAITIAN MASTER WILSON BIGAUD RED GROOMS
"Jacob's Ladder", oil on canvas, 24"x12"
S IATE JEWELRY &
ANTIQUES
AMERICA*01I,YES! Our galleries are located in: Washington, D.C. 2020 R Street, N.W.
Hilton Head Island, S.C. 17 Pope Avenue Executive Park Road
J
esse Hickman For a complete inventory of
paintings, visit our website: www.americaohyes.com
Or call 1.800.FolkArt to receive a mini-catalog
of his work.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 31
TYSON TRADING CO. ART & ANTIQUES
BOOK IY PURVIS YOUNli
TY AND JEAN TYSON 505 CHOLOKKA BLVD. PO BOX 369 MICANOPY FL. 32667 PHONE/FAX 352-466-3410 E-MAIL: TYSONTRADE@AOL.COM ILSO OFELRI\ G .1 /-11E SELECT/ON OF
MR/C.1.V Otai. TS
Anne Grgich Alsofeaturing work by Georgia Blizzard Richard Burnside Ronald Cooper Jessie Cooper Patrick Davis Sybil Gibson "The Glassman" S.L. Jones Charlie Kinney
Chris Lewallen Woodie Long R.A. Miller Vollis Simpson Bernice Sims Q.J. Stephenson Jimmy Lee Sudduth Myrtice West
American Pie Contemporary Folk Art
Lip Study 21" x21"
Elaine Johansen 113 Dock Street Wilmington, NC 28401 (910) 251-2131 www.americanpieart.com
AMERICA*OHNES! Our galleries are located in: Washington, D.C. 2020 R Street, N.W.
Hilton Head Island, S.C. 17 Pope Avenue Executive Park Road
Steve Shepard For a complete inventory of paintings, visit our website: www.americaohyes.com
Or call 1.800.FolkArt to receive a mini-catalog of his work.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 33
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 finks • 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 tramp art
For a free catalogue and price list, please contact: Ginger Young Gallery 5802 Brisbane Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Phone/Fax 919.932.6003 www.GingerYoung.com gingerart@aol.com
"Bike Riders" by Woodie Long, acrylic on roofing tin, 26" x 38", 1992
Is AMERICA*011,YES! Our galleries are located in: Washington, D.C. 2020 R Street, N.W.
Hilton Head Island, S.C. 17 Pope Avenue Executive Park Road
Kristin Heiberg For a complete inventory of paintings, visit our website: www.americaohyes.com
34 WINTER 1999/200() FOLK ART
Or cal11.800.FolkArt to receive a mini-catalog of her work.
-vo
Gallery
Barbara Brogdon 1611 Hwy, 129 S. Cleveland, GA 30528 (706) 865-6345 FAX (706) 219-3112 email: rosehips©stc.net www.rosehipsart.com 'Affinity"30a.40" Artist —Koho
AMERNA*011,ITS! Our galleries are located in: Washington, D.C. 2020 R Street, N.W.
Hilton Head Island, S.C. 17 Pope Avenue Executive Park Road
Teresa B Davis__
For a complete inventory of
paintings, visit our website: www.americaohyes.com
Or call 1.800.FolkArt to receive a mini-catalog of her work.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 35
Dixie Folk Art We have moved to Hobe Sound, Florida (Across from Jupiter Island) Phone: 561-546-2238 Fax: 561-545-3031 www.dixiefolkart.com Email: dayeandsuefolds@webty.net
God Purvis Young Plywood 551/2"x 351/2"
"Black Cat in Flower Garden" says Good Art Does Not Have to Match the Couch! "T-shirts available"
Meet Purvis Young, the 21st Century Super Star! Piccadilly Millennium Extravaganza West Palm Beach, FL Dec. 31, 1999 & Jan. 1 &. 2, 2000 (call or e-mail for time)
Black Cat in Flower Garden Rodney Hardee Canvas Board 14"x 18"
Turn of the Century Book Signing Party! Meet Kathy, the Author of "Outsider Art of the South" Piccadilly Millennium Extravaganza West Palm Beach, FL Dec. 31, 1999 St Jan. 1 Sz. 2, 2000
DYANN JULIANO • MALVERN • PA
610.578.9400
Visit Us At The Piccadilly Shows, West Palm Beach, FL Southern Contemporary Folk Art Focused on Florida
36 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
ZETTER
THE
C
SIDEWAYS Pastels, 22" x 30"
0
1
1
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PINK LADY Pastel on Board, 21" x 28"
3 + 1 HOUSES Pastel on Board, 21" x 31"
3261 Celinda Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 Ph: 760-730-4630 Fax: 760-730-4632 WEBSITE: www.zetteroutsider.com e-mail: lzetter@pacbell.net
N
0
38 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
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to
Front and back covers of ENTER BOOK Date unknown Recycled shopper flyer 3/ 3 4 x 6" Private collection The cropping of found materials suggests that the supposedly illiterate artist was making deliberate choices to exploit meanings. When the book is closed, the front cover reads "enter everyone."
d The Art of James Castle
ENVELOPE SHED Date unknown Soot and spit, stick/twig pen, found envelope 6 x 6" Courtesy J. Grist Gallery, Boise, Idaho
By Tom Trusky James Castle, c. 1950
While James Castle appears to have been omnivorous when appropriating printed material for drawings, books, and constructions, the reputedly deaf, mute, mentally challenged, illiterate artist was capable of gourmet aesthetic and intellectual decisions when selecting and utilizing finds for his works. Recognition of Castle's remarkable use of found materials calls into question medical and intellectual diagnoses usually INTERIOR SCENES Date unknown Soot and spit, disassembled cardboard box, string 6 x 8" Idaho Power Corporate Collection, Boise, Idaho In this ingenious two-sided drawing, the picture becomes three-dimensional when a string, sewn into the wort, is pulled: The walls of the drawing fold in, forming the walls of the room Castle has drawn.
accorded the Idaho artist-bookmaker by laypersons. Would an "idiot" be cognizant that a letter envelope may "house" a written life, then visually convey that understanding by utilizing an open envelope flap to parallel the roof line of a rustic dwelling drawn on the inside of the envelope? Does it seem probable that an illiterate would take an advertisement with numerous lines of text, carefully trim, then deliberately fold it so the word "enter" would appear, titlelike, on the front cover?
All drawings and photographs are reproduced by permission of the AC. Wade Estate, Cgstle Collection, L.P„ courtesy J. Cent Gallery, Boise, Idaho. Titles given to Castle's works by writers are descriptive and are drawn from features In the piece.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 39
THREE CODE BOOKS Dates unknown Private collection
Family tradition and his headstone in Dry Creek Cemetery on the outskirts of Boise (and previous articles by this author) would have Charles James Castle born September 25, 1900, in the rural, isolated, southwestern Idaho community of Garden Valley. However, recently reviewed 1900, 1910, and 1920 U.S. Census _listings from Garden Valley state that a James Charles Castle ("deaf or blind") was born September 24, 1899, to Francis and Mary Scanlon Castle. Mary, of a local Catholic family, was an outdoorswoman, midwife, and mother of at least seven children; Francis, an English immigrant, tended the general store in their home, was a musician, and served as a notary public. Both took turns managing the valley post office, also located in the Castle home. In his youth, James moved 150 miles away to attend a school in the central Idaho town of Gooding for about a year. Later in his life, he journeyed perhaps seventy-five miles to visit relatives in eastern Oregon, and he once traveled to Salt Lake City. Otherwise, Castle lived a sedentary, sheltered, reclusive life. He spent his first quarter-century in Garden Valley and the remainder of his life, more than fifty years, in Treasure Valley, where he died in Boise on October 24, 1977. Castle began making art on butcher and wrapping paper, postal forms, and excess bulk mailings provided by his parents when he was just a boy. Around the time he turned eleven, he and his older sister Nellie, who had acquired speech before being deafened by a childhood disease, were sent to the newly opened Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind in Gooding. There, Nellie was a success while James was a truant student and reluctant worker (students had chores at the school and were expected to learn trades such as tailoring or broom- or shoemaking). Before the end of the year, James was sent home, reportedly for
40 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
being uneducable. According to his family, all James wanted to do at Gooding was what he had done in Garden Valley: make art. Or was Castle expelled because, as Douglas Baynton, Oliver Sacks, and Harlan Lane have chronicled in their studies of deaf education, schools for the deaf either refused to admit or quickly dismissed students born deaf? Such students, called "profoundly" or "congenitally" deaf, do not acquire speech patterns at age two or three, and thus are seldom able to speak. Speech was the brutal yardstick of deaf educational success at the turn of the century. Whatever the case, the Castle family was urged to keep art supplies from James and instead teach him to speak or at least learn to sign or finger spell, if not write. Noble (or
THE ICEHOUSE Date unknown Soot and spit, disassembled cardboard Highway Matches box 51 / 4 x 71 / 4" Collection of Robert Beach The icehouse was Castle's studio, gallery, archive, and refuge. Books found hidden in the structure are the oldest verifiable works by the artist.
W.E. TAYLOR BOOKHEAD (p. 23, Prince Albert Book) c. 1912 Pencil on appropriated signature string bound to tobacco carton cover; 58 pp., 17 Castle illustrations 4 6" 1 9/ Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection, Boise, Idaho, 76.19.1 Opening illustration in the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind "chapter" from one of Castle's autobiographical Icehouse Books. Taylor was the director of the school; also pictured are faculty and staff. This framed illustration shows increasing sophistication— the figure casts a shadow.
busybody) sister Nellie took it upon herself to instruct her younger brother, by now nicknamed "Dummy." Nellie's was a lifelong and seemingly fruitless effort. Instead of despairing or kowtowing to his older sister, Dummy became all the more committed to his art. He became expert at avoiding chores. He would disappear every day, out into the forest or up to the second floor of the icehouse behind the Castle ranch house. There, the boy made ink from stove soot and spit. He fashioned pens from sharpened twigs and sticks. Papers and cardboard, expropriated from all possible sources, were measured, marked, scored, folded, cut, or torn. For hanging sketches, binding books and booklets, sewing, tying, or lashing constructions of furniture, machinery, animals, and humans, the young artist found or "borrowed" thread, yarn, string, and twine. He made paste from flour and water. In time, he mastered these materials, favoring them above more conventional mediums; later in life, he would refuse professional art supplies. Although those refusals were marked by polite inattention or marked disinterest, it is important to note that Castle was capable of forceful displays of willfulness. Family and family friends, as well as more casual acquaintances, have described his provoked and unprovoked rages, fits, or tantrums. During such outbursts, he often uttered guttural shouts, cries, or shrieks. Obviously, Castle was not incapable of making sound, as numerous writers (including this author in early essays) have asserted. We might speculate to what degree found materials challenged, encouraged, or forced the artist to constantly alter and develop his repertoire. After all, a gray matchbox made of soft cardboard is not a stiff, white, waxy, halfgallon ice cream container is not a colorful swatch of rumpled Christmas wrap is not a sister's "borrowed" recipe book. Yet Castle experimented throughout his life with point of view, scale, composition, shading, and perspec-
tive—often on the same types offound material. A plethora of Castle homestead interiors, all different yet all drawn on cardboard matchbox trays, illustrate that the gifted artist was ever restless, eager to inspect and capture his world in new ways. One of Castle's two-sided drawings on a disassembled box is notable in this regard. Experimenting with dimension, the artist sewed strings into a drawing of an interior; when the strings are pulled, sides of the flattened box re-form into the room walls. The two-dimensional piece becomes threedimensional. The earliest known surviving artworks by Castle are his so-called Icehouse Books. These volumes were stored in the family icehouse that served as the artist's rustic studio/gallery/ archive/refuge. Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of works were stuffed in its sawdustfilled walls and beneath floorboards, perhaps for safekeeping or for easy reference. When the Castle family left Garden Valley in 1924, James left the Icehouse Books behind. We do not know why. We do not know how many. Nor do we know if the icehouse contained drawings and constructions or the little grass-stuffed dolls in "a kind of South American" style that James' older sister Julia remembered her brother making in Garden Valley. All we know is that an untold number of books were rescued around 1970, when the icehouse was demolished and burned. The Icehouse Books have come to be treasured by art historians in part because they are the only Castle works whose dates of composition can be established with some certainty. Approximately twenty Icehouse volumes are known to have survived; some have been disassembled and sold piecemeal by art dealers, while others have been rebound by well-meaning curators. Half of the surviving Icehouse Books are multivolume editions. One edition of eight books is autobiographical.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 41
NU BORA SOAP BOOK 49 (pp. 14-15) Date unknown Soot and spit, stick/twig pen, found cardboard box cover, found text block papers, string; 24 pp. 10 3,4 7 3/4"(closed) Courtesy Ochi Gallery, Sun Valley, Idaho
42 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
tart ,
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 43
Upcoming Exhibitions SCENE WITH BARN, FENCE, AND TREES Date unknown Soot and spit, found paper 6/ 3 4 8/ 1 2 " Museum of American Folk Art, Blanchard-Hill Collection, gift of M. Anne Hill and Edward V. Blanchard Jr., 1998.10.15
"James Castle" The Drawing Center, New York March 4—April 29, 2000 Organized by Jay Tobler uch of James Castle's artistic output was devoted to renderings of the exteriors, interiors, landscapes, and domestic objects of his family's Idaho homestead. This exhibition will showcase the artist's complex and moving investigation of the architecture and space of his distinctly western and sometimes desolate environment. A subtle emotional presence suffuses his careful observations and typically reserved draftsmanship, suggesting a warmth and nostalgia for their time and place.
M
"Reputedly Illiterate: The Art Books of James Castle" American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York March 29—May 12,2000 Organized by Tom Trusky T Tnable to speak, Castle established his own systems of visual communication in L.)hundreds of illustrated book constructions containing luminous drawings and mysterious codes, glyphs, pictograms, and letterforms. Revealing the artist's uncanny knack for word play, this exhibition proposes that Castle could in fact read and comprehend language. Translations are provided for Castle's early Icehouse Books, but visitors will be encouraged to decipher his Calendar Books and letterforms. The New Orleans Museum of Art is planning to mount an exhibition of the work of James Castle in 2002.
Books/Videotape A Silent Voice: Drawings and Constructions ofJames Castle, Fleisher/011man Gallery, 1998,54 pages, paperback,$15. Available at the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop,2 Lincoln Square, New York, NY 10023. Museum members receive a 10 percent discount. To order, please call 212/496-2966. James Castle 1900-1977, J. Crist Gallery, 1999,43 pages, paperback,$17. Available at the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop (ordering information above). James Castle & the Book,Tom Trusky,Idaho Center for the Book, 1999, 18 pages, paperback; and a set of six hand-sewn facsimiles of Castle books bundled together in a gunnysack, the artist's preferred archival storage unit, $19.95 plus $3 shipping and handling. Available from the Idaho Center for the Book, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise,ID 83725-1525,or from the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop (ordering information above). Dreamhouse: The Art and Life ofJames Castle, 30 minutes, Painted Smiles, 1999, videocassette, $19.95 plus $3 shipping and handling. Available from Painted Smiles, P.O. Box 6414,Boise,ID 83707.
44 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
Icehouse Books are also treasured because they provide us with a portrait of the artist as a young man and young artist. In them, we see Castle learning to master his craft. Many illustrations show that he has not, for instance, mastered perspective. The Icehouse Books prove that Castle was not "wired" to draw; they quite literally illustrate that he was self-taught. At first glance, the fact that an illiterate should make books seems strange. It could be that the artist was driven by envy of his sister Nellie, an inveterate and talented photographer whose Kodak Brownie camera seemed to be always at hand. James was familiar with her photographs and albums. In gestures possibly spurred by the wellknown rivalry between the siblings—or are they merely thoughtful hommages?—James often redrew _Nellie's snapshots in his Icehouse Books; in one volume he even recreated photo album spreads. Castle's observation of layout and design was not restricted to Nellie's albums. He saw albums of stamps in the post office. His brother and sisters brought home textbooks from public school. And James, who was not permitted to attend public school in Garden Valley, presumably had his own textbooks during his stint at the deaf and blind school in Gooding. The influence of textbooks on the artist's work may be seen in two Castle books—"miniature facsimiles" of appropriated arithmetic primers found in the icehouse. Moreover, a torrent of printed material—catalogs, almanacs, magazines, and newspapers—flowed through the rural post office. Selftaught Castle may have been, but the bookmaker had ready access to many classic and contemporary models of graphic design. Castle had profound understandings about the functions and possibilities of the codex. "Acknowledgments" pages in his books portray rows of books above a man's head whose eyes have been replaced by a rectangular book-drop. (Sometimes, one disconcerting wide-open eye may be seen inside the drop!) Castle's acknowledgments pages are visual representations of his comprehension of how and where knowledge and memory repose. Also, humans are given "book heads" by Castle: illustrated and frequently "captioned" (squiggly lines appear as text) pages balanced atop neckless shoulders. Castle's visual language reminds us that we "read" faces and recall information about people when we see them, just as we read and recall information from books. It is useful to describe typical Castle codices not only because Castle was devoted to the codex but also because books contain Castle's earliest known art and because subject matter, techniques, and styles in Castle's books are also seen in his drawings and constructions. For more than sixty years, and in contrast to self-taught artistbookmakers such as Adolf Wolfli and Henry Darger, Castle created hundreds of books in at least four genres (Icehouse Books represent only one genre). Castle books are meticulously organized, with illustrations framed or bordered and numbers, texts, or symbols carefully placed within grids or patterns. Although many books are hybrids, there are numerous examples of pure strains. Album Books, such as the Icehouse volumes, present between one and twenty (or more)framed pictures on
MINIATURE MATH FACSIMILE #1 Date unknown 11932 postal cancellation in text papers) Found cardboard covers and text block papers, soot and spit, string; 138 pp. 3/ 1 4 x 2" Private collection One of two known miniature books based on Castle's two appropriated mathematics texts. Both miniatures contain copies of illustrations drawn by Castle in the larger versions—and new illustrations. Found text pages are from Punch magazine; the artist also used blank paper and canceled letter envelopes.
