, AGAZINE 째FYNE AMERICAN FOLK.i ' Tg1111416IIWM *FALL 2002 * $8.00
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DISCOV,ERI
"American Vernacular is... a major contribution to the literature of art." Gerard C. Wertkin, Director, American Folk Art Museum
A book that crosses over conventional art historical categories, American Vernacular presents hundreds of newly identified and never before published objects. Intended as a companion volume to American Primitive, this book reveals powerful strains of imagination that have shaped the American visual landscape and continue to nourish cutting edge artists today. 450 color illustrations, 93/4" x 11", 305 pages.
II ME
ricco 1 maresca
A BULFINCH PRESS BOOK
Little, Brown and Company Boston • New York • London
gallery 529 west 20th street 3rd floor nyc 10011 tel 212.627.4819 www.riccomaresca.com
Left to right, from top: Heart and Tulip Weathervane, Unidentified maker, Pennsylvania, mid-nineteenth century, forged iron with gilding and paint, 24" x 91" x 3/4". Swimming Goose Decoy, Joseph Whiting Lincoln (1859-1938), Accord, Massachusetts, ca. 1910, wood with polychrome, 14" x 32" x 10 1/2. Sailor Whirligig Unidentified maker, New England, mid-nineteenth century, wood with polychrome, 18" x 6" x 3. Cane with Figure ofa Gentleman and a Serpent, Unidentified maker, Pennsylvania, late 19th century, wood with polychrome, height 39. Carnival Head ofGoliath, Unidentified maker, Midwestern United States, late 19th century, wood with polychrome,fiber hair, inset stone, 11" x 8" x 6 1/2". Red Dress Construction, James Castle, Idaho, ca. 1955-65, paper with mixed media collage, 7 3/8" x 10" x 1".
STEVE MILLER • AMERICAN FOLK ART•
RANGER Weathervane by L.W. Cushing & Co.,last quarter ofthe 19th century, 36"in length x 19"in height,repousse copper construction and a superb green verdigris patina. Original condition. Provenance: Sam Goldwitz, New York (1977) Phil Halbfinger (1988) Subject to prior sale.
17 East 96th Street, New York, New York 10128 Telephone:(212)348-5219, Fax:(212)427-4278, E-mail: sharksm@earthlink.net Gallery hours are from 1:00 pm until 6:00 pm,Tuesday through Saturday. Other hours are available by appointment.
Ralph Fasanella
Octory and Aftei, 1945, gouache on papet, 27 inches by 37 inches
FLEISHER OLLMAN GALLERY 211 S. 17th Street Philadelphia 1 9 1 0 3 (215)545.7562 (Fax)545. 6140 fleisher-oilmangallery.com
JAMES CASTLE
1900-1977
Untitled (bird construction), n.d. Found paper, soot, spit, string and crayon 15" x 17"
3 CRIST GALLERY AND ART SERVICES
The Belgravia Building 465 West Main Street Boise, Idaho 83702 Phone 208 336 2671 Fax 336 5615 Electronic Mail art@jcrist.com
3 Crist is the primary representative for the work of James Castle
Chrishe's Inc. 2002 Principal Auctio
CHRISTIE'S
A paint decorated elephant form trade sign inscribed "John Dyckman Boots and Shoes" Probably Peekskill, New York, 19th century ESTIMATE $30,000-50,000
'Important American Furniture and Folk Art Auction
Inquiries
New York
October 9
212 636 2230
20 Rockefeller Plaza New York, New York 10020
Viewing
Catalogues
October 4-8
800 395 6300
www.christies.com
FURNITURE
ART
Exceptional Federal carved cherrywood two-part corner cupboard, with swan neck top, carved rosette terminals and turned urn finials, above a top section with fluted molded pilasters centering arched mullioned doors, set on a base with conforming pilasters and two thumb molded drawers and two raised panel doors, raised on bracket feet. York County, Pennsylvania, circa 1780-1800. Mint original condition. 53 wide,36"deep corners, 98" high.