each page; these images range from postage-stamp-size to large enough to almost fill the page. Album Books create visual narratives or are thematic or random visual anthologies. Subcategories of Album Books are Gooding School Books, Postcard and Picture Postcard Books, Cartoon and Caricature Books, Religious Books, and Advertising Books. Unlike Pattern Books, another subcategory that will be described later in this article, volumes in these groups are generally accessible and their illustrations are realistic in execution. Number, Letterform, and/or Code Books comprise another major category. Of special note are the Code Books,for Castle has devised at least seventeen pictogram, glyph, or symbol systems for them. About half these codes read left to right, while the remainder read in the reverse direction (there is a history of dyslexia in the Castle family, but it is not known if James was dyslexic because, after all, it is presumed that he was illiterate). Regardless of which way we read them, all of Castle's codes convey an identical sequence of symbols. Unfortunately, neither Rosetta Stone nor brilliant reader has yet been located to translate the visual message. However, sources for some of the codes Castle employed and/or created may be found in esoteric publications with which the artist was familiar, providing some latitude for use of the term "publication" is granted. Growing up in Garden Valley, young Castle, fascinated with letterforms, undoubtedly "read" brands on cattle owned by his family and other ranchers. While the Castle family brand has not yet been discovered, other cattle owners in the valley registered their brands, and the artist clearly has appropriated branding iron verbiage from them in his Code Books. Castle may have also borrowed "Visible Speech" symbols (which he could have become acquainted with at the Gooding school). Devised by Alexander Melville Bell, father of Alexander Graham Bell, Visible Speech consisted of a system of symbols designed to instruct deaf students how to position and shape their tongues and mouths to formulate sounds. Calendar Books combine many of the elements of the previously listed books. Grids used to indicate "days" and "half-days"(with "weeks" of four to ten or more days) may contain numbers, letterforms, and codes and are always illustrated. Sometimes entire "months" are made up of grids behind which cartoonlike illustrations appear, complete with figures morphing through the year, cartoon balloon "voices" floating above their heads. Found materials
used to make Calendar Books—birthday invitations, graduation announcements, Christmas gift-wrap—may have been consciously selected by Castle because they are chronological signifiers. In more than one instance, Castle fabricated his own Calendar Book from the pages of a printed calendar. In Calendar Books, Castle reshapes time and the world's conceptions of it to suit his whim. Calendar Books show how another esoteric found publication, liturgical calendars, influenced Castle's sense of design; they also provide tantalizing clues about Castle's literacy. As has been noted, the Castles were Catholic. James' calendars resemble illustrated religious ("liturgical") calendars sent to the family each year. (Such calendars were found among Castle's effects after his death.) Particularly tantalizing are "month" names devised by the artist for his calendars. Many Calendar Book readers, puzzling over bizarre-looking names that usually appear atop individual month grids, have speculated that Castle was influenced by Greek or Cyrillic letterforms, or that he devised his own language. In fact, Castle is using (abusing?) the Roman alphabet. Much as Lewis Carroll's Humpty Dumpty used words to mean what he wanted them to mean, Castle treats the letters in the names of months—and the names themselves—as visual objects over which he has complete control. Ranchers, however, not Humpty, may have been Castle's role models. His letterform manipulations mirror ranchers' fashioning of "lazy" zs or "running" js for their brands. He often altered the sequence of letters in a month's name. Individual letters were prey for deconstruction. The artist would fragment an individual letter, then re-form it. Outrageously enough, he would even omit pieces of a letter, as if expecting his viewers to be as visually nimble as he and replace the missing part. Pattern Books are highly stylized Album Books. In them, Castle often reworked and reimagined earlier illustrations. The development of Pattern Books (and drawings) is reminiscent of the development of Egyptian hieroglyphics, where the elaborately detailed (hieratic) style over many years became streamlined and simplified (demotic). While Castle was a speedier scribe—his stylizing seems to have taken only a decade or two—he in no way reduced his labor as he redefined style. Labor-intensive patterns such as herringbones, plaids, and honeycombs replaced what Castle apparently considered non-essential details: vanishing points, horizon lines, shadows, trees, wagons, settees, framed photographs, and all the bric-a-brac that make or fill a realistic world.
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MR. BLAW SPREAD (Blaw Artist's Book) Date unknown (cover cancel is 19311 Found paper text block, primarily letter envelopes and correspondence Approximately 5 8"(open) Private collection
OCTOBER [jumbled) (pp. 45-46, Highway Matches Calendar + Book) Date unknown (1932 calendar leaves used for text paper) Soot and spit, disassembled cardboard matchbox covers; text block made from leaves of calendar; 56 pp. 4/ 1 2 43/8"(closed) Private collection
"Artist's books" are defined by art historian Johanna Drucker as books that make readers examine assumptions about what a book is or might be.(They are not necessarily books by artists, nor are all books by artists automatically "artist's books.") These artist's books call into question structural elements and methods of content presentation in the traditional codex: spine, fore edge, gutters and margins, typography, illustration, text design and placement, and narrative sequencing. Castle has a number of such volumes. Elements Castle experimented with in his books are also found in his drawings and constructions. The latter are especially poignant when we recall the artist's isolation. Castle seems to have been intent on creating a world. He manufactured birds, cows, prams, chairs, tables, doorways, dresses, shirts, pants, coats, and human figures. His family termed the small people he constructed his "friends." One such friend is a female, with a complete wardrobe fashioned by her designer, tailor, and dresser, James Castle. In this figure, the artist's use of a found, printed image is not apparent until the female is disrobed. Beneath her clothing, atop her belly, Castle has placed a picture of an infant, carefully cut from an unknown magazine illustration. Sometimes Castle used found printed text for visual effect in fabricating friends. The collars of the dress on one female figure consist of strips of newspaper. From a distance, the tiny news story type creates the illusion of delicately woven lace. Quite the opposite effect is created by type in Castle's "Word Sketch" deconstructions. In these
46 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
creations, Castle apparently took words from calendars or newspapers (or his own vocabulary?) and sketched them, enlarging them to many times the original size. Then he cut each letter into pieces, painstakingly re-forming it and pasting it onto a large, blank sheet of found paper. Two examples of this format were found grouped together by Castle's niece after his death. One piece spells out"LABOR DAY." The other consists of only one re-formed word:"PLAY." Castle's profound sense of "play," or wit, must also be considered when evaluating the validity of the string of "reputed" adjectives that have been used to describe the artist. A most remarkable artifact in this regard is a Castle "Cigarette Book," the Wings Cigarette/Visual Education Book: an otherwise nondescript sixteen-page book measuring 33/s inches by 31/8 inches and bound with yellow string. The title page of this work consists of printed text, apparently a preface or introduction. While Castle has superimposed his title (a black rectangle) on the page, we cannot resist reading the original printed text that also appears on the last page of the book. Interestingly, the text Castle has borrowed was from a booklet published by The Foundation for Visual Education in The Hague. Interest becomes amazement, however, when we read: "Isotype, the picture language in which this book is written [is designed] to present ideas simply, clearly and directly in a manner that all the people of the world and of all classes will understand." Could Castle read? Or does he understand the meaning of the found text he presents because of the context in which he found it? Having baffled us with his found mater-
SELF-PORTRAIT (p. 3 of Candle Pattern Book) Date unknown Soot and spit, found paper text block, Christmas wrapping paper covers, string x 3/ 1 4" Private collection
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Castle's Pattern Books consist of dramatically simplified and stylized versions of earlier, realistic drawings and illustrations by the artist. Unlike his earlier grim-faced self-portrait, in this much later version, an ear is added, the boy has aged, and he seems almost happy in his secure, herringbone world.
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SELF-PORTRAIT: TO THE GOODING SCHOOL Date unknown Soot and spit, found paper 5,2" Private collection Drawing of a 1910 photograph from Castle's sister Nellie's album, reportedly taken on the Castle ranch in Garden Valley, Idaho, the day the two siblings departed for the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind. Contrasting the smiling face in the photograph, Castle rendered himself with thin, slightly down-turned lips, possibly in response to his unhappy experiences at the school.
ial on pages one and sixteen, Castle proceeds to dazzle us with the remainder of his volume, a modest biblio tour-deforce on blank found pages. On pages two through fifteen, the Idaho Isotyper creates a veritable anthology of visual languages: calendar, code, album (a patterned, postage stamp—size portrait), framed, surreal patterned scenics (a wagon in Garden Valley field), a stunning, realistic, Garden Valley homestead interior spread, then pages of codes and abstract images—all coyly inserted within the Foundation for Visual Education's announcement of its visual symbol system. Castle's employment of found materials reveals visual acumen and remarkable intellect, and found materials provide us with one of the few tools we have to date his work (Icehouse Books, with a known provenance, excepted). Yet dating art done on found material is no simple matter. Castle could have extracted a 1902 postal registration form from one of his "archival" gunnysacks in 1962 and sketched on it a Gooding scene recalled from 1911. Allusions to current events and dates of periodical publication or product manufacture in found material only help establish after what point in time a work was begun. But when it was completed? The date of found material, if known, must be factored in with considerations of Castle's subject matter and style, and his mastery of learned skills and techniques, before a tentative completion date may be suggested for a Castle book, construction, or drawing. After being "discovered" in the 1950s by artists, art professors, curators, and dealers in the Pacific Northwest, Castle routinely received gifts of pencils, brushes, pens,
_
markers, chalks, crayons, and fine paper and was often encouraged to abandon his found materials and his homemade pens and inks. He was also presented with monographs and catalogs about ancient art or masters such as da Vinci, Cezanne, and Picasso. Just as he had resisted mainstreaming by deaf educators a half-century earlier, the artist largely resisted these well-meaning attempts (one of Castle's nieces recalls the artist's young relatives eyeing stacks of unused Prang watercolor sets with envy). Castle drew a particularly quirky Mona Lisa, one of a handful of famous images by renowned artists he reimagined. Some of his drawings and books were done in pen, pencil, chalk, or marker. These are exceptions, however, and are explained in part by the artist's difficulty in obtaining soot later in his life. Found papers, however, remained a constant in Castle's work. Why Castle ignored these blandishments may never be known. Surely he felt at ease with his homemade tools and found supplies. Perhaps he believed nothing was broken or in need of repair. Whatever the reason for his resistance, we may be thankful, given his prodigious and impressive oeuvre, that Castle continued his magpie ways, "borrowing," collecting castoffs, hoarding, and then recycling them into memorable art. * Tom Trusky is a professor ofEnglish and the director ofthe Hemingway Western Studies Center at Boise State University, where he coordinates the Idaho Centerfor the Book, an affiliate ofthe Library of Congress Centerfor the Book The authorized biographer ofJames Castle, Trusky has recently completed the video documentary Dreamhouse: The Art & Life of James Castle.
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Millennial Missionary William Alvin Blayney A Highlight from the Museum's Collection and Its Current Exhibition By Brooke Davis Anderson ith multiple copyright symbols, registration marks, and statements like "All Rights Reserved" peppering the canvases created by William Alvin Blayney, one imagines the artist to be either the ultimate professional or a supreme paranoid. The familiar notation and the less well-known0typically punctuate Blayney's paintings. The two-sided work in the Museum of American Folk Art's collection is no exception. The artist got carried away securing the rights to his singular visions; he also penned his signature with great flourish and numbered each image with what one assumes was an elaborate inventory system. It is almost as if Blayney created his own artistic bureaucracy, even naming it, on the surface of Church and State, "Blayneys-Foundation Private Ministry of Biblical, Art, History's, Dispensational Dates." While the repetitive copyright markings imply a completely new invention, Blayney's work has a universal theme commonly seen in work by contemporary self-taught artists: the religious missionary as artist. Much like the better-known Reverend Howard Finster and Sister Gertrude Morgan, Blayney painted to convert. And like his above-mentioned peers, his primary tools were oil, acrylic, board, and the Book of Revelation. Religion was always present in this visionary's life. William Alvin Blayney (1917-1985) was born in Pennsylvania to strict Methodist parents. His formal education ended in
48 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
Blayney illustrates his representation of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding across a treacherous, barren landscape with a sinister red tornado chasing them. Each equestrian seems to be headed toward a cliff. The cast of characters—Constantine, Wars, Judgment, and the Antichrist— are depicted in a convincing manner, but curiously without emotion. It is the gorgeously evil-looking tornado— voluptuous and red—that packs the emotional wallop. In the upper left corner a tiny rendition of God's hand points to some promise. Here, Blayney is a painter's painter, giving admirable attention to
the eighth grade, and he SORtTuAl. P0141'5 !I IN! NOIONS began his first career as an auto mechanic soon after. He left his home state for the first time when he served in the army during World War II. Blayney returned to his home and family upon receiving a disability discharge. Shortly thereafter he married and opened Blayney's Auto Repair near Pittsburgh. A full decade after the end of World War II, the future artist started a deliberate spiritual quest, reading the Bible, attending Bible study, and for a time, receiving religious lessons from a television evangelist. In 1966, at age forty(ili 70, nine, Blayney packed up his P,A4 -REV 6.11 belongings and headed y-hfogr,ES— '71PERS ' @ West. He never returned East. Until his death twenty years later, Blayney made a living as a bulldozer operator in Thomas, Oklahoma, where he the somewhat turbulent sky and brushalso was ordained as a Pentecostal ing out a convincing desert-scape. minister and continued painting. While the perspective is a bit awkward Recently, the Museum of at the base of the painting, the overall American Folk Art added to its perma- left and downward thrust of the picnent collection a gift from the ture is truly dynamic. Conveniently, it Blanchard-Hill Collection. In this clas- also forces the viewer's eye to the tunsic Blayney piece, the artist typically nel at the center bottom of the compoused both sides of the surface. While sition, which, aided by the Devil's red the viewer can find continuous leash, leads one into darkness and to imagery and storylines going from the the other side of the artwork. front, Spiritual Powers in the Nation, On the reverse side of the to the back, Church and State, these tunnel—as it were—is Church and works can also stand on their own. State, a more schematic image. At first In the more pictorial of the two Church and State seems busy and consides, Spiritual Powers in the Nation, fusing, but Blayney guides us around '4,14
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the surface with a frame of reference at the bottom: "Roman System, Religious System, Antichrist System." This painting has three corresponding pictorial layers: The first layer, or background, is a typical landscape with a main figure and a multiheaded beast living believably in it. The second layer, or middle ground, is occupied by floating animals, human figures, and angels. The top layer, or foreground, is a "map"(designed like a family tree) to the painting's storyline. Although it is not immediately clear how these connect, the artist echoes in his design scheme the missionary message he depicts.
seems at all rooted in the landscape is the multiheaded and horned beast. Blayney employs a unique method of boxing in the red monsters on the far left of the composition, as well as the astounding outsize feet floating in the surf. To the contemporary eye, it is reminiscent of a sidebar caption in magazine design; indeed, the viewer assumes that this information is an addendum,a footnote, to the overall story. The confusion of the composition adds to an interpretive confusion as well; though this work is commenting on the often friction-filled relationship between church and state, viewers are left on their - 34.141 — ANgNti§1 own to wade through the •41 Atl; It E:AST cemvp:,:;;;in Pte, To layers of meaning. „ 71dal; E Y'S 1804.09i 31131./cAL. Except for a few or 1,ES DASPEW sATI0 L. exhibitions in the early 1980s, Blayney did not experience commercial success during his lifetime. In most of the literature about his art, Blayney is ' applauded as a great colorist, but this writer sees his drama and talent expressed more in his composition and design than in his palette. No doubt color does play a fantastic role (such as the crimson weather system or the representation of Rome in a lilac toga), but the complicated and wellconceived arrangement of 1111.1ik.OV'Box lop his surfaces invite much REV.17:. ON,70,„,,mao „, investigation. Additionally, a '51'.9ft6Y511M, ^6415T 5YSTVI, A William Alvin Blayney's confidence with the paintbrush is refreshing to witSPIRITUAL POWERS IN THE NATIONS/CHURCH AND STATE As with Spiritual Powers in the ness in a self-taught artist of our (double-sided) Nations, a successful stormy land- time—it reminds this writer of another Reverend William A. Blayney (1917-1985) scape anchors the story in Church and great self-taught painter, Jon Serl. As Thomas, Oklahoma State. The sky, clouds, and ocean, in we approach the turn of the century 1970-1971 particular, are convincingly executed. with a growing interest in contempoOil on Masonite 24 24" The weight of this painted portion is rary folk art, William Alvin Blayney, Museum of American Folk Art, contrasted by the levity of all the char- and his work, may become as recogBlanchard-Hill Collection, gift of acters: figures, lion heads, kings, nized and held in the same esteem as M. Anne Hill and Edward V. Blanchard Jr., angels, and Hieronymus Bosch—like those other, now famous artist1998.10.10A and B monsters all float on the surface. It is missionaries Reverend Howard clear that the religious message car- Finster and Sister Gertrude Morgan.* ried by these figures superceded any painterly need for realism. Even the central figure, clad in a lilac robe, is Brooke Davis Anderson is director and drinking from a raised cup while liter- curator of The Contemporary Center ofthe ally levitating. The only character that Museum ofAmerican Folk Art.
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Menna DreaTis: Vision anc Pro ohecy in American Fok Art on View at the Museum of American Folk Art November 13, 1999—May 14, 2000 he Museum of American Folk Art's current exhibition,"Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art," organized by the Museum's director, Gerard C. Wertkin, ushers in the year 2000. The exhibition traces folk art's powerful tradition—in both its spiritual and secular manifestations— through carefully selected objects, including the Museum's two-sided painting Spiritual Powers in the Nation/Church and State, by the religious artist-missionary William Alvin Blayney. This powerful painting recently came into the Museum's permanent collection from the Blanchard-Hill Collection, a gift from M. Anne Hill and Edward V. Blanchard Jr. Through works as diverse as Shaker spirit drawings, illustrated Adventist charts, a Chicano festival banner, New Mexican santos, and twentieth-century visionary paintings such as this one, this exhibition sheds new light on the centrality of millennial thought in American culture. "Millennial Dreams" provides an unprecedented opportunity to examine the nation's significant—and often unacknowledged—millennial heritage as reflected in three centuries of American folk art. The exhibition catalog is available for $10($9 for members)at the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop,2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, New York City. For mail order information, please call 212/496-2966.
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The exhibition is made possible by
Fireman's Fund° WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 49
Empire State Mosaic
The Folk Art CONEY ISLAND BOARDWALK WITH PARACHUTE JUMP Vestie Davis (1903-1978) New York City 1972 Oil on canvas 17 37 1" Museum of American Folk Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Karp, 1984.10.01
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of New York By Paul S. D'Ambrosio
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 51
Filor centuries, New York has offered abundant resources to waves of immigrants seeking a better life. As a result, the state has long been one of the most multicultural regions in America. Owing to its Dutch origins, New York had a commercial bent and a tradition of tolerance that greatly facilitated the incorporation of new cultures. Each cultural or ethnic group that settled in New York brought old traditions that changed as the group assimilated into a majority culture. This cultural blending is most evident in folk art, where traditional culture is expressed through visual styles, symbols, materials, techniques, and subject matter. Within the larger framework of folk art style, which nearly universally emphasizes pattern, bold color, and factual detail, the New York folk art style is distinguished by a tendency to adapt conservative ethnic or regional styles to new circumstances. In the diverse, commercial atmosphere of New York,folk art often became more exuberant, larger, and looser in form. From the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, there was a gradual Anglicization of folk art that reflected the predominant ethnic shifts of that time period. Twentieth-century New York folk art is more diverse ethnically and stylistically, however, due
52 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
to its more personal nature and the continued influx of immigrants to the Empire State. Colonial New York was distinguished by several distinct cultures. Some,like the Iroquois, had been here for centuries. Others had come from Holland, England, Ireland, France, Germany, or New England as emigrants from these areas searched for arable land and waterways for transportation. There was also a sizable population of African Americans who were brought to the New World in bondage. Initially, these cultures formed distinct communities that interacted through trade, labor, warfare, and intermarriage. While they all created art based on their traditions and their new environment, the largest bodies of surviving folk art from this era represent the Iroquois, Dutch, and German populations. Prior to the 1750s, the Iroquois, made up of the Seneca, Mohawk,Tuscarora, Onondaga, Oneida, and Cayuga nations, were regarded as the most powerful people in the northeastern United States and Canada. The Six Nations had a long-standing carving tradition that included bowls, ladles, spoons, pipes, and combs fashioned from wood, bone, and antlers. Interaction with Europeans influenced Iroquois artwork both in technique—as new tools were introduced—and in subject matter, such as the image of the horse. The prosperous Dutch merchants, landowners, and political leaders of the Hudson River Valley were
VAN BERGEN OVERMANTEL Attributed to John Heaten (active 1730-17451 Leeds, New York c.1733 Oil on cherry boards, secured with American white pine battens 14/ 1 4 New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, museum purchase, N-366.54
responsible for one of the largest bodies of art produced in the American colonies. Between 1717 and 1745— the only period of peace in a century of warfare—artists produced numerous portraits, biblical paintings, coatsof-arms, and decorative furnishings for Dutch and Anglo-Dutch families. These artists had little opportunity for formal training and thus borrowed from the sources that were available to them, including engravings in Dutch Bibles and English mezzotint engravings of European portraits. These pictorial sources allowed the artists to create images that appealed to their patrons and aided the assimilation of Dutch and English painting styles. Germans began to settle in the Royal Province of New York in 1709, forced out of the lower Palatinate of Germany by war, high taxes, religious controversy, and a harsh climate. Their passage was funded by the British Government, who The lien wanted these "Palatines" to process and export Hudson Bergen Valley pitch pine to supply the British Navy with tar. exemplifies the This enterprise was soon diversity of abandoned by Parliament, and the German families Colonial New began to settle in the York in its Mohawk Valley in search of depiction of the farmland. More German various cultures immigrants soon followed, and by the late eighteenth and social century there were prosclasses that perous and secure German coexisted in settlements in Albany, Schoharie, and Montgomery the state.
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CAMPBELL FAMILY RECORD William Murray 11756-1828) Cherry Valley, New York 1816 Watercolor and ink on paper 16 13" New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, museum purchase, N-31.97
counties. This stability of these settlements led to the production of decorated furnishings and manuscripts in traditional Germanic styles. By 1776 New York had the most heterogeneous population of any state, and a tradition of tolerance and mercantilism that laid the foundation for a unified culture. The Van Bergen Overmantel, painted around 1733, exemplifies the diversity of Colonial New York in its depiction of the various cultures and social classes that coexisted in the state. The people depicted include the proprietary Dutch family (Marten and Catarina Van Bergen and their seven children), indentured servants, African American slaves, and members of a local Esopus or Catskill Indian culture. In the decades following the American Revolution, New York underwent significant changes. Advances were made, for instance, in education and agriculture, major concerns for a budding democracy. It was also a time of great political controversy, with constant strife between the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. In the midst of this turbulent period New York militias fought, sometimes reluctantly, and helped win the War of 1812. The most dramatic change came in the way of emigration from New England, which radically altered New York's ethnic
farmland and a desire to escape from high taxes. In less than a generation, Anglo-American New Englanders had populated virtually every town and village in New York, bringing their traditions and customs with them.
make-up. So many settlers migrated westward from New England that the state's population soared from about 350,000 in 1794 to more than 1,370,000 in 1820. This "Yankee Invasion" was the result of a need for
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It was a time of great despair for the Iroquois, who had lost their villages during the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign of 1779 and their lands as a result of the peace treaty of 1783. Many found faith in the new teachings of Handsome Lake, a prophet whose message affirmed traditional practices with the acceptance of some nonnative ways, such as formal education. Traditional Iroquois arts such as fingerweaving and beadwork continued to be practiced, while a small group of artists (most notably Dennis Cusick) developed a realistic style that illustrated Iroquois assimilation into white institutions. The folk art of this period reflects the strong Anglo-American presence in all aspects of life in New York, from domestic furnishings and seminary exercises to fraternal artifacts and formal paintings. New England decorative styles, deriving from British forms, began to overwhelm what was left of New York's original Dutch and German folk arts. William Murray's artistic career reflects the enormous demographic shift that occurred in post-Revolutionary New York around this time. Born in England, Murray immigrated to America in about 1775. His work in the Mohawk Valley of New York consisted of illustrated family records that drew stylistically from Germanic and English sources and were executed for German and English families now living in the same communities. The Murray record illustrated on the previous page documents the family of Matthew Campbell, son of a Revolutionary War colonel. Threeyear-old Matthew Campbell was taken prisoner along with his mother and siblings in the 1778 British and Indian raid on Cherry Valley. They were later released as part of a prisoner exchange. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 had a profound impact on many aspects of life in New York, particularly on the wide range of rural artists and artisans who provided artwork and consumer goods deemed essential to any proper middle-class home. A flood of settlers came from eastern New York, New England, and Europe, creating an expanded market and a new freedom of expression. Although these settlers came from disparate backgrounds, they created a new culture, drawing on their com-
54 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
mon American experience and contemporary developments, as well as the spirit of experimentation. The canal solved logistical problems for some craft industries, such as stoneware and textiles, allowing them to develop and flourish. Increased economic activity fostered a demand for finer decorative arts as well as for portraits and townscapes. This demand in turn encouraged new techniques to accommodate increased production. By enabling the importation of fine European goods, the canal was responsible for
providing a competitive atmosphere whereby folk artists had to innovate in order to thrive. A developing tourist trade that centered on Niagara Falls and other natural wonders greatly enhanced the development and popularity of Native American arts, particularly basketry and beadwork. In all respects, the Erie Canal was a locus of art and craft production as well as an agent of change. The large Whig campaign banner illustrated here was probably carried in parades or at political
gatherings during the 1840s. In this painting, the Erie Canal is of great importance: Not only does it dominate the right side of the banner, but this picture was likely based on a scene painted to celebrate the opening of the canal in 1825. The banner expresses the Whig belief that the development of coastal and internal transportation and the protection of home industries
were vital to the growing Republic. In the late nineteenth century, New York was transformed from a predominantly agricultural society to an urban, industrial one. The economic promise of the farm gave way to the factory and white-collar professions, and rural populations migrated to the cities. Transportation played a large role in this dramatic shift, as rail-
WHIG POLITICAL BANNER Terrence J. Kennedy (1820â&#x20AC;&#x201D;after 1879) Fleming and Auburn, New York C. 1840 Oil on canvas Diameter: 66" New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, gift of Stephen C. Clark, N-537.48
roads created concentrations of wealth, labor, and commerce in new urban centers. Simultaneously, immigration patterns also changed, with hundreds of thousands of new arrivals coming from eastern and southern Europe. New York City, specifically Ellis Island, was the largest point of entry, and many of these refugees settled in the Empire State. These new immigrants, poorer and less well educated than their predecessors,formed a large pool of inexpensive labor upon which industrial New York was built. The folk art of this era reflects the rise of commerce and popular culture. Shop figures, for example, illustrate the development of woodcarving traditions from their maritime origins to their application in creating vibrant expressions of commercial advertising in the urban environment. Their faddishness and reliance upon recognizable imagery represents an emerging American popular culture. Cigar Store Figureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Indian Maiden represents the most popular image created by show figure carvers in nineteenth-century New York. This figure was purchased in 1871 by Frederick Reinhardt, a tobacconist of Utica, New York. Reinhardt placed it on a second-story platform outside his store, where it stood for at least 50 years. Besides show figures, forms of popular entertainment such as the narrative panorama thrilled audiences in cities and villages across the state. There was greater continuity in crafts such as stoneware and native beadwork. The latter particularly caught the fancy of Victorian women, whose interest resulted in the increased popularity of this Shop figures, for native art form. The contact example, between Victorian and Iroillustrate the quois women at Niagara Falls led to a cultural development of exchange whereby Native woodcarving American arts were populartraditions from ized via publications such as Godey's Lady's Book and their maritime Iroquois women incorporated origins to vibrant Victorian taste in the beadexpressions of work they sold. Lavish discommercial plays of raised beadwork were a shared aesthetic advertising in the between Iroquois and Victourban rian women, forming yet environment. another example of New
CIGAR STORE FIGUREâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; INDIAN MAIDEN Thomas V. Brooks 11825-18951 New York City C. 1870 Painted wood Height: 68" New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, gift of Louis C. Jones, N-41.72
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York's capacity to assimilate people of diverse cultural origins. In the early and mid-twentieth century, New York City became the center for the discovery and appreciation of contemporary folk art. It was the image of the celebrated French self-taught artist Henri Rousseau as a native artistic genius that fueled the "vogue for primitivism" in the United States. Beginning in the 1920s, dealers, collectors, and artists actively sought American counterparts to Rousseau. Owing to New York City's emergence as a center of art and culture, much of the activity in folk art occurred there. The most important proponents of contemporary folk art were based in New York City: Alfred Barr Jr., director of The Museum of Modern Art, and collector-dealer Sidney Janis. Barr felt that nonacademic art was one of the three main strands of modern art, along with Cubism and Abstraction, and Dada and Surrealism. In 1938 Barr organized the MoMA exhibition "Masters of Popular Painting," which featured both European and American self-taught artists, including John Kane, Lawrence Lebduska, and Horace Pippin. In 1939 a modest exhibit entitled "Contemporary Unknown American Painters," em European descent, who painted mounted in the Members' Rooms of detailed representational scenes of MoMA by Janis, introduced the work great personal meaning. Manhattan of Anna Mary Robertson ("Grandma") galleries such as Galerie St. Etienne Moses and Morris Hirshfield. Janis' provided a public venue for these 1942 book, They Taught Themselves: artists. While Moses proved to have American Primitive Painters of the lasting appeal, many of these mid20th Century, featured 31 self-taught twentieth-century folk artists faded artists. The combination of Barr's from public view in the late 1940s credibility and Janis' enthusiasm pro- with the onset of Cold War anxieties pelled the work of contemporary self- and the rise of Abstract Expressiontaught artists into public ism as the new, triumphant view, where it was heralded ... contemporary American art form. by some as an antidote to sell-taught Lawrence Lebduska's the "sterility" of modern life artists are Self-Portrait in a Landscape and by others for its modillustrates the artist's eye for blurring the fantasy, ernist aesthetic and uniquely his love of animals, boundaries and his exceptional ability to American characteristics. Grandma Moses' between folk and draw and use color. Lebduska popularity inspired many fine art, was born in 1894 in Baltipeople to paint their memomore, but as a young child he rendering many moved ries and communities. As a with his parents to previous Czechoslovakia, where he result, New York in the 1940s became home to assumptions was trained in the art of numerous folk painters, glass making and decabout the nature stained many of them first- or orating. He returned to the of American art United States when he was second-generation immiobsolete. eighteen years old. He grants of eastern or south-
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worked for Elsie de Wolfe painting decorative murals and later opened his own decorating shop. Lebduska favored horses, which he had an opportunity to study up close while living on his uncle's farm in Maryland. Lebduska's bold and realistic paintings were quite popular in the 1930s and 1940s. The growing appreciation of late-twentieth century contemporary folk art was fueled by the liberal tenor of the 1960s, with its attendant interest in the offbeat and nonconformist. Another factor was the trend toward more innovative materials and techniques, and representational content, in contemporary art. Schooled artists played an important role in the discovery and promotion of contemporary folk art, just as they had for eighteenth- and nineteenth-century folk art earlier in the century. Folk artists who utilized recycled materials, created innovative forms, and were passionate in their ideas or convictions were most eagerly sought after.
SELF-PORTRAIT IN A LANDSCAPE Lawrence Lebduska (18944966) New York, New York 1943 Oil on canvas 37 x 43" Private collection, courtesy Galerie St. Etienne
THE CASTLE TO THE HIGH MOUNTAIN Joseph Schoell (1907-1992) Inwood, New York 1991 Painted metal 59 32 < 16" New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, museum purchase, N-185.92
The landmark 1970 exhibition "Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists," curated by Herbert W. Hemphill Jr. at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York, brought this material to a wider audience. Hemphill, himself a pioneering collector of twentieth-century folk art, influenced the field even further through the publication of TwentiethCentury American Folk Art and Artists, written with Julia Weissman, in 1974. This inclusive, eclectic volume set the tone for the study of contemporary folk art. Contemporary folk art in New York deals with the dichotomy between city and country, the disappearance of traditional ways of life, ethnic and regional identity, religious beliefs, and a preoccupation with the people and places of New York. Through experimentation with new materials, techniques, and subject matter, contemporary self-taught artists are blurring the boundaries between folk and fine art, rendering many previous assumptions about the nature of American art obsolete. Joseph Schoell, a retired tinsmith and plumber from Long Island, summered in Margaretville, New York, and sculpted tin "winter projects" to decorate the lawn of his summer home. His subjects included dragons, the Statue of Liberty, and European castles. Castle to the High Mountain was inspired by Cinderella's Castle at Disney World in Florida. Born in 1903, Vestie Davis grew up in Maryland and served in the Navy for seven years. After his release from service in 1928, he moved to New York City. There he held a series of temporary jobs until 1932, when he obtained an embalmer's license. Davis started painting seriously in the 1940s and is particularly known for his wellpopulated scenes of New York City life, such as Coney Island Boardwalk with Parachute Jump. He was selftaught, except for a correspondence course in cartooning, and he painted from life and from photographs. By 1 the 1950s he was exhibiting his works in galleries. Throughout a thirty-year painting career, Davis created more than eight hundred works. New York folk art illustrates many values and ideals that transcend cultural background and are distinctly
New York. First and foremost is a sense of place, a strong connection with the geography and built environment; this is visible in the scenes of New York's distinctive villages, waterways, and cities. Also evident is the robust spirit of commerce, as shown in works that advertise business activity or show pride in economic prosperity. Family and domestic life are always major human concerns, as are religion and spirituality, and New York folk artists have proven to be no exception. Perhaps the most pervasive characteristic of New York folk art is the underlying sense of change, as traditional ways of life are altered by the convergence of diverse peoples who become more alike by virtue of their shared experience. Folk art shows that New Yorkers embraced this change as they looked to the future with hope and optimism.* Paul S. D'Ambrosio is chiefcurator ofthe New York State Historical Association and The Farmers'Museum in Cooperstown, New York His exhibition Empire State Mosaic: The Folk Art of New York is on view at the Association's Fenimore Art Museum through December 31.1r is funded in part by a generous grantfrom the National Endowmentfor the Arts. SOURCES Blackburn, Roderic H., and Ruth Piwonka. Remembrance ofPatria: Dutch Arts and Culture in Colonial America, 1609-1776. Albany, N.Y.: Albany Institute of History and Art, 1988. De Julio, Mary Antoine. German Folk Arts ofNew York State. Albany, N.Y.: Albany Institute of History and Art, 1985. Ellis, David M.,et al. A History ofNew York State. Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press, 1957. Janis, Sidney. They Taught Themselves: American Primitive Painters ofthe 20th Century. New York: The Dial Press, 1942. Kern, Arthur B. and Sybil B."Painters of Record: William Murray and His School." The Clarion, vol. 12, no. 1 (Winter 1987): 28-35. Ketchum, William C. Jr. Early Potters and Potteries ofNew York State. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1970. Sessions, Ralph."The Image Business: Shop and Cigar Store Figures in America." Folk Art, vol. 21, no.4 (Winter 1996/97): 54-60.