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Specialists in American Federal Furniture for over 30 years.
l'homas Schwenke Inc dr!". ire
1 & tfr 117
MI0111111
American Federal Furniture
50 Main Street North,Woodbury,CT 06798 Tel.(203)266-0303 Fax (203)266-0707 www.schwenke.com
WALTERS BENISEK ART S. ANTIQUES ONE AMBER LANE • NORTHAMPTON • MASSACHUSETTS • 01060 • • (4 1 3) 5 8 6 • 3 90 9 • • BENISEK WALTERS • MARY DON
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PORTRAIT OF ANN POTTER • BY RUBY DEVOL FINCH • WESTPORT, MASSACHUSETTS • C.1830 •9 x 11 INCHES
FOLK ART VOLUME 27, NUMBER 3 / FALL 2002
F
Cover: Detail ofNO LUGGAGE REQUIRED /Anthony Dominguez/New York City/1997/white enamel on black cloth 128½ x50"/Art on the Edge Archive
Folk Art is published four times a year by the American Folk Art Museum. The museum's mailing address is 1414 Avenue ofthe Americas, New York, NY 10019-2514,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 $8.00. Published and copyright 2002 by the American Folk Art Museum,45 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019.The cover and contents of Folk Art are fully protected by copyright and may not be Lepelduced in any manner without written consent. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the American Folk Art Museum. 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 to the museum's mailing address at 1414 Avenue of the Americas, New York,NY 10019-2514, 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 offolk art and it is a violation ofits 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.
E
ATURES
PAINTED PARLORS: JACOB MAENTEL'S ORNAMENTED INTERIORS Ann Eckert Brown
38
STREET SAVVY Tom Patterson
46
THOMAS HANFORD WENTVVORTH Arthur and Sybil Kern
54
THE SHIRLEY K.SCHLAFER LIBRARY Gerard C. Wertkin
62
EPAAR
TM
EN
IS
EDITOR'S COLUMN
8
DIRECTOR'S LETTER
15
MUSEUM HOURS AND ADMISSIONS
16
MINIATURES
20
TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS
26
THE AMERICAN ANTIQUES SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT
28
THE OUTSIDER ART FAIR PREVIEW ANNOUNCEMENT
31
MUSEUM REPRODUCTIONS PROGRAM
76
BOOKS OF INTEREST
77
MUSEUM NEWS
78
OBITUARIES
86
TRUSTEES/DONORS
88
FALL PROGRAMS
89
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
96
FALL 2002 FOLK ART
7
EDITOR'S
COLUMN
ROSEMARY GABRIEL
he sidewalks of large cities and urban centers are home and "gallery" to an untold number of street artists who contribute deeply to the visual vibrancy and political voices of our culture. Tom Patterson—researcher, author, art critic, editor, and independent curator—brings us an essay on urban street artists Curtis Cuffie, Kevin Sampson,and Anthony Dominguez. Cuffie combines throwaway items to build free-form installations and towering assemblages. Sampson uses cast-off furniture and appliance parts, costume jewelry, chicken bones, and other bits and pieces to make tight, small architectural structures, some of them resembling cottages, safe boxes, or tabernacles. Anthony Dominguez draws—or paints—with white enamel or Wite-Out® correction fluid on black fabric to create dramatic linear compositions dominated by figures of people, animals, birds, and grinning, animated skeletons. For a look into artists' lives that are usually hidden to most of us, read "Street Savvy," starting on page 46. Researchers of another stripe spend their time and energies studying the art and artists of the past. Ann Eckert Brown,a teacher of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century decorative painting techniques, demonstrates how she and others have learned from the paintings of folk artists, such as Jacob Maentel, to identify and date painting, stenciling, and wallpaper motifs. Illustrated with examples of Maentel's work from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum,the National Gallery of Art, and the American Folk Art Museum, this is not only an interesting and informative essay but also a very beautiful one. It starts on page 38. Arthur and Sybil Kern,known to many of you for their research and essays on nineteenth-century artists, have once again followed threads of information and their instincts to unravel the story of Thomas Hanford Wentworth, a portrait painter who was also known for his drawings and paintings of views of Niagara Falls. Follow the Kerns' trail(pages 54-61),from Wentworth's birth in 1781 to his death in 1849. Researchers the world over rely on libraries. As Director Gerard C. Wertkin aptly puts it: "One of the American Folk Art Museum's outstanding resources is its Shirley K. Schlafer Library ...." For an understanding of the development of the museum's library and its wonderful and surprising resources, read Werticin's essay, starting on page 62. Although the museum opened the doors to its library and collections in our new building in early December,to most of the trustees and staff it still seems as if it was yesterday. A short while ago, Trustee Lucy Danziger came across a photo she took of some of our very first visitors. She did not, unfortunately, get their names, but wanted very much to share this special moment with all of us. If you recognize yourself in this photo, please let us know, and we will mention your name in our next issue. Until then, I hope you will come visit us this fall.