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58 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
American Masonic Ritualâ&#x20AC;˘ paintmas
Fig. 1 MASTER'S CARPET Attributed to John Ritto Penniman Boston c. 1820-1825 Oil on linen 65 41" Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, Massachusetts, 89.76
By William D. Moore
n May 1819, the artist John Ritto identify this building as King Solomon's temple, the legPenniman (1782-1841) informed read- endary location of Freemasonry's founding.' Largely overlooked by traditional historians of ers of the New England Galaxy and Masonic Magazine, a weekly newspa- American art, paintings like Penniman's are identified synper published in Boston, that he would onymously in contemporary sources as "tracing boards," paint "Floorings...for Masonic "floorcloths," "Masonic charts," and "Master's carpets." Lodges." Five years later, in the Most commonly commissioned by the fraternity between Masonic Mirror and Mechanic's Intel- 1740 and 1860, these paintings were designed as visual ligencer, the artist assured the public aids for instructing initiates who underwent the sacred cerethat he was still in business and that monies that vested them with Masonic membership. These "particular attention [would be] paid charts were produced by local and itinerant artists, includto...Masonic designs."' As a member of Boston's St. ing Ezra Ames (1768-1836) and John Gadsby Chapman John's Lodge, Penniman drew upon his fraternal affiliation (1808-1889).6 By examining a small number of these to validate his expertise in this line of employment; as an images, this essay will present historical precedents for entrepreneurial artist, he ambitiously capitalized on his their use and will argue that these secret paintings, conceived as didactic aids and viewed privately by the fraternal ability to meet the needs of diverse patrons.' An oil on linen painting attributed to Penniman lends body, played a significant role in shaping our national ideninsight into what the artist was commissioned to create as a tity as a republican nation. The fraternal organization known as Freemasonry result of these advertisements (Fig. 1). A massive edifice defined by a Corinthian colonnade and a floor tiled in a has roots in Britain dating back to the end of the sevencheckerboard pattern comprises the central focus of this teenth century. Influenced by Rosicrucianism, Neoplatoncomposition.4 The seal of the Grand Lodge of Free and ism, and other esoteric ideas current in late Renaissance Accepted Masons of the State of Massachusetts appears on culture, men of leisure joined stonemasons' guilds. By the the structure's entablature, while allegorical statues repre- early eighteenth century, these groups had lost their consenting faith, hope, and charity ornament the roofline. For stituency of workers and had become ethical and philothose conversant with Masonic iconography, the pair of sophical societies made up of gentlemen. Combining matching columns supporting globes in the foreground Enlightenment thought and ideas of self-improvement with
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respect for ancient knowledge, the transformed fraternity spread throughout England and across the European continent. Freemasonry first arrived on the shores of North America in the 1730s, and by 1765 there were lodges in each of the thirteen colonies.7 Prominent individuals including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Andrew Jackson, Dewitt Clinton, and countless men of lesser social stature joined Masonic lodges.' However, the fraternity was almost eradicated in America during the 1820s and 1830s in a wave of anti-Masonic ardor driven by democratic fervor and Christian evangelical zeal. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Freemasons proclaimed themselves successors to the laborers who erected King Solomon's temple, the structure that was built to house the Ark of the Covenant on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem and that served as the central worshipping place of the ancient Israelites. Drawing upon this legendary origin, Masonic lodges taught their members a system of ethics and morals based upon architectural allegories and metaphors. A man became a Freemason by undergoing rituals in which supposedly ancient wisdom was revealed. As he was welcomed into the brotherhood, he was introduced to the symbolic meaning of the fraternity's iconography. The stone block depicted on the right in Penniman's painting, for example, represents a rough ashlar; according to Masonic custom it was taken directly from a quarry. As raw material unsuited for building, it symbolized a man in his natural state, before becoming a Mason. The perfect ashlar, on the left, under the beehive, denotes a man after he has been schooled in the tenets of Masonry, his character shorn of the rough edges of unbridled emotion and irrational thought. The aim of Masonry was to transa
SO WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
form the initiate into a useful participant in a cohesive and stable society, symbolically composed of such building blocks. Solomon's temple, a structure built from perfect ashlars, served as a metaphor for a society made up of enlightened citizens. As historian Stephen Bullock has chronicled, Freemasonry played an important and complex role in the formation of America's national identity. Masonic concepts permeated American civic life in both the final years of the colonial period and the early days of the republic. During the cornerstone-laying ceremony of the United States Capitol on September 18, 1793, George Washington even employed Masonic symbols and ceremonies for the dedication of the structure that would house the nation's government.9 During the country's formative years, many of America's most valued ideals were imparted visually to new Masonic initiates through the use of these ritually charged paintings. For example, the level featured prominently in each of these works symbolized egalitarianism, while the beehive emphasized industriousness and the benefits of collaborative action. American Masonic ritual practices and patterns of material culture were derived from English precedents. British historians have reported that, in the early part of the eighteenth century, the symbols of the fraternity were drawn, in either chalk or sand, upon the floor of a lodge's
Fig. 2 MASONIC FLOORCLOTH Artist unknown England or Halifax, North Carolina C. 1764-1772 Oil on fabric / 2" 72 411 Courtesy the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Fig. 3 FLOORCLOTH Artist unknown Charlottesville, Virginia c. 1800 Oil on canvas 40% . 311 / 2" Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Fig. 4 TRACING BOARD Artist unknown Delaware County, New York c. 1800 Oil on canvas 2 . 34" / 531 Livingston Masonic Library, New York, gift of St. Andrew's Lodge No. 289, Hobart, New York
Freemasonry in the region, this painting may have been produced in England and transported to the colony." The letters N, S, E, and W painted on the periphery of the cloth indicate its correct placement upon the floor of the lodge's meeting room, with the letters symbolically corresponding to the earth's physical coordinates: north, south, east, and west. Like a typical Masonic lodge room, the cloth is longer than it is wide. The Masonic pillars, bearing globes called Jachin and Boaz, flank a set of three steps at the west end of the cloth. As mentioned previously, the pillars are a reference to Solomon's temple. The steps represent the three degrees of Freemasonry—Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason—and also the stages of life: youth, adulthood, and old age. An open Bible supporting a square and compass appears near the east end of the cloth. The Bible's location within the lodge room represents English ritual practices of the period. As time passed, American Masonic ritual paintings diverged from their English counterparts. Around 1800, these works began to be exhibited vertically within a lodge room rather than horizontally upon the floor. Initials indicating directionals disappeared from the compositions. The works were no longer rolled and stored when not in use; they were framed. To maintain the secrecy of the organization's proceedings, however, and to prevent the uninitiated from studying these esoteric compositions, they were sometimes covered with curtains. In 1797, for example, Apollo Lodge No. 49 in Troy, New York, purchased a Master's carpet, frame, and curtains for $23." Similarly, in 1816 Boston's Columbian Lodge placed a curtain over their "flooring," a John Ritto Penniman painting that hung on a wall." In February 1800, Widow's Son Lodge No. 60 in Milton (in Albemarle County and later incorporated by Charlottesville), Virginia, paid $21 to Brother Justt Gambrille "for a for [sic] Cloth & Seal."4 The group received a work featuring the requisite Masonic symbols and emblazoned with the lodge's name (Fig. 3). Although it is difficult to determine if this painting were meant to be displayed horizontally or vertically, the chart differs in meeting space. These drawings transformed the meeting place into a representation of Solomon's temple; steps and pillars were located at the symbolic west end of the room, while the presiding officer, called the Master, was seated opposite, enacting the role of Solomon. To ensure that the Masons' teachings remained secret, a member of the fraternity, often the candidate, erased the drawings after each meeting. In time, the process of drawing symbols before each initiation and erasing them afterward became burdensome. English and American lodges began to acquire cloths with the symbols painted upon them. These cloths were laid out in the center of the room during ceremonies and rolled up and stored between gatherings.'° One representative example of these floorcloths is owned by Royal White Hart Lodge No. 2 of Halifax, North Carolina (Fig. 2). Given to the organization in the second half of the eighteenth century by Joseph Montfort, a prominent individual within North Carolina's colonial government, a member of the Lodge, and an important figure in the establishment of
Fig. 5 FRONTISPIECE OF THE BUILDER'S JEWEL Thomas and Batty Langley London 1741 Engraving on paper 5'/16 '3", Courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia
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WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART Si
three significant ways from the earlier White Hart Lodge's cloth. First, it lacks initials indicating axes. Second, it includes an arch with a keystone, indicative of the iconographic influence of the Royal Arch degree, which had begun to be practiced in Virginia in the 1750s. Finally, the Bible with square and compass appears near the center of the painting, surrounded by candles. This final difference reflects the floor plan of an American Masonic lodge room in which the Bible resided on the altar in the center of the room, instead of near the Master's chair, as in an English Masonic lodge." As visual aids for teaching the fraternity's lessons, ritual paintings shared basic characteristics. The makers, however, sought inspiration from a variety of sources. The unidentified creator of a tracing board from New York's Delaware County,for example, based his painting upon the frontispiece of Thomas and Batty Langley's The Builder's Jewel, an influential architectural instruction book published in London in 1741 (Figs. 4 and 5). Batty Langley, a Freemason, had embedded Masonic symbolism and meaning within this work." His engraving found currency within American Masonic circles, and also served as inspiration for a spectacular Masonic chair created around 1770 by Benjamin Bucktrout of Williamsburg, Virginia." For many years the Langley-derived tracing board was owned by St. Andrew's Lodge No. 289 of Hobart, New York. Dating from before the Hobart lodge was chartered in 1853, however, the work may also have been associated with St. Andrew's Lodge No. 45, which met in Stamford, New
62 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
York, between 1796 and 1832." Appropriating an image rich with Masonic allusions and reshaping it to meet the didactic needs of the fraternity's rituals, the unidentified creator reproduced several features from this English source, including the three pillars and the floor plan of Solomon's temple, which is suspended from the center pillar in the painting. However, the artist significantly altered the context in which the pillars exist. The landscape in the engraving has been replaced with three steps and tiled pavement. Masonic symbols, including the trowel, pot of incense, gavel, and hourglass now float between the pillars. Further, while the frontispiece includes a moon upon the central column, the tracing board's artist has added seven stars surrounding the moon, also recorded in both the Virginia and North Carolina examples. Two undated and unattributed tracing boards found in central New York are related in design to an engraving by Thomas Kensett (1786-1829) published in Cheshire, Connecticut, in 1812 (Fig. 6)." Kensett's work, distributed both as a print and as ornamentation on Masonic ritual aprons, may be based upon an earlier engraved source.2° Subsequently, in 1823 Samuel E. Bettle of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, produced an exact copy of Kensett's design. The first of the two tracing boards, a painting formerly owned by Cherry Valley Lodge No. 334 of Cherry Valley, New York, presents a pair of Masonic pillars situated before an abstracted three-story structure built of colonnades (Fig. 7).2' As in Kensett's engraving, a landscape appears between the sets of columns on the top level of the structure while a pair of angels support drapery covering the capitals of the columns. The Senior Warden of a Lodge, pictured wearing a level around his neck, stands at a half-open door, as he does in Kensett's work. The painting differs from Kensett's engraving in that the sun and moon appear near the bottom of the composition, rather than at the top. The second of the paintings from New York was owned by Western Star Lodge No. 15, located in the hamlet of Bridgewater, south of Utica (Fig. 8). This organization, founded in 1797, is one of the few lodges in the area to have met continuously throughout the antiMasonic period, surviving into the present.22 Because of the similarities between these two paintings, they have been attributed to the same unidentified hand. (The eight-pointed figure appearing in the center foreground of both, for instance, may be a variant of the blazing star featured prominently in the North Carolina
Fig. 6 â&#x20AC;˘ MASTER'S CARPET COMPLEAT Thomas Kensett Cheshire, Connecticut 1812 Engraving on paper 16 13" The Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut
Fig. 7 TRACING BOARD Artist unknown Cherry Valley, New York c. 1810 Oil on canvas 52/ 1 4. 40/ 1 4" Livingston Masonic Library, New York, gift of Cherry Valley Lodge No. 334, Cherry Valley, New York
4 Fig. 8 TRACING BOARD Artist unknown Bridgewater, New York c. 1810 Oil on canvas 52/ 3 4 40/ 3 4" Livingston Masonic Library, New York, gift of Western Star Lodge No. 15, Bridgewater, New York
LV.
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floorcloth.) There are some important differences, however. The edifice in the Bridgewater painting has four floors instead of three, and features two sets of suns and moons, one at the top and one at the bottom, and a rainbow supported by a second set of putti. Starting in the 1790s, Masonic reformers attempted to adapt and standardize Masonic ritual. Thomas Smith Webb contributed to this effort in 1797 by publishing his Freemason's Monitor, derived in part from the work of the English ritualist William Preston.23 Jeremy Cross, in turn, drew upon Webb's text in publishing The Masonic Chart in 1818. This volume's major innovation was the inclusion of engravings of Masonic images. A collaborative effort between Cross and the famous engraver Amos Doolittle (1754-1832), from New Haven, Connecticut, this book standardized Masonic symbolism.' The frontispiece, entitled "Master's Carpet" and probably derived from a painted work, served as a source for many later Masonic graphics. This volume also introduced a new symbol, apparently designed by Cross, into American Masonic iconography. The image, a virgin weeping over a broken column with Father Time counting the ringlets of her hair, is found only in parts of the world where Americans have disseminated Freemasonry. Masonic ritual paintings dating from after 1818 can be distinguished from earlier works by the presence of this icon. A second tracing board associated with Bridgewater, New York's Western Star Lodge No. 15 and dating from about 1824 (Fig. 9), includes the symbol in its lower right quadrant. This work was painted by Oliver Harris (dates unknown), who in 1824 served as Master of Sanger Lodge No. 176 in the town of Sangerfield, a community adjacent to Bridgewater. Harris' handling of the central winding staircase further indicates his familiarity with Doolittle's engravings for Cross' book. The artist may have produced this work because the lodge's earlier chart, lacking the latest ritual innovations, had become obsolete. In 1824 Harris produced a tracing board for Sanger Lodge No. 176 that is similar in design to the one created for Western Star Lodge No. 15, but executed in a different palette.25 Judging by the arrangement of images, the Harris paintings were probably derived from Kensett's 1812 engraving. As the two other works from central New York are graphically related to this image, these four paintings, although differing greatly in style and format, share a common lineage. Starting in the 1850s, painted Masonic charts were supplanted by lithographs created to serve the same didactic purpose. In 1855, for example, John W.Leonard & Co., an influential Masonic publishing and regalia firm based in New York City, advertised the publication of the Masonic Symbolic Chart and Craftsman's Practical Trestle Board. This lithograph by Adam Weingartner (dates unknown) was "beautifully colored, and mounted on canvas, with rollers, in map form." Described as being ancient Egyptian in style, it sold for $2.50 each or $18 for a dozen.26 Similarly, in 1856 James Kelly of Philadelphia advertised that he was the sole agent in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for "a new MASONIC CHART, published by Brother Downs, of Buffalo, N.Y."n Lithographic tracing boards were subse-
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quently produced by J.H. Bufford & Sons of Boston, Strobridge & Company of Cincinnati, and Currier & Ives of New York, among others.22 With the advent of lithographic charts, the idiosyncratic painted carnets, perceived as being old-fashioned and out of date, were set aside, stored away, and ignored. In 1916 E.H. Dring, the seminal historian of English Masonic ritual paintings, wrote to the United States to inquire about American examples. The response he received from W.C. Prime, a Freemason from Yonkers, New York, describes the status of these works in 1916 and, in large part, to this day: "I have seen in certain of our Lodges, Charts or emblems of the several degrees, usually framed and hanging on a wall. They...are rarely examined and practically never referred to."29 Although Masonic ritual paintings were kept hidden from public view in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and have been largely ignored for the last 140 years, they are an important facet of our American visual heritage. Historians have recently come to recognize the
role that Freemasonry played in spreading rationalism and Enlightenment thought throughout the West. These paintings were physical conduits through which abstract ideas were conveyed to individuals in American communities removed from European urban centers. These visual tools, filled with arcane symbols and constellations of images, were used by men to educate each other in concepts of citizenship, cooperation, and proper personal deportment during the colonial period and the first decades of the republic. Although they appear alien to today's unschooled eyes, they played a pivotal role in tutoring the Masonic membership in such familiar values as equality, personal responsibility, and civic association.* William D. Moore holds a Ph.D.from the American and New England Studies Program at Boston University. He has written and lectured extensively onfraternal history and material culture. He served as director ofThe Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library ofGrand Lodge in New York City and is currently the director ofthe Enfield Shaker Museum in Enfield, New Hampshire.
Fig. 9 TRACING BOARD Oliver Harris Sangerfield, New York C. 1824 Oil on canvas 40 . 54" Livingston Masonic Library, New York, gift of Western Star Lodge No. 15, Bridgewater, New York
NOTES 1 New England Galaxy and Masonic Magazine 2(83)(May 14,1819), 1. The author thanks Paula Locklair, director of collections and curator at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Michael Heslip, paintings conservator at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center, Williamstown, Massachusetts,for their assistance. 2 Masonic Mirror and Mechanic's Intelligencer 1(1)(Nov. 27,1824), 3. 3 For an overview of Penniman's career, see Carol Damon Andrews,"John Ritto Penniman (1782-1841)an ingenious New England artist," The Magazine Antiques, vol. CXX,no. 1 (July 1981), 147-170. 4 For a brief discussion of this work, see John D. Hamilton, Material Culture ofthe American Freemasons(Lexington, Mass.: Museum of Our National Heritage, 1994), 43. A description of another Masonic painting by Penniman, created in 1815 and destroyed by fire in 1864, appears in Centenary of Columbian Lodge A.F. and A.M.(Boston: Published by Order of the Lodge, 1895),95. 5 For a discussion of the legend that undergirds the Masonic rituals, see William D. Moore,"Structures of Masculinity: Masonic Temples, Material Culture, and Ritual Gender Archetypes in New York State, 1870-1930,"(Ph.D. dis., Boston: Boston University, 1999), 15-46. 6 Thomas Bolton and Irwin F. Cortelyou,Edward Ames of Albany(New York: New-York Historical Society, 1955), 25-43; A BriefHistory ofAlexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, A.F. & A.M.(Alexandria, Va.: Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, n.d.), 2. 7 David Stevenson, The Origins ofFreemasonry: Scotland's Century, 1590-1710(Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Frances A. Yates, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment(New York: Barnes and Noble, 1996), 206-219. 8 The best current study of American Freemasonry in this time period is Steven C. Bullock,Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation ofthe American Social Order, 1730-1840(Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1996). 9 Bullock, op. cit., 137-138. 10 E.H. Dring,"The Evolution and Development of the Tracing or Lodge Board," Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 29(1916), 243-264. 11 For a history of Royal White Hart Lodge No. 2,see "Some Famous Lodges," The Royal Arch Mason 4(1)(March 1952), 5-8; Walter C. Crowell,"The Oldest Masonic Building in the World," Nocalore 2(1)(1932),51-57; and Thomas C. Parramore, Launching the Craft: The First Half-Century of Freemasonry in North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.: Grand Lodge of North Carolina, A.F. and A.M., 1975), 21-28. For a biographical sketch of Montfort, see J. Ray Shute,"Joseph Montfort, Provincial Grand Master," Nocalore 8(1938), 34-49. Sources differ as to when Montfort donated the painting to the Lodge. Notes in the curatorial files at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts indicate that the Lodge's records show the donation as taking place in 1765. Both Crowell and Parramore give the date as 1772. 12 Nelson Gillespie, History ofApollo Lodge No. 13, Free and Accepted Masons, Troy, N.Y.(Troy, N.Y.: Henry Stowell, 1886), 14. Appollo Lodge No.49 was at some point renumbered No. 13. 13 John T. Heard,A Historical Account of Columbian Lodge ofFree and Accepted Masons ofBoston, Mass.(Boston: Alfred Mudge and Son, 1856), 220. 14 Curatorial files of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
15 For a discussion of American Masonic lodge rooms, see William D. Moore,"The Masonic Lodge Room, 1870-1930: A Sacred Space of Masculine Spiritual Hierarchy," in Elizabeth Collins Cromley and Carter L. Hudgins, eds., Gender, Class, and Shelter: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture V (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1995), 26-39. For examples of English lodge rooms,see Neville Barker Cryer, Masonic Halls ofEngland: The Midlands(Shepperton, England: Lewis Masonic, 1989). 16 Lionel Vibert,"Batty Langley," Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 45(1935), 101-102. 17 F. Carey Howlett,"Admitted into the Mysteries: The Benjamin Bucktrout Masonic Master's Chair," American Furniture (1996), 195-232. 18 "St. Andrew's Lodge 289, Hobart, Celebrates 125th Anniversary," Walton Reporter(July 19,1978), 10. 19 Bespangled, Painted, & Embroidered: Decorated Masonic Aprons in America 1790-1850(Lexington, Mass.: Museum of Our National Heritage, 1980), 86-87. 20 Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 of Alexandria, Virginia, owns an apron with a similar design that was supposedly presented to General William Schuyler by George Washington around 1770. See Howlett, op. cit., 221. 21 This work was donated to the Livingston Masonic Library by New York's Cherry Valley Lodge No. 334. This lodge, however, was not the original owner, as it was not established until 1854, well after the painting's execution. The work was probably commissioned by one of the two earlier lodges in Cherry Valley. Trinity Lodge No. 139 was chartered in the village in 1806 and functioned until about 1811, when it foundered due to financial difficulties. In 1816 a petition for a new lodge was submitted to the Grand Lodge of New York by residents of the village. This resulted in the 1817 chartering of Cherry Valley Lodge No. 276, which met regularly until antiMasonic pressure caused it to dissolve sometime between 1828 and 1834. See F. Le Vere Winne,History ofFree Masonry in Cherry Valley, N.Y. 1806 to 1932(Cherry Valley, N.Y.: The Levere Press, 1932), 5-13. 22 175th Anniversary 1797-1972 Western Star Lodge No. 15 A.F. & AM.(Bridgewater, N.Y.: Western Star Lodge No. 15, 1972). 23 Bullock, op. cit., 244. 24 Barbara Franco,"Masonic Imagery," Aspects ofAmerican Printmaking, 1800-1850(Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1988), 21-24. 25 William H. Getman,a member of Sanger Lodge No. 129, brought this painting to my attention. Sanger Lodge No. 176 was at some point renumbered No. 129. It was exhibited at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica, New York,from October 12,1980, to February 1,1981. See The Masonic Tradition in the Decorative Arts(Utica, N.Y.: Munson-WilliamsProctor Institute, 1980), 42. 26 mo. W. Leonard & Co.'s List ofMasonic Works, including all the Standard Publications and Re-publications in relation to Freemasonry(New York: Jno. Leonard & Co., 1855). See also The American Freemason 3(24)(Sept. 15, 1855), 92. In 1855, Adam Weingartner was a lithographer at 143 Fulton Street in New York City; see H. Wilson, comp., Trow's New York City Directoryfor the Year Ending May 1, 1856(New York: John F. Trow, 1855), 866. In that same year, he produced symbolic Masonic lithographs included in Robert Macoy, The Book of the Lodge(New York: Clark, Austin & Smith, 1855). 27 Capitalization in original. Masonic Mirror 5(9)(Feb. 27, 1856), 111. 28 Franco, op. cit., 27-28; Hamilton, op. cit., 45-47. 29 Dring, op. cit., 290.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 85
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;CD
January 28 - 30 friday noon - 8pm saturday llam - 7pm sunday llam - 6pm
preview january 27 to benefit the Museum of American Folk Art uncommon artists VIII symposium saturday january 29 presented by the museum of american folk art and new york university preview and symposium information: 212.977.7170 iierica
itive the ames margaret bodell henry boxer
gallery gallery gallery gallery j crist galerie bonheur galerie bourbon-lally galerie des 4 coins galerie st. etienne galerie susanne zander gasperi gallery gilley's gallery carl hammer gallery marion harris dean jensen gallery k.s. art keny galleries phyllis kind gallery frank j. miele gallery modern primitive gallery leslie muth gallery aron packer gallery the pardee collection ricco/maresca gallery rising fawn folk art luise ross gallery jennifer pinto safian sailor's valentine gallery judy a. saslow gallery pablo stahli gallery angela usrey gallery
the puck building lafayette a houston streets soho, new york city
edwin lawson, courtesy ricco/maresca gallery
FAs 1-1 to N5 sanford I. smith & associates
212.777.5218 fax: 212.477.6490
info(iv sanfordsm ith.com
www.sanfordsmith.com
MUSEUM
BENEFIT
der Ar a Werstit P evie Presented by the Museum of American Folk Art's Contemporary Center Thursday, January 27,2000 The Puck Building Lafayette and Houston Streets New York City Join us for a festive evening on the Opening Night of the Outsider Art Fair for cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and a silent auction. Early Admission to the Benefit Preview from 5:30 to 9:00 P.M. Benefactor $500 per person ($440 is tax-deductible) Supporter $200 per person($150 is tax-deductible) Americus Specially pricedfor persons 35 years and under $100 per person ($50 is tax-deductible) General Admission to the Benefit Preview from 6:30 to 9:00 P.M. Friend $75 per person($35 is tax-deductible) To purchase tickets, please contact Jennifer Scott, 212/977-7170,ext 308, or specialevents@folkartmuseum.org. For information on this year's symposium,"Uncommon Artists VBI," see the next page.
UNTITLED (Three Figures) Mary Tillman Smith (1904-1995) Hazelhurst, Mississippi Late twentieth century House paint on plywood 4" 1 32 48 . / Museum of American Folk Art, Blanchard-Hill Collection, gift of M. Anne Hill and Edward V. Blanchard Jr., 1998.10.47
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 67
SYMPOSIUM
AND
DAY
TRIP
EPSTEIN/POWELL 66 Grand St., New York, N.Y. 10013 By Appointment(212)226-7316 e-mail: artfolks@mindspring.com
Jesse Aaron Rex Clawson Antonio Esteves Victor Joseph Gatto (Estate) S.L. Jones Tustin McCarthy Old Ironsides Pry Popeye Reed Max Romain Bill Roseman (Estate) Jack Savitsky Clarence Stringfield Mose Tolliver and other classic American outsiders We're a short walk from the Outsider Fair
University Press of Mississippi
Kevin Blythe Sampson Brooke Davis Anderson, director and curator, Museum ofAmerican Folk Art's Contemporary Center
Saturday,January 29,2000 10:00 A.M.-12:00 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 Non-members: $35
For reservations, call the Folk Art Institute at 212/977-7170.
Greetings Dr. Judith Weissman,director of folk art studies, associate professor ofart, New York University Gerard C. Wertkin, director, Museum ofAmerican Folk Art
http://www.upress.state.ms.us
The Art of William Edmondson Co-published with the Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville, Tennessee A showcase of works by the Tennessee artist called the greatest folk carver of the twentieth century, with 20 fullcolor photographs and 190 duotones included $60 cloth, $30 paper
Find at your local bookstore or order at 1-800-737-7788.
68 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
UNCOMMON ARTISTS VIII: A SERIES OF CAMEO TALKS A symposium presented by the Museum of American Folk Art and New York University
Introduction Lee Kogan, director, Museum of American Folk Art's Folk An Institute and curator ofspecial projectsfor the Museum's Contemporary Center Tracks of August Walla Dr. Johann Feilacher, director, House ofArtists, Maria Gugging, Austria Menagerie in Wood: Felipe Archuleta Michael Hall, artist, author, and curator Ronald Lockett Paul Arnett, cocurator, the Arnett Collection
INSIDE OUTSIDER ART IN NEW YORK A Museum of American Folk Art Explorers Day Trip Thursday,January 27,2000 9:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M. Museum members:$70 Non-members: $85 Lunch included This annual tour will meet at the Museum of American Folk Art, Eva and Morris Feld Gallery on Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, at 9:00 A.M. The tour will include a visit to the museum at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, which exhibits work by residents and outpatients of the center. A tour of the Museum of American Folk Art's current exhibition,"Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art," as well as a visit to a local collection of contemporary folk art, will round out the day. Motorcoach transportation and lunch are included in the tour cost. Enrollment is limited. For reservations, call the membership office at 212/977-7170. For other Winter programs, see page 92.
American Folk Art Sidney Gecker
RARE PENNSYLVANIA SCHERENSCHNTIT ATTRIBUTED TO ISAAC FAUST STIEHLY (1800-1869). BLACK AND wnrrE WITH A RED, WHITE AND BLUE FLAG. MAHANTONGO VALLEY, CIRCA 1835. "LIBERTY."
13 x 16 INCHES. IN EXCELLENT CONDMON. VERY SIMILAR TO THE EXAMPLE IN THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF At SEE HENRY M. REED,DECORATED
FURNITURE OF THE MAHANTONGO VALLEY, PAGE 52,FIG.39.
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SUPERB PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN SCHERENSCHNITT VALENTINE WITH BIRDS, TULIPS AND COMPASS STARS IN RED,BLUE AND GREEN ON WHITE PAPER OVER BLACK BACKGROUND.
16 x 15'4 INCHES. IN FINE, ORIGINAL CONDMON.
226 West 21st Street, New York, N.Y. 10011 •(212)929-8769, Appointment Suggested. •Subject to prior sale.
Visit us online
2000 Outsider / Contemporary Folk Art Images December 1, 1999 through December 31, 2000 http://weberart.home.mindspring.com
4.004•1„..peptiop•...
Marcia Weber/Art Objects 1050 Woodley Road • Montgomery, Alabama 36106 334.262.5349 • weberart @ mindspring.com • Fax: 334.567.0060
BOOKS
OF
INTEREST
he following recent titles are available at the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop,2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, New York City. To order, please call 212/496-2966. Museum members receive a 10 percent discount.
T
The American Art Book, Megan McFarland and Jay Tobler, eds., Phaidon, 1999, 512 pages, hardcover, $39.95 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 Art of William Edmondson, Checkwood Museum of Art/University Press of Mississippi, 2000, 256 pages, paperback,$30(available 1/00) Backyard Visionaries: Grassroots Art in the Midwest, Barbara Brackman and Cathy Dwigans, eds., University Press of Kansas, 1999, 146 pages, hardcover, $39.95 Beyond Reason. Art and Psychosis: Worksfrom the Prinzhorn Collection, Hayward Gallery/University of California, 1996, 195 pages, paperback, $35 Bill Traylor(1854-1949), Deep Blues, Josef Helfenstein and Roman Kurzmeyer, eds., Yale University, 1999, 192 pages, paperback, $29.95
The Cast-OffRecast: Recycling and the Creative Transformation ofMass-Produced Objects, Timothy Corrigan Correll and Patrick Arthur Polk, eds., UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1999, 148 pages, paperback,$29 The End Is Near! Visions of Apocalypse, Millennium and Utopia, Roger Manley, Dilettante, 1998, 192 pages. paperback, $34.95
Sloan Folk Art Auction FHF1 SOL )11( I
I ()II
Self-Thughlt Art
Masters
Graven Images: New England Stonecarving and Its Symbols, 1650-1815, Allan I. Ludwig, Wesleyan University,2000 (reprint from 1966),514 pages, paperback,$29.95 (available 1/00) Illinois Jacquard Coverlets and Weavers:End ofa Legacy, Nancy Iona Glick and Katherine H. Molumby,Lakeview Museum, 1999,74 pages, paperback,$25 I Made This Jar: The Life and Works ofthe Enslaved AfricanAmerican Potter, Dave, Jill Beute Koverman, ed., McKissick Museum, 1998, 101 pages, paperback,$33
March 18 & 19
The Intuitive Eye: The Mendelsohn Collection, Ricco/ Maresca Gallery/Fotofolio, 2000,94 pages, paperback, $30(available 1/100) James Castle 1900-1977, J. Crist Gallery, 1999,43 pages, paperback, $17 James Castle & the Book, Tom Trusky, Idaho Center for the Book, 1999, 18 pages, paperback, with a set of six hand-sewn facsimiles of Castle books, $19.95 (continued on page 76)
CATALOG • S25 5967 Blackberry Ln. Buford, GA 30518
ALSO INTRODUCING NEW WEBSITE
www.selftaughtart.com Buy • Sell • Trade The Site Where Everyone Can Participate!
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 71.
outsiderartauctions.com
of Atintbt ESTABLISHED 1973
1 mesiin &itiiieru oi LArt Berneta Crowder b. 1920 "Sharing the Best Watermelon in Wade County" Acrylic on Canvas, 9"x 12"
5325 Roswell Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30342 Phone: 404-252-0485 Fax: 404-252-0359
(Other works by Berneta Crowder available)
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 73
4
JAMES HAROLD JENNINGS Animal Art World 1992
rrhie0 ( 4 Carol(7rown
$50 • 144 pages • full-color throughout • ISBN 0-914457-99-3
CONIIMPORARY //iERIC/P1 IRK /RI II SEl1-IAU6H1 /RI
Wonders to ehold:
Mike Smith•At Home Gallery 3916 Pondfield Court Greensboro. North Carolina 27410 AtHome98@aol.com (336) 664-0022
The Visionary Art of Myrtice West Edited by Carol Crown Working in obscurity in rural Alabama for seven years, Myrtice West painted the entire Book of Revelation in 13 large paintings. Exhibited in public only twice, West's Revelation Series is the subject of a new book featuring essays by 17 renowned writers and artists, including Roger Manley, Tom Patterson, Lee Kogan, Charles Rosenak, Rebecca Hoffberger, Howard Finster, and Ann Oppenhimer. The definitive work on Myrtice West and apocalypticism among self-taught artists, Wonders to Behold will appeal to anyone fascinated by visionary art and the current furor about the new millennium. "Myrtice West's remarkable painting satisfies intellectually as well as spiritually and aesthetically." — Roger Manley
Myrtice West will sign and number a limited, collector's edition of 500 copies, to be sold on a first-come basis. TO: Mustang Publishing, PO Box 770426, Memphis, TN, 38177 • USA )Send copyiies) of the signed and numbered edition of Wonders to Behold at $100 each, postpaid. 0 Send
copy(ies) of Wonders to Behold at $55 each, postpaid.
Check or money order enclosed. ri charge my credit card: 7 VISA 1 MasterCard 7I AMEX Card # Name Address City Zip/Post Code
Discover
Exp.
State Country
Credit card orders in the U.S. and Canada can call toll-free: 800-250-8713. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 901-684-1200 or fox 901-684-1256.• Orders outside the U.S. and Canada, please add $10 for shipping, and pay in U.S. fund, • Note, All books will ship by Nov. 1, 1999. If your order arrives after the 500 signed, numbered copies hove been sold, we will automatically ship a regular book at the lower price. • Discounts available for retailers ond librories; please call for details.
74 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
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SPECIAL OFFER FOR READERS OF FOLK ART:
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A Very Special Collection... HANDMADE ADAPTATIONS inspired by designsfrom the Museum of American Folk Art's collection of tradesigns, weathervanes, and whirligigs. Now available at the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop and other fine stores throughout the country.
MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART COLLECTION
144;
For information contact 1-800-268-9724. limadd@spearanetca
This Ark is being produced Limited Edition of 20 11 Numbered & Signed by Artist
Noalts Ark Sunday'coy 26"Hx261x6-W
GOODI3001( FOLKAKT
/11 Original works by self taught American Folk Artist
Maurice (Mo) Dallas Sr. Folkart Angels, Arks, Sunday Toys, Sacred Images and Icons For more information or exhibit schedule for year 2000
GOODBOOK FOLKART Attn. KELLY DALLAS P.O. Box 209 Gambier, Ohio 43022-0209 Phone: 740397-8872 Fax: 740-397-8636 Accepting commissions for original works from the trade or private collectors In appreciation to the response we receivedfrom our window exhibit at the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, N.Y N.Y. - Nov. 99 Thank you, Mo Dallas
WINTER 1999/2003 FOLK ART 75
BOOKS
OF
INTEREST
Continuedfrom page 71
The Kingdoms ofEdward Hicks, Carolyn J. Weekley, Abrams, 1999, 312 pages, hardcover, $39.95 The Ledgerbook ofThomas Blue Eagle, Jewel H. Grutman and Gay Matthaei, Lickle, 1999, 72 pages, hardcover, $18.95
LENN1AL DREAMS Vision and Prophecy in American Art
Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art, Gerard C. Wertkin, Museum of American Folk Art, 1999,40 pages, paperback,$10 Outsider Art ofthe South, Kathy Moses, Schiffer, 1999,240 pages, hardcover, $59.95 Private Worlds: Classic Outsider Artfrom Europe, John Beardsley and Roger Cardinal, Katonah Museum of Art, 1998, 48 pages, paperback,$20 Ray Gun, Eugene W. Metcalf and Frank Maresca, Fotofolio, 1999, 130 pages, hardcover,
$19.95 Salvation Mountain: The Art of Leonard Knight, Larry Yust, New Leaf, 1998,96 pages, paperback,$29.95
Full-color exhibition catalog by Gerard C. Wertkin with an introduction by Randall Balmer 40 pages 23 color plates 8/2 x 6" paperback $10
Museum members receive a 10% discount. To order, call the Museum's Book and Gift Shop at 212/496-2966.
76 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
Saws, Sickles, Squares and Tongs: Paintings by Jacob J. Kass,The Mennello Museum of American Folk Art, 1999, 12 pages, paperback,$3 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
Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art: A Guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources, Betty-Carol Sellen, McFarland, 1999, 368 pages, paperback,$39.95 Self-Taught, Outsider, Art Brut: Masterpiecesfrom the Robert M. Greenberg Collection, Ricco/Maresca Gallery/The Robert M. Greenberg Collection, 1999, 87 pages, paperback,$25 A Silent Voice: Drawings and Constructions ofJames Castle, Fleisher/Oilman Gallery, 1998,54 pages, paperback, $15 The Temptation: Edgar Tolson and the Genesis of TwentiethCentury Folk Art, Julia S. Ardery, University of North Carolina, 1998, 353 pages, paperback,$19.95 They Taught Themselves, Sidney Janis, Sanford L. Smith & Associates, 1999(reprint from 1942), 260 pages, paperback,$29.95 Tramp Art: A Folk Art Phenomenon, Helaine Fendelman and Jonathan Taylor, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1999, 159 pages, paperback,$29.95 Tramp Art One Notch at a Time: The Craft, the Techniques & the Makers, Clifford A. Wallach and Michael Cornish, WallachIrons, 1998, 176 pages, hardcover, $65 Wonders to Behold: The Visionary Art ofMyrtice West, Carol Crown,ed., Mustang, 1999, 144 pages, hardcover, $50
"PIETA"
The Museum of American Folk Art relaunches its Web site this winter with an Online Shop stocked with carefully selected merchandise from our popular Book and Gift Shop.