T
rte.07,1-;A? 8 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM PUBLICATIONS/FOLK ART Rosemary Gabriel Director ofPublications/Editor and Publisher Tanya Heinrich Exhibition Catalog and Book Editor Katharine Clark Production Editor Vanessa Davis Editorial Assistant Erilcka V. Han Copy Editor Jeffrey Kibler, The Magazine Group,Inc. Design Eleanor Garlow Advertising Sales Craftsmen Litho Printers Administration Gerard C. Wertkin Director Susan Conlon Assistant to the Director Riccardo Salmona Deputy Director Linda Dunne ChiefAdministrative Officer Robin A. Schlinger ChiefFinancial Officer Irene Kreny Accountant Madhukar Balsara Assistant Controller Robert J. Saracena Facilities Manager George Wang Director ofInformation Technology Wendy Barbee Manager of Visitor Services Anthony Crawford Assistant Manager of Visitor Services Michele Sabatiele Visitor Services Assistant Jeaninne Walz Visitor Services Representative Damon Anderson Visitor Services Representative Dave Charles Visitor Services Representative Daniel Rodriguez Office Services Coordinator Beverly McCarthy Mail Order/Reception Katya Ullman Administrative Assistant/Reception Collections & Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander Senior Curator and Director ofExhibitions Brooke Davis Anderson Director and Curator of The Contemporary Center Celene Ryan Curatorial Assistant Ann-Marie Reilly ChiefRegistrar Judith Gluck Steinberg Director of Traveling Exhibitions Elizabeth V. Warren Consulting Curator Education Diana Schlesinger Director ofEducation Rebecca Hayes Manager ofSchool and Docent Programs Lee Kogan Director, Folk Art Institute/Curator ofSpecial Projects for The Contemporary Center Laura Tilden Education Assistant Departments Cheryl Aldridge Director ofDevelopment Diana DeJesus-Medina Director of Corporate Development Beth Bergin Membership Director Suzannah Kellner Membership Associate Lauren Potters Membership Associate Danelsi De La Cruz Membership Assistant Wendy Barreto Membership Clerk Susan Flamm Public Relations Director Monique A. Brizz-Walker Director ofSpecial Events Katie Hush Special Events Coordinator Alice J. Hoffman Director ofLicensing/Executive Director of The American Antiques Show Marie S. DiManno Director ofMuseum Shops Richard Ho Manager ofInformation Systems, Retail Operations Janey Fire Director ofPhotographic Services James Mitchell Librarian Eugene P. Sheehy Volunteer Librarian Rita Keckeissen Volunteer Librarian Jane Lattes Director of Volunteer Services Eva and Morris Feld Gallery Staff Dale Gregory Gallery Director Joan Sullivan Assistant Gallery Director Ursula Morillo Weekend Gallery Manager Kenneth R. Bing Security Bienvenido Medina Security Treenia Thompson Security Museum Shops Staff Managers: Dorothy Gargiulo, Louise B. Sheets, Marion Whitley; Book Buyer: Evelyn R. Gurney; Staff: Thomas James, Michael Koh; Volunteers: Angela Clair, Millie Gladstone, Elayne Home,Judy Kenyon, Arlene Luden, Nancy Mayer, Judy Rich, Frances Rojack,Phyllis Selnick American Folk Art Museum Book and Gift Shops 45 West 53rd Street New York,NY 10019 212/265-1040, ext. 124 Two Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets) New York, NY 10023 212/595-9533, ext. 26 Mailing Address American Folk Art Museum 1414 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019-2514 212/977-7170, Fax 212/977-8134, http://www.folkartmuseum.org info@folkartmuseum.org
ALLAN KATZ Americana
Unique Three-gallon Stoneware Jar. Cobalt blue brush and slip cup decoration Probably Virginia. Ca. 1820.
Allan & Penny Katz By Appointment 25 Old Still Road Woodbridge, CT 06525 Tel. (203) 393-9356
Figural Shelf Construction Midwest Origin C.1935 Carved & Painted 20"H x 11"W x 3"D
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llitirston Nichols american
antiques
A detail of back
Carved Keepsake Box An exceptional carved keepsake box, with original polychrome paint. Signed inside by the carver, Ernest Keener, with the initials E.K. on the top with date 1903. All relief-canted in tiger maple depicting birds, flowers, hearts, acorns, basket offlowers and decorative elements, standing on turned feet. Upstate New York. Dated 1903. Dimensions: Height:9",Width:14", Depth:9 1/2".
THURSTON NICHOLS WILL BE EXHIBITING AT THE FOLLOWING SHOWS: The Early American Life Antiques Show — September 27-29,2002, King of Prussia, PA Historic Yellow Springs Antiques Show — October 18-20,2002,Chester Springs,PA Historic Alexandria Antiques Show — November 22-24,2002,Alexandria,VA
Thurston Nichols American Antiques L.L.C. 522 Twin Ponds Road, Breinigsville, PA 18031 phone: 610.395.5154 fax: 610.395.3679 www.antiquesiotcom
Carved and painted wood, tin, leather, tacks and horsehair. Height 18.5 inches.