H. Abramczyk,Poland, Wood and Paint, 8"x13"
In addition to regularly updated exhibition and program information and a photo gallery featuring highlights of the permanent collection, you can become a Museum member, register for Folk Art Institute courses, and purchase unusual gifts from our extensive catalog of books, accessories, toys, and specialty items for holidays and home decor.
Galerie Bonheur INTERNATIONAL FOLK & SELF-TAUGHT ART
(since 1980) Laurie Carmody 10046 Conway Road St. Louis, Missouri 63124 By appointment: 314-993-9851 Fax: 314-993-9260 E-mail: gbonheur@aol.com
Credit-card transactions are encrypted for security and privacy, and Museum members receive a 10% discount on all shop items.
Visit us today!
Milton Bond, Ree Brown,Amos Ferguson, Sybil Gibson, Regina Gilbert, Hatian Art, Charles Hutson, Justin McCarthy,Polish Folk Art, Nellie Mae Rowe,Jack Savitslcy, Mary Whitfield, Malcah Zeldis, Venezuelan Folk Art, etc.
.org
Photos upon request * Exhibiting at the Outsider Art Fair & the National Black Fine Art Show, New York, January 2000
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 77
MUSEUM
REPRODUCTIONS
PROGRAM
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.
Eighteen Years... A Celebration *Takashimaya Co.,Ltd. Has it really been 18 years? What a remarkable milestone. Takashimaya's commitment to an abiding relationship with the Museum and to bringing the diverse and wonderful traditions of American folk art to the Japanese people is cause for celebration. With both appreciation and gratitude, we dedicate this column to Takashimaya. In honor of this momentous occasion, Takashimaya and the Museum have designed an exhibition that will travel to four major cities in Japan—Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Yokohama— from March through May 2000. "Glorious American Quilts: The Quilt Collection of the Museum of American Folk Art" features a selection from each quilt category in the Museum's collection, including the exquisite Bird of Paradise Quilt Top that continues to inspire licensed products designed exclusively for the Japanese market. A special highlight of the exhibition is a selection of nine quilts from the Museum's internationally renowned Amish quilt collection, as well as objects from the Heritage Museum of Lancaster County and photographs by Jan Folsom that reflect the day-to-day life of the Amish. Gerard C. Wertkin, director, Elizabeth V. Warren, consulting curator, Alice J. Hoffman,director of licensing, and Stacy C.
78 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
Hollander, senior curator, have all been invited to Japan to share in this celebration. We look forward to meeting Takashimaya's customers, whose interest in and support of The American CollectionTM throughout these 18 years has directly benefited the exhibition and educational activities of the Museum.In recognition of this support, the Museum and Takashimaya have chosen and created unique products especially for this event. Therefore, if you're planning to go to Japan, you might want to note on your itinerary that Takashimaya and The America CollectionTm are definitely "worth a detour." If you've already been there, please let us know what products you especially like. We welcome comments and photographs of your visit. Dear Customer
Your purchase of Museum-. licensed 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 of American folk art. If you have any questions or comments regarding the Museum of American Folk Art Collection,Tm please contact us at 212/977-7170.
At home with the Museum of American Folk Art CollectionT. by Takashimaya Co., Ltd. Takashimaya items available only in Japan
Takashimaya hand towels
Family of Licensees 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.* Fotofolio (212/226-0923) art postcard books, wooden postcards, boxed note cards, and magnets.* Galison (212/354-8840) boxed note cards.* Graphique de France (800/44.4-1464) note cards.* Hermitage des Artistes(212/2431007)tramp art objects.* Imperial Walkoverings,Inc.(216/464-3700) wallpaper and borders. Limited Addition (800/268-9724) decorative accessories.* Mary Myers Studio (800/829-9603) wooden nutcrackers, nodders, and tree ornaments.* Museum Masterpieces, Ltd.(617/923-1111) note cards, "notelets," jigsaw puzzles,journals, and gift bags.* Salamander Graphix,Inc.(800/451-5311) umbrellas, gifts, and accessories.* Syratech Corporation (617/561-2200) 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. (800/756-8359)fine art reproduction prints and posters.* *Available in the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop. For mail-order information, please call 212/496-2966.
Takashimaya "Friends" bedcover, a tribute to the Amish
Takashimaya tea caddies
WILTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ANTIQUES SHOW 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 33rd 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 $10 with ad $8 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
Wilton Historical Society, 249 Danbury Road, Wilton, Conn.06897 203 762-7257
Christopher Gurshin C)117/pa
the'e
1966
It's more than just another credit card it's a contribution.
5.1.
MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLKART EVA AND MORRIS FEID GALLERY AT LINCOLN SQUARE
ABM AMEIR1C
•
5329 12314 5678 5329
EXPIRES 00/0 ON 0
C BARD COLE
"Americana Pride" The happiness and pride of skating with the American flag in Old New England. This flat oil painting measures 16 x 20 on stretched canvas and has an antiqued hand painted frame. Box 634 Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950 978 - 462 - 7761
°AIM"' 97 Now you can help raise money for the Museum of American Folk Art simply by making a purchase with your No-Annual-Fee Museum of American Folk Art Gold MasterCard? Every time you make a purchase with your No-AnnualFee Museum of American Folk Art Gold MasterCard, MBNA America® Bank, the card's issuer, makes a contribution to support the Museum of American Folk Art. Your No-Annual-Fee Museum of American Folk Art card also benefits you in a big way with credit lines up to $50,000 and up to $500,000 Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance on charged fares.* The Museum of American Folk Art card features ... • No Annual Fee! • Additional cards at no cost for family members or associates. • Worldwide acceptance at millions of locations. • A bank that is always available, 24 hours a day,365 days a year. Best of all, it's backed by a 24-kur commitment to Customer Satisfaction that has made MBNA one of the leading issuers of bank credit cards. Request your NO-ANNUAL-FEE Museum of American Folk Art Gold MasterCard today!
Call 1-800-847-7378 TTY users, call: 1-800-833-6262 Please mention priority code FDN1 when you call.
New full-color catalog featuring over 200 fine quality reproductions of quilts, samplers, portraits,landscapes and still lies. Decorative works from prestigious museums and galleries. Send $8.00 for 32-page catalog and free 5" x 7" mini print. Aaron Ashley Inc., 230 Fifth Avenue, Suite 400, New York, New York, 10001, or call 212-532-9227.
80 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
There are costs associated with the use of this card. You may contact the issuer and administrator of this program, MBNA America. 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. 1997 MBNA America Bank, N.A. ADG-H-5 ADG 8 4 97 ADG-QAAB-8:97
FEBRUARY 4 - 6, 2000 FRIDAY NOON - 8PM SATURDAY 11AM - 8PM SUNDAY 11AM - 7PM Admission $12
Catalog
Cafe
PREVIEW FEBRUARY 3 6PM - 9PM $50 includes one readmission and catalog
THE PUCK BUILDING Lafayette & Houston Streets, NYC WAINWRIGHT/SMITH ASSOCIATES 68 East 7th Street, New York NY 10003-8499 212.777.5218 Fax: 212.477.6490 info@sanfordsmith.com www.sanfordsmith.com sponsored by American
Visions Magazine
SGP The only art show of its kind, bringing together the finest work produced in the last hundred years!
AMERICAN STONEWARE COLLECTORS
STEDMAN GRAHAM & PARTNERS
JOHN C. HILL ANTIQUE INDIAN ART Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 (480)-946-2910 email: antqindart@aol.com
6962 E. 1st Ave.
"AUCTION AND APPRAISAL SERVICES"
Richard C. Hume P.O. Box 281 Bay Head, N.J. 08742 732-899-8707
Carl VVissler 2015 Lintz Pike Lancaster, PA. 17601 717-569-2309
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 81
TRUSTEES/DONORS
MUSEUM
OF
AMERICAN
FOLK
ART
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Executive Committee Ralph 0. Esmerian Chairman ofthe Board L. John Wilkerson 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 Barry D. Briskin Treasurer Jacqueline Fowler Secretary Anne Hill Blanchard Joyce B. Cowin Samuel Farber Julie K.Palley
Members Joseph F. Cullman 3rd David L. Davies Susan Gutfreund Kristina Johnson Esq. Nancy Mead George H. Meyer Esq. Lauren S. Morgan
Lewis P. Cabot Bliss & Brigitte Camochan Edward Lee Cave Mrs. Daniel Cowin Mr.& Mrs. Edgar M.Cullman Elissa F.& Edgar M. Cullman Jr. Joe & Joan Cullman Susan R. Cullman Kendra & Allan Daniel David & Sheena Danziger Lucy & Mike Danziger Peggy & Richard M.Danziger David L. Davies The Edith & Herbert Lehman Foundation, Inc. Ray & Susan Egan Ralph 0.Esmerian Sam & Betsey Farber Bequest of Eva & Morris Feld
Jacqueline Fowler Rebecca & Michael Gamzon The George & Myra Shaskan Foundation, Inc. Cordelia Hamilton John & Margaret Robson Foundation Johnson & Johnson Joan & Victor Johnson Kristina Johnson Esq. Susan & Robert Klein Wendy & Mel Lavitt Lipman Family Foundation Paul Martinson, Frances Martinson & Howard Graff in memory of Burt Martinson Mr. & Mrs. Dana G. Mead George H. Meyer Keith & Lauren Morgan Cyril Irwin Nelson
Cyril I. Nelson Margaret Z. Robson Trustees Emeriti Cordelia Hamilton George F. Shaskan Jr.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS The Museum of American Folk Art has announced a $33 million campaign to construct and endow a new home on West 53rd Street. As of September 20, 1999, nearly $21 million has been raised from the following donors: Judi & Barry Bell in honor of Alice and Ron Hoffman Mrs. Arthur M. Berger Big Apple Wrecking & Construction Corporation Edward V. Blanchard & M. Anne Hill Mr. 8c Mrs. James A. Block Edith S. & Barry D. Briskin Florence Brody
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York State Bequest of Mattie Lou O'Kelley The Overbrook Foundation Julie & Sandy Palley and Samuel & Rebecca Kardon Foundation The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation The R. David Sudarslcy Charitable Foundation Bonnie & Tom Strauss Takashimaya Co., Ltd. Richard & Maureen Taylor David & Jane Walentas Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP John & Barbara Wilkerson Robert & Anne Wilson Six anonymous donors
RECENT DONORS FOR EXHIBITIONS AND OPERATIONS(as of July 1,1999) The Museum of American Folk Art greatly appreciates the generous support of the following friends: $100,000 and above Fireman's Fund Insurance Company Pioneer Valley Art Foundation, Inc. Two anonymous donors $99,999—$50,000 Edward V. Blanchard & M. Anne Hill Edith S. & Barry D. Briskin Ralph 0. Esmerian Joan M. McCall One anonymous donor $49,999—$20,000 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Burnett Group Edward Lee Cave Peter M.& Mary Ciccone Country Living Joseph F. Cullman 3rd David L. Davies & Jack Weeden Samuel & Betsey Farber Vira Hladun Goldmann Mr.& Mrs. John H. Gutfreund Vincent & Anne Mai Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund Mr.& Mrs. Dana G. Mead
82 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
Estate of Mattie Lou O'Kelley Julie K.& Samuel Palley Pfizer Inc Philip Morris Companies Inc. Restaurant Associates Industries, Inc. The Smart Family Foundation Inc. Geoffrey & Elizabeth Stem Time Warner Two anonymous donors
Schlumberger Foundation, Inc. The Shirley Schlafer Foundation Barbara & Thomas W.Strauss Fund Tenneco Tenneco Matching Gifts Program William B. Dietrich & William B. Dietrich Foundation William Doyle Galleries One anonymous donor
S19,999—$10,000 Bear, Stearns 8z Co.Inc. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Christie's Mrs. Daniel Cowin Credit Suisse First Boston Lucy C.& Frederick M. Danziger The Dietrich American Foundation & H. Richard Dietrich Jr. Jacqueline Fowler Jean S. & Frederic A. Sharf Fund Joan M.& Victor L. Johnson The Judith Rothschild Foundation Mr.& Mrs. Mark Leavitt LEF Foundation Lipman Family Foundation, Inc. George H. Meyer Esq. Mr.& Mrs. Keith Morgan New York State Council on the Arts The Norman & Rosita Winston Foundation,Inc. The Pinkerton Foundation John & Margaret Robson
$9,999—$4,000 ABC,Inc. Judith Alexander American Woodworker ARTCORP Beard's Fund Mario Buatta Mr.& Mrs. Steve Burnett Galerie St. Etienne International Paper Company Foundation The Joe & Emily Lowe Foundation, Inc. The John R. and Dorothy D. Caples Fund Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Kristina Johnson Esq. Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons,Inc. Barbara & Dave ICrashes Mr.& Mrs. Ronald S. Lauder Jerry & Susan Lauren Eric Maffei
The Magazine Group Marstrand Foundation Christopher & Linda Mayer MBNA America, N.A. Microsoft Matching Gifts Program Morgan Stanley Foundation Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Ricco/Maresca Gallery Marguerite Riordan George F. & Myra Shaskan Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Joseph D. Shein Myron B.& Cecille B. Shure Peter J. Solomon David Teiger Unilever United States Foundation, Inc. The William P. & Gertrude Schweitzer Foundation, Inc. Two anonymous donors $3,999—$2,000 Dr. Charles L. Abney Jr. Bergen Line, Inc. Ellen Blissman Mr.& Mrs. Sheldon Bonovitz Robert & Kathy Booth Mr.& Mrs. Richard H. Bott Richard Braemer & Amy Finkel Marvin & Lois P. Broder Edward J. & Margaret Brown Chris Butler (continued on page 84)
Exhibiting the work of Clyde Angel Dewey Blocksma Francois Burland Doc Atomic Edmond Engel Angela Fidilio Johann Hauser Norbert Kox Natasha Krenbol Albert Louden Dwight Mackintosh Michel Nedjar Gene Merritt Marco Raugei Christine Sefolosha Genevieve SeiIle Sava Sekulic Gerard Sendrey Bill Traylor Anna Zemankova Carlo Zinelli + many others
JUDY A SAS LOW GALLERY 300 West Superior Street Chicago Illinois 60610 phone 312 943 0530 fax 312 943 3970 www.jsaslowgallery.com jsaslow@megsinet.net
MICHEL NEDJAR "Untitled" mixed media on album cover, 12.5"x12.5"
Art Haus Gallery Contemporary Self-Taught Art Purvis Young Lonnie Holley Jim Sudduth Thornton Dial Benny Carter Anne Grgich Sybil Gibson
LOY BOWLIN: THE RHINESTONE COWBOY, February 27 - June 18 OBSESSION/February 13 - May 7 WISCONSIN ENVIRONMENT BUILDERS: VON BRUENCHENHEIN, NOHL, SMITH, OEBSER, ENGELBERT/ongoing May 3 - 7: National conference on issues in the study, exhibition and preservation of works by self-taught artists. Hosted by JMKAC and Kohler Foundation, Inc. Call 920-458-6144 • www.jmkac.org
John Michael Kohler
ARTS CENTER 608 New York Avenue, Sheboygan, WI 53081 One hour north of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan MW F 10-5 • T Th 10-8 • S Sun 10-4
David Seehausen (914) 430-5085 www.arthausgallery.com
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 83
DONORS
MUSEUM
OF
AMERICAN
"RED HEAD"
Continuedfrom page 82
SEAWEED COLLAGE
by
ROSE TREAT
at BEVERLY KAYE 15 LORRAINE DRIVE WOODBRIDGE, CT
203.387.5700 by appointment www.sesow.com
ANTON HAARDT GALLERY MONTGOMERY, AL (334) 263-5494 O NEW ORLEANS ANNEX (504) 897-1172
www.antonart.com
84 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
Joseph & Barbara Cohen Columbia University Community Concerts Mr.& Mrs. George Contos Mr.& Mrs. Edgar M.Cullman Allan & Kendra Daniel Richard M.& Peggy Danziger Michael & Janice Doniger Nancy Druclunan Duane, Morris & Heckscher T.J. Dermot Dunphy John Farber & Wendyll Brown Burton & Helaine Fendelman in memory of Ellin Ente Scott & Lauren Fine Fortress Corporation Fred Leighton, Ltd. Jay & Gail Furman Eric J. & Anne Gleacher Peter & Barbara Goodman Warren & Sue Ellen Haber Jimmy Hedges Pepi & Vera Jelinek The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Employee Matching Gifts Program Harry Kahn Allan & Penny Katz Steven & Helen Kellogg Diane D. Kern Lee & Ed Kogan Patrick M.& Gloria M.Lonergan Dan W.Lufkin & Silvia Kramer Maine Community Foundation The Marsha & Jeffrey H. Miro Foundation Millbrook Vineyards The Overbrook Foundation J. Randall Plummer Daniel & Susan Pollack Drs. Jeffrey Pressman & Nancy Kollisch Selig D. Sacks Raymond & Linda Simon Mr.& Mrs. Elliot K. Slade R. Scudder & Helen Smith Richard & Stephanie Solar Jeff Soref Mr.& Mrs. David Stein Donald & Rachel Strauber Jim & Judy Taylor United States Trust Company of New York Mr.& Mrs. George P. Viener Don Walters & Mary Benisek Irwin H. & Elizabeth V. Warren Peter & Leslie Warwick Olive F. Watson One anonymous donor $1,999-81,000 Annicus Foundation, Inc. Deborah & James Ash Didi & David Barrett Robert B. Bennett Patricia H. Berkowitz Thomas Block & Marilyn Friedman Marc Brown Trudy & Julius Brown
Gale Meltzer Brudner Carillon Importers Inc. Cavin-Morris Gallery The Charles Edlin Family Charitable Foundation Trust Cirker's Moving & Storage Co., Inc. Citicorp Foundation Matching Gifts Program The Coach Dairy Goat Farm Cullman & Kravis, Inc. Aaron & Judy Daniels Michael Del Castello Derrel B. De Passe Mr. & Mrs. Gerald T. DiManno Kathleen M. Doyle The Echo Design Group,Inc. Mr.& Mrs. Alfred C. Eckert III Andrew EcIlin Gail M.Engelberg Douglas G. Ente in memory of Ellin Ente Epstein Philanthropies Janey Fire & John Kalymnios Erin Flanagan Frank J. Miele Gallery Jill Gallagher David A. Gardner Dr. Kurt A. Gitter & Ms. Alice Yelen Mr.& Mrs. Ronald Goldstein Ned & Dee Goodnow Barbara L. Gordon Baron J. & Ellin Gordon Grand Marnier Foundation Robert M. Greenberg Mr.& Mrs. Robert F. Greenhill Bonnie Grossman Guinness Import Company Cordelia Hamilton Carl Hammer Mr.& Mrs. James Harithas Marian & Andrew Heiskell The Helen R.& Harold C. Mayer Foundation Mr.& Mrs. Richard Herbst The Hess & Helyn Kline Foundation Stephen Hessler & Mary Ellen Vehlow Stephen M. Hill John & Laima Hood Tom Isenberg Jane Marcher Charitable Foundation Harvey & Isobel Kahn Mr.& Mrs. Gerald P. Kaminsky Mr.& Mrs. Robert E. Klein Barbara S. Klinger Robert A. Landau Mr.& Mrs. Stephen Lash Mr.& Mrs. John Levin Barbara S. Levinson Peter & Nadine Levy Mr. and Mrs. Carl M.Lindberg Liz Claiborne Foundation Michael & Gael Mendelsohn Morris & Anna Propp Sons Fund,Inc. Ann & Walter Nathan Judith & Bernard Newman Philip V. Oppenheimer & Mary Close Karen R. Osar
FOLK
ART
Mr.& Mrs. Richard D. Parsons Anthony J. Petullo Pheasant Hill Foundation Mr.& Mrs. Daniel Pollack Polo Ralph Lauren Mr.& Mrs. Jack Rabin Irene Reichert Mr.& Mrs. Keith Reinhard Paige Rense Richard C.& Susan B. Ernst Foundation Betty Ring William D. Rondina Mr.& Mrs. Jeff T. Rose The San Diego Foundation Charmaine & Maurice Kaplan Fund Mr.& Mrs. Henry B. Schacht Kerry Schuss Mr.& Mrs. Marvin Schwartz Semlitz Glaser Foundation Mr.& Mrs. Ronald Shelp Mr. Harvey Shipley Miller Hardwicke Simmons Mr.& Mrs. Elliott Slade Patricia & Robert Stempel Doris & Stanley Tananbaum Mr.& Mrs. Jeff Tarr Tiffany & Co. Mr.& Mrs. James S. Tisch Mr.& Mrs. Laurence Tisch Mr.& Mrs. Barry Tucker Ms. Karel F. Wahrsager Mr.& Mrs. David C. Walentas Mr.& Mrs. Charles G. Ward III Gerard C. WertIcin Mr.& Mrs. William M. Wetsman G. Marc Whitehead John & Phyllis Wishnick Laurie Wolfe & Ann C.S. Benton Two anonymous donors $999-$500 Joan H. Adler Ms. Mary Lou Alpert Richard C.& Ingrid Anderson Anton Haardt Foundation Mr.& Mrs. Al Bachman Joel & Lucy Banker Jeremy L. Banta Barbara & Donald Tober Foundation Frank & June Barsalona Charles Benenson The Bibelot Shops Mrs. Helen Bing Leonard Block Jeffrey & Tina Bolton Marilyn & Orren Bradley Deborah Bush Laurie Carmody Mr. & Mrs. Dick Cashin Barbara & Tracy Cate The Chase Manhattan Foundation Matching Gift Program Mr.& Mrs. Robert Cochran Mrs. Phyllis Collins Stephen H. Cooper & Prof. Karen Gross Judy Cowen
Michael F. Coyne & Monica Longworth Mr.& Mrs. Lewis Cullman Kathryn M. Curran Debevoise & Plimpton Don & Marion DeWitt Cynthia Drasner Arnold & Debbie Dunn Edward Clifford Durrell HI Shirley Durst Mr.& Mrs. Alvin Einbender Gloria G. Einbender Ross & Gladys Faires Burton & Helaine Fendelman Mr.& Mrs. Scott Fine Annie Fisher Ken & Brenda Fritz Denise Froelich Dale G. Frost Daniel M.Gantt Mr.& Mrs. Bruce Geismar Margaret A. Gilliam Elizabeth Gilmore William L.& Mildred Gladstone Mrs. Terry S. Gottlieb Howard M.Graff Stanley & Marcia Greenberg Susan Rosenberg Gunman Audrey B. Heckler Mr. and Mrs. Tom Hess Leonard & Arlene Hochman Mr. 8z Mrs. Robert Hodes Ellen E. Howe Mr.& Mrs. Ken Iscol Mr.& Mrs. Thomas C. Israel Ann Jocelyn/Bank of New York Betty W.Johnson & Douglas F. Bushnell Guy Johnson Louise & George Kaminow Nancy Karlins-Thoman Sherry Kass & Scott Tracy Ms. Joan E. Kend Mary Kettaneh Sherry Kronenfeld Mr.& Mrs. Theodore A. Kurz Mr.& Mrs. Leonard A. Lauder Wendy & Mel Lavitt Mr. & Mrs. Gerry Lodge Monica Longworth & Michael F. Coyne Nancy B. Maddrey Michael T. Martin Mr.& Mrs. Jonathan Marvel Al Marzorini Materials for the Arts Kelley McDowell The McGraw-Hill Companies Employee Volunteer Support Program M.P. McNellis Grete Melina= Mr.& Mrs. Robert Meltzer Robert & Joyce Menschel Evelyn S. Meyer Frank J. Miele Timothy & Virginia Millhiser Joy Moos (continued on page 86)
3 ,0,a-me obe.eieed 80 The Folk Paintings of Penn'. Contis and Hal. Contis
David Lesva
Ill t',',„
1 111111111E13 1
Byzantine Butterflies The Folk Paintings of Peter Contis and Helen Contis David Lewis Distributed for the National Folk Arts Foundation "What a marvelous story this is! And what glorious paintings! I don't know when I have been so charmed by a book. It affirms life, art, family love, the age-old miracle ofthe human spirit—all the good things. You can't look at the paintings and not feel better. You can't read about Helen and Peter Contis without wanting to stand up and cheer. I will be giving copies to friends, telling everyone I know to see for themselves, and enjoy a true publishing event."—David McCullough, best-selling author of Mornings on Horseback and Truman Cloth $45.00•Paper $25.00 160 pp.• 9 3/4 x 9 3/4
University of Pittsburgh Press Available from your favorite bookseller Order at orderbook@cupserv.org www.pitt.edu/-press
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART U
DONORS
America's Premier Show of Original American Furniture to 1840 & Appropriate Accessories
the 27th .
Connecticut c5prin' g cAntiquesShow c214-arCh 25-26,2000 jtate cArmory CapitolcA-venue at Broad eStreet
clfartford
Show Opening: Sat. 9-10Am •$15 Sat., 10-5, Sunday, 11-5 •$8
Continuedfrom page 85
Kathy S. Moses Museums New York Cyril I. Nelson Mr.& Mrs. Bruce Newman Rachel B. Newman New York Beverage Company Nancy Ann Oettinger Mr.& Mrs. John E. Oilman Paul L.& Nancy Oppenheimer David Passerman Burton W.Pearl, M.D. The Perrier Group of America Mr.& Mrs. Laurence B. Pike Mr.& Mrs. C. Carl Randolph in memory of Margery G. Kahn Mr.& Mrs. F.F. Randolph Jr. Dr. & Mrs. Roger Rose Robert A. Roth Johnes Ruta Riccardo Salmona Merilyn Sandin-Zarlengo Mr.& Mrs. Robert T. Schaffner
Margaret Schmidt Bruce B. Shelton Joel & Susan Simon Nell Singer Rita A. Sklar John & Stephanie Smither Kathryn Staley Mr.& Mrs. Victor Studer Peter & Lynn Tishman Mr. Frank Tosto Dorothy Treisman Mr.& Mrs. Raymond S. Troubh United Way of Dutchess County Angela Usrey Mr.& Mrs. Hugh Vanderbilt Mr.& Mrs. Joseph Viener Jennifer Walker Herbert Wells Margaret Wenstrup Susi Wuennenberg Diana Zanganas Jon & Rebecca Zoler
THE JEAN LIPMAN FELLOWS
A Benefitfor the Haddam Historical Society
A Forbes &Turner Show 207-767-3967
HYPOINT AMERICAN ANTIQUES & FOLK ART •
1999 Co-Chairs Jerry & Susan Lauren Roger Ricco and Frank Maresca 1999 Fellows Patrick Bell & Edwin Hild Mary Benisek & Don Walters Edith Briskin Edward J. & Margaret Brown Nancy Drucicman Peter & Barbara Goodman Tracy Goodnow Barbara L. Gordon Howard M.Graff Ann Harithas Pepi & Vera Jelinek Harvey Kahn Allan Katz
Susan Kleckner Barbara & David Krashes Eric Maffei Jeff & Anne Miller Keith Morgan John Oilman J. Randall Plummer Paige Rense Selig Sacks Jean S.& Frederic A. Sharf Raymond & Linda Simon Richard & Stephanie Solar Arthur Spector Donald & Rachel Strauber David Teiger Sin von Reis Irwin H.& Elizabeth V. Warren One anonymous donor
RECENT DONORS TO THE COLLECTIONS Gifts Buskin Family Fund Ralph 0. Esmerian Sam 8t Betsey Farber Josh Feldstein Millie & Bill Gladstone Vera & Pepi Jelinek N.F. Karlins
Lanier Meaders Face Jug JANE S. CIEPLY 847-540-0615 • BARRINGTON,IL 60010 FAX 847-540-0879•hypoint404@aol.com
86 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
Ray Kass & Jerrie Pike The Lipman Family Foundation in honor of Jean & Howard Lipman Edward A. McCabe Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Linda & Ray Simon Martha Detert Walbolt
Estate of Secretive Sculpture
uncle Joe Work in wax, wood, and lead.
Aron Packer is pleased to present the haunting, enigmatic work of Uncle Joe.
Aron Packer 2720 W. Greenleaf Chicago, Illinois 60645 aronpackerconn 773.743.2825 Please visit us at the New York Outsider Fair-Booth 17
Little is known biographically about this reclusive and obsessively prolific craftsman of Polish descent. These meticulously constructed artifacts herald one of this century's most important finds in self-taught artistry; they were discovered in a closed-off room of Uncle Joe's living quarters following his death at the age of 43. Born at the turn of the century, Uncle Joe developed an uncanny resourcefulness, incorporating found elements such as dolls' eyes and rhinestones, into his macabre sculptures. The knives, masks, and crowns of cast lead bear mysterious symbolsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;spades, clubs, skulls and crossbonesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;lavishly carved in bas-relief by the artist. The predominance of these icons in Uncle Joe's work suggests possible use of the items in a secret brotherhood of his own making. The imagery also takes cues from Joe's employment at Riverview, the now-defunct amusement park on Chicago's Western Avenue.
sr
Handcarved8,paintedsogn by Lee Neary
TOP5 Gallery Fanciful Gifts, Creative Furnishings and Lots of Folks Art 231110 Civic. Center Way Malibu,CA c=65 310.056.8677 888.808.8677 bob_dawn@topsgaIlery.corn v www.topsgallery.corn
Noah's Ark, mixed media, 37 inches tall
james "buddy" snipes
rail gallery garde http://www.garde-rail.com 312 first avenue south #5 - seattle, wa 98104 te1:206.623.3004 - email:gallery@garde-rail.com
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 87
MUSEUM
NEWS
COMPILED BY TANYA HEINRICH
An Artist's Generosity Benefits the Museum lexander Maldonado, a self-taught painter from California, worked mostly with oil paint, creating portraits, images derived from history or astronomy, and renderings of hospitals and museums, among other things. In one image of an art museum,the building is crowned by a large monument of a brush-wielding painter: perhaps a self-portrait? Museums continually fascinated Maldonado, and it therefore seems to make sense that he would remember one in his will. When Maldonado died in 1989, his only surviving relative was a nephew. The painter knew that several hundred paintings remained unsold and in his property, and thus he and his dealer, Bonnie Grossman, founder and director of The Ames Gallery in Berkeley, Calif., worked on an estate plan that included the Museum of Amen -
can Folk Art as one of the beneficiaries. Maldonado's last will and testament provides for contributions to the Museum in perpetuity: 20 percent of the income from the sale of each work is donated to the Museum of American Folk Art. This strategy benefits the buyer as well as the Museum;the amount of the donation can be reported on the buyer's income tax return as a charitable deduction. The artist's nephew also receives funds from each sale. The Ames Gallery is the only representative of Maldonado's artwork with this plan. Alex Maldonado began to paint at the suggestion of his sister, Carmen, who was searching for a suitable hobby to occupy her recently retired brother's time. Carmen tried tempting Alex with stamp collecting and gardening, but he didn't respond to her
efforts until she gave him crayons, pencil, and paper and encouraged him to take drawing lessons. Maldonado willingly explored the art tools but decided to pass on the lessons; he did not want someone telling him what to do. Thus began a new career. Maldonado painted for three decades, sharing his work with the public for the first time in 1973(by donating a painting to an auction). His richly colored work immediately drew favorable
attention, and it continues to be acquired by private collectors and many museums,including the National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.; The Mexican Museum,San Francisco; University Art Museum,Berkeley, Calif.; and the Museum of American Folk Art. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Brooke Davis Anderson
Robert and Marianne Polak entertained the group in their home on the Prinsengracht, one of the major canals in the city, by showing them their outstanding collection of quilts. Day trips from Amsterdam included a visit to the Museum de Stadshof, dedicated to the work of self-taught artists, in the charming town ofZwolle. The Explorers also spent an interesting morning at the Galerie Atelier Herenplaats in Rotterdam, a studio-gallery facility for artists with developmental disabilities. An afternoon in Delft, the home of the wonderful blueand-white earthenware that bears the Tour members Ellen Rose and Charles Thiesen jest with a friend at the Netherlands Open-Air Museum in Arnhem town's name,
included a tour of De Porceleyne Fles,the Royal Dutch delftware factory. The group also enjoyed a visit to Galerie Hamer in Amsterdam. This gallery has carried the works of European naive and selftaught artists for many years. Before leaving the Netherlands and traveling eastward to Germany,the group spent several hours at The Netherlands Open-Air Museum, which features more than 80 structures from all over the Netherlands. In the Cologne area, the Explorers had the privilege of visiting several private homes, including that of artist Eduard Odenthal, where the group viewed his work and enjoyed a delicious luncheon prepared by Odenthal. Werner and Use Kohn, longtime folk art collectors and active members of the Museum of American Folk Art, enter-
tained the group at their beautiful home in Bergisch-Gladbach. The Kohns played a major part in the overall planning of the German portion of the tour. A visit to the home and gallery of Marianne Kuhn was another interesting stop. American-born artist Vivian Ellis, who now lives in Munich, traveled to Cologne to spend a day with the group. The Cologne segment of the tour ended with a visit to the gallery of Suzanne Zander,followed by a private luncheon at her home. In Heidelberg, the beautiful university city located on the Nekar River, the Explorers visited the ruins of the 16th-century Heidelberg Castle. An afternoon trip to the charming town of Weingarten featured a visit with two outstanding textile artists. Ursula Rauch, an award-winning
A
LAGUNA AZUL / Alexander A. Maldonado 11901-19891/ San Francisco / 1969/ oil on canvas board / 18 x 24"/ Museum of American Folk Art, gift of the artist, courtesy of The Ames Gallery, Berkeley, California / 1987.06.01
Folk Art Along the Rhine wenty-two Museum members enjoyed a Folk Art Explorers tour in the Netherlands and Germany from Sept. 23 to Oct. 4. The group spent a few days each in Amsterdam,Cologne, and Heidelberg. A visit to the newly reopened van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam was the first item on the itinerary. Longtime Museum members
T
88 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
â&#x20AC;˘
Artists Vivian Ellis and Eduard Odenthal at Odenthal's home in Keschoid, Germany
fiber artist, entertained the group at her beautiful, historic farmhouse, which has an adjacent vineyard. Quilt artist Susan Bartels joined the group there. The Explorers' final day in Germany was spent in the quaint town of Bonnigheim at the Museum Charlotte Zander. Zander has been collecting naĂŻve art and art brut from around the world for many years. Her collection of nearly 4,000 pieces is Museum members Ilse displayed in a beautiand Werner ful castle in this Kohn at their charming town near home in BergischStuttgart. Zander Gladbach, arranged a delicious near Cologne luncheon of local specialties. Beth Bergin and Chris Cappiello of the Museum's Membership Department would like to thank all of the people mentioned above for their help, advice, and gracious hospitality. For information on future Folk Art Explorers tours, call the Membership Office at 212/977-7170.
Museum Charlotte Zander SchloB Bonnigheim
Charlotte Zander speaking to the group at her museum in Ettinnigheim, Germany Folk Art Explorers in front of Heidelberg Castle
Encounter with Russian Naive Art October 31, 1999 - March 12, 2000 Outsider Art March 19 - July 9,2000 Andre Bauchant (1873-1958) July 16- November 19,2000 Hauptstrafie 15, D-74357 Bonnigheim, Germany Tel.:01149/(0)7143-4226 Fax:01149/(0)7143-4220 Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 89
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Reginald Mitchell ic Herbert Singleton Johnnie Swearingen Or Mose Tolliver M.C.5k Jones * Jimmy Lee Sudduth
www.YARDDOG.com 1510 S. Congress Austin, TX 78704 512.912.1613
Native American Conference in Cooperstown
n conjunction with the New York State Historical Association's exhibition "Empire State Mosaic: The Folk Art of New York State," the Otsego Institute presented its third annual conference,"Native Art History and Folk Art History: Critiquing the Paradigms." Participants gathered at NYSHA's Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown on Aug.7 and 8 to discuss the disciplines of American folk art and Native art, both of which have been largely marginalized by the academic community. The goal of the conference was to discuss the development of interest in the two fields and discover the surprising similarities between them. Experts in
museum studies, anthropology, American folk art, and Native arts came together to learn more about the parallels in the two fields. Attendance was by invitation only, and papers were presented by academics, museum professionals, artists, and graduate students. Among the participants were Freddie Alexie, Arthur Amiotte, Janet Berlo, David and Dennis Cusick, Paul D'Ambrosio, Robert Hobbs, Doreen Jensen, Ramson Lomatewama,Gerald McMaster,Zena Pearlstone, Ruth Phillips, Jolene Rickard, John Roberts, Ralph Sessions, Megan Smetzer, William C. Sturtevant, Jehanne Teilhet-Fisk, Joe Traugott, and Gerard C. Werticin.