01-1)E HOPE ANTIQUES, INC_
Patrick Bell/ Edwin HiId P.O. Box 718, New Hope, PA 18938-0718 By Appointment 215-297-0200 fax: 215-297-0300 e-mail: info@oldehope.com www.oldehope.com
Watercolor on Silk Theorem in original stenciled frame, Ex-Mallory Collection / c. 1820, 9" x 11"
DAVID WHEATCROFT Antiques 220 East Main Street, Westborough, MA 01581 • Tel:(508) 366-1723
DIRECTOR'S
LETTER
GERARD C. WERTICIN
his issue of Folk Art will reach readers very close to the first anniversary of the tragic events that we now refer to by the simple shorthand of9/11. Of course, there is nothing simple about the attack on American values, the crushing loss of life, or the ending of a long-held sense of shared invulnerability that the date commemorates. Here at the American Folk Art Museum,staff members will remember the day by reflecting on the ways in which selected works of art have helped to sort out the thoughts and emotions engendered by the horrific events of9/11, whether in New York, Washington,or a field in western Pennsylvania. I hope that these personal expressions, which will be included in a special brochure for the sad occasion, will encourage visitors to the museum to remember and reflect for themselves. The friends and family of those directly affected by the tragedy experienced incomparable losses, but the impact of 9/11 on travel and tourism, and the economy in general, was also severe. Recognizing the needs of the New York cultural community in the face of these challenges, The Andrew W.Mellon Foundation generously established a special fund in November 2001 "to help sustain institutional purposes and programs during this difficult transitional period." In announcing this major initiative and inviting grant proposals, William G. Bowen, president of the foundation, remarked that museums,libraries, and performing arts organizations "powerfully help to define New York City's special qualities." It is with profound gratitude that I acknowledge receipt of a grant from The Andrew W.Mellon Foundation in the amount of $475,000. To Mr. Bowen, Hannah H. Gray, the foundation's chairman, and the members of the foundation's special trustee committee,I extend the deep and abiding thanks of all of us at the museum. Although this contribution was prompted by a national tragedy, it also stands as recognition of the value of the museum's public services, and the place that the institution has earned in the cultural life of the city and country. Coming at a time of substantial growth and development in the life of the museum, when the doors of its new home were being opened to the public, the grant from The Andrew W.Mellon Foundation could not have been more welcome or more gratifying. In his announcement of this special initiative, William Bowen expressed the hope that"a variety of funding sources will consider similar forms of assistance." In a true affirmation of the American spirit, other public-minded individuals and institutions have taken up the challenge. I acknowledge with warm appreciation a grant to the museum of $100,000 from a fund established by an anonymous donor, which was distributed by the Carnegie Corporation of New York "to help small to mediumsize cultural institutions...in the aftermath of September 1 1th." Among other recent foundation grants is a $75,000 award from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation to help sustain educational programming. I thank the foundation's board of directors, its executive director, Robert M.Frehse Jr., and its program director, Ligia Cravo,for their belief in the institution and its mission. The responsibility of articulating the museum's message to foundations rests on the shoulders of my colleague Cheryl Aldridge. I express my sincere appreciation to her for making such a compelling case on behalf of the museum. The American Folk Art Museum has been an active participant in the Department of State's Arts in Embassies program from the inception of
T
Director Gerard C. Wertkin, Sam Waterston, Public Relations Director Susan Flamm, and Senior Curator and Director of Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander
the initiative several decades ago. Works of art from the museum's collection are currently installed in United States embassies in the Czech Republic and Russia. I am especially pleased that Vollis Simpson's exuberant Bicycle Man, a ten-foot-high whirligig (c. 1996)by the North Carolina artist, now greets visitors to the diplomatic facility in Moscow. A 1999 gift to the museum from our good friends Ellin and Baron Gordon, this impressive figure served as the cover image of Flying Free (Williamsburg, Virginia, 1997), the catalog of an exhibition from the Gordons' collection at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center. Among other objects on loan from the American Folk Art Museum in the embassy program are a fine gathering of wildfowl decoys,including the work of Joseph W.Lincoln(1859-1938)and Charles E."Shang" Wheeler(1872-1949); paintings depicting aspects of American life by Karol Kozlowski(1885-1969), Nan Phelps(1904-1990), and Mattie Lou O'Kelley (1908-1997); and a variety of woodcarvings demonstrating the diverse roots of American culture. Jam gratified that the United States diplomatic corps recognizes the eloquence with which folk artists express the very heart of the American heritage in their work. Many months after the opening of our new museum building, television and film crews continue to be seen in the galleries. From May 6 to May 12,the gifted American actor, Sam Waterston, acted as host for a
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 1.5
DIRECTOR'S
ANNOUNCEMENT
LETTER
Museum Hours and Fees
AMERICAN
0
American Folk Art Museum 45 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212/265-1040
Li
MUSEUM
Admission: Adults
$9
Students
$5
Seniors
$5
Children under 12
Free
Members
Free
Friday evening Free to all
6:00-8:00 PM
Museum Hours: Tuesday—Sunday
10:00 AM-6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM-8:00 PM
Monday
Closed
Shop Hours: Daily
10:00 Am-6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM-8:00 PM
American Folk Art Museum Eva and Morris Feld Gallery Two Lincoln Square Columbus Avenue Between 65th and 66th Streets New York, NY 10023 Phone: 212/595-9533 Admission: All
Free
Museum and Shop Hours: 11:00 Am-7:30 PM Daily Monday
16 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
11:00 AM-6:00 PM
series of telecasts taped at the museum for Metro/Arts Thirteen. The series began with a thirty-minute segment featuring interviews with Board of Trustees Chairman Ralph Esmerian and myself, and continued through the week with a variety of films relating to American folk art. Sam Waterston donated his services to the museum for this program. All of us at the museum are grateful to him for his enthusiastic support and encouragement. This issue of Folk Art also contains a report on developments in the museum's Shirley K. Schlafer Library. None is more exciting than a recent gift to the library from Cuesta Benberry of St. Louis, Missouri. Ninety cartons of books and other materials were delivered to our warehouse in June, comprising a true treasure trove of original research materials, rare volumes, patterns, and other published sources on quilts, quiltmakers, and related subjects. Widely acknowledged as one of America's great quilt historians, Benberry assembled this distinguished collection over a period of many decades of dedicated work. Her generous decision to place it in the custody of the American Folk Art Museum is a wonderful affirmation of the institution's scholarly role and will benefit researchers for generations to come. After a period of organization, the collection will be moved to the museum's library, and a dedication ceremony is to be planned. A full report on this important gift will be included in a future issue of Folk Art. For now,I want to express in the warmest terms my gratitude to Cuesta Benberry, not only on behalf of the trustees and staff of the museum but also for all who are committed to the recognition of quilts as a significant American art form. Two new trustees have been elected to the museum's board. Robert L. Hirschhorn is known to members and friends of the American Folk Art Museum as a great collector and scholar in American folk marquetry, which was the subject of a trailblazing exhibition at the museum in 1999. Now a resident of New York City, Hirschhorn was for many years chief executive officer of Eastern Container Companies in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he also served on the boards of several banking institutions and charitable foundations. Generous supporters of the museum's capital campaign and other initiatives, Robert Hirschhorn, his wife, Marjorie, and their daughter, Carolyn Hirschhorn Schenker, have already taken an active role in the museum's growth and development. In June 2002, at the first board meeting attended by Robert Hirschhorn, Richard H. Walker, general counsel of Deutsche Bank, was elected a trustee. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Walker served as director of the Division of Enforcement of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, having previously been the SEC's general counsel and northeast regional director. In 1997, he was awarded the Presidential Rank Distinguished Service Award,the highest federal award for government service. With distinguished careers in business and law, Hirschhorn and Walker bring additional strength to the museum's Board of Trustees. I welcome them both. "American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum"is now on view at the museum. Accompanied by a handsome catalog, the exhibition is an exuberant celebration of the American spirit. Come join us! A warm welcome awaits you, as always, as well as a special opportunity to see and be inspired by some of the finest works in the museum's world-renowned collection.*
Trotta-Bono Antique American Indian Art
Whale Effigy Whalebone, length 8 3/4' Alaska, Early 19th century
By appointment: (914) 528-6604 P.O. Box 34 Shrub Oak, New York 10588 tb788183,4aol.com We specialize in collection formation and development. We are actively purchasing fine American Indian Art.
Subject to prior sale.
226 West 21st Street, New York, N.Y 10011 •(212)929-8769,Appointment Suggested
FINE CHIP CARVED DETAIL THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF THE EAGLE,WITH THIRTEEN GOLD STARS ON THE BASE. ONE OF THREE FULLY DIMENSIONALLY CARVED EAGLES BY THE HAND OF BELLAMY.
WALNUT WITH THE ORIGINAL BLACK AND GOLD PAINT. HEIGHT:30 INCHES;WINGSPREAD:59'4 INCHES.
ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN HALES BELLAMY•CIRCA 18604875.