The Collector's Voice
1NDiqo ART5
assions for history, culture, aesthetics, and the "chase" were the issues discussed during a special panel discussion at the Museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery on Oct. 14."The Collector's Voice," moderated by Museum Director Gerard C. Wertkin, explored the idiosyncratic and personal aspects of developing a collec-
p
tion of American folk art. Collecting couples on the panel included Robert and Ardis James, who collect contemporary and antique quilts; Dr. Meredith and Gail Wright Sirmans, who collect works from the African Diaspora; and Irwin and Elizabeth V. Warren, who collect traditional American folk art.
Special Quilt Programs for Children his summer,the Museum's devoted and well-versed docents were busy leading summer school and camp groups on tours of the exhibition "Beyond the Square: Color and Design in Amish Quilts," which was on view through Nov. 7. Guiding the children through the history and culture of the Amish community,the docents engaged them in lively discussions about quilt designs, colors, and patterns. After viewing the exhibition, the children participated in hands-on workshops
T Hairdresser's Sign (Togo)
Popular and Folk Art from Asia, Africa and the Americas Haitian Paintings • Metal Sculpture • Vodou Flags West African Barber Shop Signs • Huichol Paintings Mexican e"Latin American Folk Carvings eb Paintings Ethnographic Sculpture, Furniture &Textiles 151 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 215-922-4041 www.incligoarts.com fax: 215-922-0695
90 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
where they created their very own "Amish" quilt. Docent Jeanne Riger helping children from a summer camp group to design their own "Amish" quilt squares
Quilt Weekend 1999 ept. 25 and 26 marked the Museum's fifth annual Quilt Weekend. The event was anchored by a one-day workshop led by Rachel Pellman, a quilt artist, author, and member of the Mennonite community in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County. Pellman led the participants in hand piecing and quilting one large block, an adaptation of a classic Amish quilt pattern. In addition to the workshop, Elizabeth V. Warren, the Museum's consulting curator, presented a lecture entitled "The Amish and Their Quilts," a fitting accompaniment to her successful curatorial effort "Beyond the Square: Color and Design in Amish Quilts," which was on view at the Museum through Nov.7. Following the lecture, participants enjoyed demonstrations of quilting techniques and displays of selected quilts pre-
S
'leaping Lizard" 7 Color Screen Print (Edition 100) 1996 S350
sented by the Empire Quilt Guild, the Long Island Quilters Society, the Quilters' Guild of Brooklyn, Quilters of Color Network of New York, and Women of Color Quilter's Network.
HOWARD FINSTER SCREEN
SILK
PRINTS
Signed, limited edition Howard Finster Silk Screen Prints availablefrom $75 to $750. Over 45 original wood pieces also available.
a
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"Consider Ike Ant 6 Color Screen Print (Moon 100) 1994 5500
Quilt artist Rachel Pel!man leading a workshop
Left to right Sandy BenjaminHannibal, Myrah Brown-Green, Peggie Hartwell, and Lisa Curran of the Women of Color Qui!ter's Network Quilt Weekend paillelpaub Ylog Goodies (left) and My Louise Smith
_Aranc_y 'Weaver Fine & yolk _Art Conservator Contemporary yolk Art_potter and-Woodcarver 76 Weaver Road Ph (770) 748-7035
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WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 91
WINTER
PROGRAMS
St. Madeleine Sophie's Center SERVING ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Holiday
Unless otherwise specified, all programs are held at the Museum of American Folk Art/Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, New York City; programs are open to the public, and admission is free. For more information, please call 212/595-9533. EVENING PROGRAMS 6:00 P.M.
Greeting Cards Prints Original Art
Brochure Available CtDNf Cindy Chappell! Big Snowman C) 1998
2119 East Madison Avenue El Cajon,CA 92019 -1111 Phone: 619.442.5129 E-mail: stmsc@stmsc.org Website: www.stmsc.org
ALEX GERRARD FINE ART
Tuesday,Dec.7 Lecture—"One Man's Chair Is Another Man's Throne: James Hampton's Monument to the Millennium" Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, chief curator, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Thursday,Dec. 16 Lecture—"Visions of Rapture: The Millennium in American History" Randall Balmer, Ph.D., Ann Whitney Olin Professor ofAmerican Religion, Barnard College, Columbia University Thursday,Jan. 13 An Evening of Readings and Gospel Music Chris Cappiello, actor The Singing Conquerors Thursday, Jan. 20 Lecture—"Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art" Gerard C. Wertkin, exhibition curator and director, Museum of American Folk Art Thursday,Feb.3 Lecture—"The Three Kings Welcome the Millennium" Fatima Bercht, associate curator, El Muse()del Barrio, New York Thursday, Feb. 17 Lecture—"The Life and Art of Sister Gertrude Morgan: Personal Recollections" Regenia A. Perry, Ph.D.,professor emerita, Virginia Commonwealth University
PERIFIMOU
Thursday, March 23 Lecture—"The World of Edward Hicks" Carolyn J. Weekley, director of museums, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia Thursday, April 27 An Evening of Conversation and Song—"Shakers and Millennial Dreams" Members of the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community and friends; special guest: Dan Patterson, Ph.D.,professor emeritus, University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill Thursday, May 4 Lectures—"The End Is Near!" Rebecca Hoffberger, director and founder, American Visionary Art Museum "From Eden to Apocalypse: Religious Imagery in American Folk Culture" Stephen Marini, department of religion, Wellesley College SUNDAY AFTERNOON CHILDREN'S WORKSHOPS 2:00-4:00 P.M. For children age 5 and up Materials fee: $1 A series of special art workshops for children will be offered using symbols and themes seen in "Millennial Dreams." This series of workshops will be held every other Sunday for the run of the exhibition. To confirm specific dates or reserve a space, please call Dale Gregory at 212/595-9533. SUNDAY AFTERNOON FAMILY PROGRAMS 4:00 P.M.
untitled - gouache on paper - 10- x 14" WE SPECIALISE IN FINDING IMPORTANT EXAMPLES OF EUROPEAN SELF TAUGHT - NAIVE - PRIMITIVE AND OUTSIDER ART FOR SERIOUS COLLECTORS www.alexgerrard.com
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VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT BELL LODGE - VINEHALL - ROBERTSBRIDGE - E.SUSSEX ENGLAND TN32 5JN TEL: 01580 - 880229
92 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
FAX: 01580 880559
Thursday, March 2 Round Table Discussion—Rev. Howard Finster, artist; Norman Girardot, Ph.D.,professor oftheology, Lehigh University; Professor Richard Landes,cofounder and director. Centerfor Millennial Studies at Boston University; Gerard C. Wertkin, exhibition curator and director, Museum of American Folk Art
March 12 Deities, Guardians, Heaven on Earth Inspirational stories from around the world performed by Griots in Concert, featuring storyteller Linda Humes and percussion accompaniment.
(continued on page 94)
Collector's Journal, Notecard Portfolio and Jigsaw Puzzle based on the top-rated PBS series,
Antiques Roadshow. Available at MAFA museum shops and other fine stores.
HE _PIOLK LRT ,7ALLERY LouISIAN A
ART
Featuring contemporary art by: GALISON 28 West 44th Street New York, NY 10036 Tel - 212.354.8840 Fax - 212.391.4037 www.galison.com sales@galison.com
OBITUARY
Big AT Taplet Clementine Hunter Jacob Watts Todd Williams Charles Gillam Mis Mardranne Willie White Jason Watts 'Ruebarb' Alfred Nobles Jaquelyn Hughes Mooney Raymonde Fox Roy Ferdinand Michael Creese Dr Bob May Kugler
AND MANY MOREIII Erma "Junior" Lewis 1948-1999 Supper, the Crucifixion, and Eastern Kentucky woodcarver David and Goliath. Erma "Junior" Lewis died Aug. —Lee Kogan 20 of a massive heart attack. Lewis lived in Isonville and belonged to a family of artists, including his cousins Leroy and Tim. He worked primarily as a tobacco farmer, but he also worked as a carpenter and an oil driller. He is survived by his wife, Bernice, a daughter, Michelle, and a son, Michael. Encouraged by fellow Kentucky artist Minnie Adkins in 1987, his first works included a blocky Indian head and a devil head. Although he carved variations on the devil theme, Lewis broadened his subjects to include local and jungle animals as well as biblical subjects, especially popular versions of the Last
In the French Quarter 636 St. Ann Street • New Orleans, LA 70116 (504) 598-FOLK
& The Warehouse District 612 Julia Street • New Orleans, LA (504) 581-FOLK
& on the Internet at www.folkartgallery.net
e-mail todd@folkartgallery.net
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 93
WINTER
PROGRAMS
CONTINUED
••.•• • --
•
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HOWARD FINSTER R.A. MILLER
CLASS VISITS The Museum offers docent-led tours of its changing exhibitions and permanent collection gallery. Tours for school groups are scheduled at 11:30 A.M. and 1:00 P.M., Tuesday through Sunday. A small non-refundable fee is required. Reservations must be made in advance; please call 212/595-9533. Once a tour has been booked, an introductory teachers' packet will
be sent. The packet includes background information on American folk art and suggested classroom activities to enhance the Museum visit. A month's advance notice is strongly suggested. February is Black History Month. Call the Museum's Education Department at 212/977-7170 for information on additional special programs.
J.B. MURRY MOSE T. NELLIE MAE ROWE And Other Outsider Artists
John Denton 102 Main St., P.O. Box 429 • Hiawassee, GA 30546 (706) 896-4863 • Fax (706) 896-1212
f34AC•41 AMERICAXA
PIERS12 SATURDAY & SUNDAY
JANUARY 15 & 16 * Celebrating Americana Week In New York*
OVER 300 ANTIQUES EXHIBITS Period & Classical Furniture & Accessories, Fine Art, Folk Art, Quilts, Textiles, Country & Rustic Furniture, Silver, Rugs & More. Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 90 & 92, 12th Ave. at 50th - 55th Streets
NEW YORK CITY Free Shuttle to & from Midtown Manhattan Admission $10.00 * Show Hours - Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. STELLA SHOW MGMT.CO.212-255-0020 www.stellashows.com for up to date dealer list & hotel information
94 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
"Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art" and related programs are made possible by support from Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. TRAVELING
EXHIBITIONS
Mark your calendars for the following Museum of American Folk Art exhibitions when they travel to your area during the coming months: Oct. 1, 1999-Feb. 6, 2000 An American Treasury: Master Quilts from the Museum of American Folk Art The Toledo Museum of Art Toledo 419/255-8000
March 18-May 14, 2000 The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do African American Museum Dallas 214/565-9026
Nov. 20, 1999-Feb. 26, 2000 The Art of Nellie Mae Rowe: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do High Museum of Art Folk Art and Photography Galleries Atlanta 404/577-6940
Glorious American Quilts: The Quilt Collection of the Museum of American Folk Art Takashimaya Department Stores, Japan March 9-March 14, 2000, Tokyo March 23-March 28, 2000, Kyoto March 30-April 4, 2000, Osaka April 6-April 11, 2000, Yokohama
For further information, please contact Judith Gluck Steinberg, coordinator of traveling exhibitions, Museum of American Folk Art, 555 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-2925,212/977-7170.
Lively Collaborative Senior Program nJuly 26, the Museum proudly hosted a special exhibit of a number of crafts and a community quilt created by members of the Senior Citizens' Center of the Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center. The display marked the culmination of a six-month project funded by the Haym Salomon Foundation. The exhibit and reception was attended by program participants, Foundation staff, and Museum staff, including Museum Director Gerard C.
O
Wertkin and special guest Manhattan Borough Council President C. Virginia Fields. The collaboration between the Museum and the Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center is not limited to the promotion of the artistic talent of senior citizens; under the leadership of Joanne Ricco and Roxy McCarroll, the Center has sponsored Friday afternoon art workshops for children who reside west of the Lincoln Center's Performing Arts Center for the past several years.
CHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ADMISSION $10.00 SATURDAY,MARCH 11 10 AM - 7 PM SUNDAY,MARCH 12 11 AM - 5 PM PREVIEW RECEPTION FRIDAY, MARCH 10,6 - 9 PM PREVIEW TICKETS $100.00
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MARCH 11 & 12,2000
"Aoxe4,, Y;Joe,4 witi4(1/Fa" features fifty-one nationally acclaimed dealers and an exhibit of accoutrements for tea.
HOLLINGER FIELDHOUSE WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY WEST CHESTER, PA
WIN A $2,500 SHOPPING SPREE A TRADITIONAL ENGLISH TEA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 2 -4 PM
FOR INFORMATION: 610-692-4800 WEB: http://www.chesco.com/—cchs/
iii(;)lkqearm
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AMERICA'S OLDEST MAKERS OF COLONIAL AND EARLY AMERICAN LIGHTING FIXTURES
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
AUTHENTIC DESIGNS 17 The Mill Road West Rupert, Vermont 05776 (802) 394-7713 Catalogue $3.00
WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART 95
MAIN STREET ANTIQUES and ART Colleen and Louis Picek Folk Art and Country Americana (319) 643-2065 110 West Main, Box 340 West Branch, Iowa 52358 On Interstate 80
Folk carved saxophone player 11" x 3" x 4"
Send a self-addressed stamped envelope for our monthly Folk-Art and Americana price list
INDEX
TO
ADVERTISERS
Aaron Ashley Inc. 80 Alex Gerrard 92 Allan Katz Americana 19 America Oh, Yes! 25, 27,29, 31, 33, 34,35 American Pie 33 American Primitive 20 American Stoneware Collectors 81 The Ames Gallery 26 Anne Bourassa 30 Anton Haardt Gallery 84 Aron Packer 87 Art Haus Gallery 83 At Home Gallery 74 Authentic Designs 95 Barbara Archer Gallery 28 Beverly Kaye 84 95 Campus Collection Cavin-Morris Gallery 4,5 Chester County Historical Society 95 Christie's 17 Christopher Gurshin 80 David Leonardis Gallery 91 Dixie Folk Art 36 Epstein/Powell 68 Fleisher/Oilman Gallery Back Cover The Folk Art Gallery 93 Forbes & Turner 86 Galerie Bonheur 77
96 WINTER 1999/2000 FOLK ART
Galison Garde Rail Gallery Gilley's Gallery Ginger Young Gallery Goodbook Folk Art Grey Carter Objects of Art Hill Gallery Hypoint Indigo Arts J. Crist John C. Hill John Denton John Michael Kohler Arts Center Judy A. Saslow Gallery Kimball Sterling Knoke Galleries K.S. Art The LaRoche Collection Laura Fisher Limited Addition Luise Ross Gallery Main Street Antiques and Art Marcia Weber/Art Objects Marion Harris MENA America Museum Charlotte Zander Mustang Publishing Nancy Weaver
93 87 18 34 75 27 12 86 90 3 81 94 83 83 72 73 21 9, 11 22 75 23 96 70 10 80 89 74 91
Odd Fellows 23 Outsidesign 36 Ricco/Maresca Gallery Inside Front Cover 35 Rosehips Gallery Sanford L. Smith & Associates 66 Select Southern Pottery 74 Shelton Gallery 31 Shoot the Chute 73 Sidney Gecker 69 Slotin Folk Art Auction 71 Sotheby's Inside Back Cover St. Madeleine Sophie's Center 92 Stella Rubin 18 Stella Show Mgmt. Co. 94 Steve Miller 1 Tops Gallery 87 Tracy Goodnow 2 Tucker Station Antiques 16 Tyson Trading Co. 32 University of Pittsburgh Press 85 University Press of Mississippi 68 Wainwright/Smith Associates 81 Walters/Benisek 6 Williams American Art Gallery 29 79 Wilton Historical Society Yard Dog 90 The Zetter Collection 24,37
Sotheby's, in conjunction with Guyette & Schmidt, Inc., are pleased to announce the sale of the Distinguished Collection of American Waterfowl Decoys of Dr. James M. McC leery
C SOTHEBY'S, INC. 1999 WILLIAM F. RUPRECHT, PRINCIPAL AUCT
AUCTION IN NEW YORK: SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, JANUARY 22 AND 23, 2000
EXHIBITION OPENS
CATALOGUE
Clockwise beginning top left
Saturday, January 15, 2000 Decoys on display at Guyette & Schmidt's offices until December 20, 1999, call for appointment.
800.444.3709 Cataloging by Gary Guyette & Frank Schmidt
Extremely rare ruddy turnstone, circa 1880 by Lothrop Holmes
INQUIRIES
Sotheby's Folk Art Nancy Druckman 212.606.7225 Guyette & Schmidt 207.778.6256
SOTHEBY'S
1334 York Avenue New York, NY 10021 www.sothebys.com GUYETTE & SCHMIDT
Box 522 West Farmington, ME 04992 www.guyetteandschmidt.com
Auction estimate: S100,000-125,000 Very rare and important sickle bill curlew by William Bowman, formerly in the Mackey collection Auction estimate: $250,000-300,000 Extremely rare premier grade wood duck drake by the Mason Decoy Factory, formerly in the Mackey collection Auction estimate: 4250,000-300,000 Exceptional mallard drake by "Huck" Caines Auction estimate: $150,000-200,000
SOTHEBY'S
One of a kind sleeping Canada goose by Elmer Crowell Auction estimate: 4500,000-600,000 Approximately 700 lots of decoys, calls, shell boxes, ammunition posters and other accessories.
Bids taken by phone by either Sotheby's or Guyette & Schmidt
A limited number of rooms will be available at the Bently Hotel, near Sotheby's and in several other locations. For further information, please contact Sotheby's or Guyette & Schmidt.
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An Exhibition of Frakturs, Slipware Pottery, Carvings, and Decorative Arts FLEISHER OLLMAN GALLERY 211 S. 17th Street Philadelphia 1 9 1 0 3 (215)545.7562 (Fax)545.6140