EXTREMELY RARE BELLAMY EAGLE
Sidney Gecker
American Folk Art
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Confederate, hand-sewn, 9-star parade flag of the Civil War period. Found in Tennessee. 11.5" x 13.5" on a 32" bamboo stick with carved ivory base cap and finial.
Portrait of a boy in a field of flowers. Probably Philadelphia or New York, circa 1830-40 35" x 30.
MINIATURES
THE
AMES
COMPILED BY VANESSA DAVIS
GALLERY The Evolution of Turkish Carpets The Textile Museum (202/6670441)in Washington, D.C., presents an exhibition of more than 50 carpets dating from the fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries in "The Classical Tradition of Anatolian Carpets," on view from Sept. 13 through Feb. 16, 2003. The exhibition surveys the history of carpets produced in Anatolia(now the Asiatic portion
of the Republic of Turkey), a history of the region and its people, the influence and the effects of the influence of Anatolia's neighbors, and an overview of the place of Anatolian carpets in our culture. A full-color catalog accompanies this exhibition. For more information, call the museum or visit its website, www.textilemuseum.org.
GHIRLANDAIO-PATTERN CARPET / artist unknown / western or northwestern Anatolia / 18th or 19th century / wool /54 x 85"/ The Textile Museum
20P/0510: Pair of Figures in Carrying Case, wood,24.5 x 7 x 3.5"
Chinese Folk Art from a Remote Province We specialize in early handmade Americana including quilts, carved canes,tramp art and whimseys. Also exceptional contemporary self-taught, naive, visionary, and outsider art. Bonnie Grossman, Director 2661 Cedar St., Berkeley, CA 94708 Tel 510/845-4949 Fax 510/845-6219 amesgal@attbi.com www.amesgallery.com
20 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
The crafts of Guizhou, a remote Phila McDaniel, guest curator of mountain province in the Peothis exhibit, is the first American ple's Republic of China, to guide a group from are the subject of America to Guizhou "Silver and Silk," and has made an exhibit at the more than 26 Mingei Internavisits to the tional Museum province, dur(619/239ing which she 0003)in San acquired this Diego. This extensive colselection of lection. The handwoven and exhibit opens embroidered textiles, Oct. 20 and runs silver headdresses, through Jan. 2003. BABY COLLAR / artist unknown / and jewelry are part of Old Han, Eastern Guizhou, For information, China / 20th ccntury/ silk the museum's newly call the museum or embroidery on silk /9/ 1 2 10째f acquired Phila visit its website, Mingei!demobseal Museum, McDaniel Collection. Phila McDaniel Collection www.mingei.org.
AMERICAN PRIMITIVE Outsider Artists' Photographs in Chicago
GALLERY
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art(312/243-9088) presents a dynamic exhibit of three well-known self-taught artists' work from Sept.6 through Nov. 23."Identity and Desire," highlighting work by Lee Godie, Eugene Von Breunchenhein, and Morton Bartlett, includes photography by these artists as well as work in other media for which they are also well known. This exhibition also features examples that draw parallels between these folk artists and other well-known contemporary artists. Godie and Cindy Sherman, another artist who photographs herself as different characters, are compared. Von Breunchenhein's work, which focuses an admiring and appreciative eye on his wife as his
594 Broadway #205 New York, NY 10012 Tel. 212-966-1530
OH! FRENCHIE FRENCHIE FRENCHIE / Lee Godie / Chicago / c. 1970 / ballpoint on silver gelatin photo-booth print / 5 x 4"/ collection of Carl Hammer
muse, calls to mind Alfred Stieglitz's series of photographs of his wife-to-be, Georgia O'Keeffe. And Bartlett's photographs of sculptures of children are contrasted with Hans Bellmer's constructed dolls. For more information, call Intuit or visit its website, www.art.org.
RAYMOND MATERSON
Fall Folk Art at the Fenimore
PICTURES SEWN FROM UNRAVELED SOCKS
Two exhibitions of narrative folk experiences, while the other art at the Fenimore Art Museum half of the exhibition,"National (607/547-1400),the showcase History," shows the different ways in which folk artists repremuseum of the New York State Historical Association,in Coopers- sent national events. Included town,are on view until Dec. 29. in this show are two new paint"Drawn Home: Fritz Vogt's ings by New York folk artist Rural America," consisting of Malcah Zeldis that portray the more than 60 drawings portraying September 11 attacks on the 1890s America by itinerant folk World Trade Center. For addiartist Fritz Vogt, reveals rural tional information, call the museum or visit its website, America's architecture, agriculture, commerce,and social hiswww.fenimoreartmuseum.org. tory through the artist's unique perspective. jr4 P "American Memory: korai Recalling the Past in Folk Art" is dedicated to "ROWartworks that depict the history of the American experience from two perspectives. One half,"Personal History," includes objects illustrating individuals' memories and
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Sins and Needles, a story of spiritual mending, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, tells the story of Raymond Materson's remarkable Life and art. Ray's needlework will be featured at the American Visionary Museum, Baltimore, MD.
Detail of TRADE AND COMMERCE QUILT / Hannah S. Stokes/ Delaware River Valley / c. 1830 / cotton / 89 x 105"/ Fenimore Art Museum
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 21
MINIATURES
HARVEY AR
&
T
ANTIQUES
One Community's Quitting Heritage Gee's Bend,a U-shaped sliver of land bordered by a curve in the Alabama River,is home to an isolated all-Black community with a hundred-year-long quilting tradition."The Quilts of Gee's Bend" is on view from Sept. 8 to Nov. 10 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (713/639-7540). It will travel to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York where it will be displayed from Nov. 21 to Feb. 23,2003. The exhibit consists of a collection of 70 quilts that represent four generations of artists whose methods and motifs both changed and endured over the course of a
century. Quiltmakers in Gee's Bend were isolated geographically and thus made use of whatever materials were available, mostly fabric from their everyday lives. Quilting was passed down from mothers and grandmothers, but individuality and imagination were emphasized and inevitable in this secluded community. Also presented in this exhibition is an in-depth history of Gee's Bend, including current and historical photographs, a video, and excerpts from interviews with 30 quiltmakers. For more information, please call the museum.
STRING-PIECED COLUMNS / Jessie T. Pettway / Gee's Bend, Alabama / c. 1950 / cotton / 76 x 95"/ The William Arnett Collection of the Tinwood Alliance BIRD TREE / Missouri, c. 1940 / H 32" W 16"
Story Quilts in Kentucky
1328 Greenleaf Street Evanston, IL 60202 tel. 847. 866. 6766 fax 847. 866. 6880
22 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
"Piece Be Still," an exhibit of 18 quilts by Phyllis Stephens, will run until Jan. 4, 2003, at the Museum of the American Quilter's Society (270/442-8856)in Paducah, Ky. Stephens, a fifth generation quiltmaker from Atlanta, draws from scripture,
personal experience, and the long history of African American quiltmaking to put together her vibrant and lyrical compositions. For more information about the show,call the museum or visit its website at www.quiltmuseum.org.
BALLYHACK ANTIQUES
FLOWER CLOTH / Xee Vang / California / 1984 / cotton and cotton/synthetic blend fabrics, with appliquĂŠ and embroidery / 31 x 31"/ collection of John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Hmong Narrative For hundreds of years, the Hmong produced textiles with abstract designs using embroidery, appliquĂŠ, and dyeing techniques. Since the Vietnam War, however, Hmong textiles have become decorated with narrative scenes depicting Hmong history, folktales, and daily life. These "story cloths" became a way to express the difficulties, loneliness, and joys many Hmong
refugees have experienced in coming to a new country after the war."Hmong Art: the Continuing Story," an ongoing exhibit of these narrative textiles and other items of Hmong material culture, is on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan,Wis.(920/458-6144). For information, call the center or visit its website, www.jmks.c.org.
Spiritual Elevation Through Beauty and Utility A special on-loan exhibition of Shaker crafts at the Heritage Plantation of Sandwich (508/8883300)in Sandwich, Mass., explores the spiritual motivation behind Shaker craft and design. "Inspired Choices: Creations of Shaker Life" presents a diverse collection of everyday Shaker objects, textiles, furniture, gift drawings, and writings. The Shaker belief that labor is a form of prayer is translated into the utilitarian everyday objects they made through the beauty and craftsmanship that characterizes their work. Interactive programming and workshops for children and adults are scheduled. For information, call the museum or visit www.heritageplantation.org.
Rare sheet-iron weathervane in the form of a pilgrim farmer / Pennsylvania, late t9th century
TABLE / CANDLESTAND/ Church family / Mount Lebanon, New York /c. 1825-1850/ cherry with red stain varnish / 25s/0 H x 161 / 2" D / courtesy Hancoak Shaker Village
Ballyhack Antiques Mary Sams Cornwall, CT tel. 860/672-6751 www.ballyhackantiques.com
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 23
MINIATURES
Historic Hand-Held Games The hypnotic lure of the Nintendo Game Boy isn't strictly a modem phenomenon—hand-held games have been entertaining children and adults alike since the 19th century."In the Palm of Your Hand: Dexterity Games 1880-1960" is an exhibition of 100 hand-held games, pocket puzzles, and palm puzzles from the private collection of Barbara Levine, presented by the San
Francisco Public Library (415/557-4400). The show spans a century of the history and evolution of these popular toys—rich in whimsy,culture, and visual appeal. The exhibit will be on view from Sept. 10 until Oct. 27 in the Skylight Gallery on the sixth floor of the Main Library. Admission is free. For more information, call the library or visit its website, www.sfpl.org.
FEED THEM ALL BEFORE THE NEXT TRAIN LEAVES / c. 1944 / collection of Barbara Levine
Annual Conference of the Folk Art Society of America
GOLD GOAT
6119 ROUTE 9 RHINEBECK, NY 12576 BY APPOINTMENT PHONE 845 8 7 6 - 1 582
www.goldgoaticom
24 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
From Oct. 3-6,2002,the Folk Art Society of America will hold its 15th annual convention, at the Hilton Savannah DeSoto Hotel in Savannah,Ga. The conference's programming includes lectures, tours of folk art exhibits, historic districts and homes,and meeting folk artists. There will be a benefit auction as well. The conference is chaired by Joe Adams and Laura Carpenter of America, Oh, Yes!, Hilton Head Island, S.C. For more information on the conference or to register, call the Folk Art Society office at 800/527-3655 or visit its website, www.folkart.org.
Folk Alt Society of America
Odober 3 6 2002 Ge0I1)141
LINDSAY GALLERY 986 North High St. Columbus, OH 43201 Tel. (614) 291-1973 lindsaygallery@hotmail.com
Apocalyptic Visions
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Von Bruenchenhein 1956 #398
R D A Y & Jane
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Visit our NEW website!
www.lindsaygallery.com
"Collosal Cloning Catastrophe" 2002
TRAVELING
EXHIBITIONS
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CHARITY HOSPITAL 523-2311 / Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-19801/ New Orleans, Louisiana / n.d. / acrylic and/or tempera, graphite, and ballpoint ink on cardboard with string/ 13/ 1 2 x 17"/ collection of Alvina and Paul Haverkamp
Detail from a drawing (96" x 144") Intended as his Magnum Opus and never realized as a painting
DROSSOS P. SKYLLAS
The American Folk Art Museum has an exciting selection of exhibitions for travel. Currently available to museums and cultural centers are "American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum,""American Radiance: Selections from the Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum,""Darger: The Henry Darger Collection at the American Folk Art Museum," and "Studies and Sketches: Henry Darger." The museum also organizes and travels exhibitions of loaned objects. These include,"Painted Saws: Jacob Kass,""Tools of Her Ministry: The Art of Sister Gertrude Morgan," "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation: The Art of Adolf Walfli," and "The Synagogue and the Carousel: Jewish Woodcarving Traditions." Mark your calendars for the following American Folk Art Museum exhibition when it travels to your area during the coming months: Nov. 13, 2002—Jan. 28,2003 ABCD:A Collection of Art Brut Mennello Museum of American Folk Art Orlando, Florida 407/246-4278
April 26—June 29,2003 ABCD:A Collection of Art Brut Chicago Cultural Center Chicago 312/744-6330
Dec. 29,2002—Feb. 23,2003 Quilted Constructions: The Spirit of Design Butler Institute of American Art Youngstown, Ohio 330/743-1107
June 17—Aug. 17,2003 American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum Telfair Museum of Art Savannah, Georgia 912/232-1177
The Last Supper September 13—October 19, 2002
PHYLLIS KIND GALLERY 136 Greene Street New York NY 10012 tel. 212.925.1200 fax 212.941.7841 www.phylliskindgallery.com
26 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
April 19—June 15, 2003 Quilted Constructions: The Spirit of Design Fort Wayne Museum of Art Fort Wayne,Indiana 219/422-6467
June 28—Aug.23, 2003 Quilted Constructions: The Spirit of Design The Nickle Arts Museum University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta, Canada 403/220-7234 For further information, please contact Judith Gluck Steinberg, director of traveling exhibitions, American Folk Art Museum, Administrative Offices, 1414 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019-2514, 212/977-7170.
ERICAN FURNITURE & DECORATIVE ARTS featuring the Ramp Art Collection ofSam and Myra Gotoff November 1 & 2,2002 63 Park Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts
Illustrated catalogue #2195 is available for $32 by mail. For further information, please contact Skinner's Americana Department at 978.779.6241, or via email at americana@skinnerinc.com
otch-carved nd Fretwork •er Foil Tramp rt Tall Case Clock, dated , 1929.
Auctioneers- ,a;nd Appraisers- o
.ntiques and Fine Art
"Celebrate the American Spirit" with us and 45 exhibitors—"a who's who of Americana"— at the first anniversary of The American Antiques Show
A Twenty-First Century American Tradition
003
TAA The Amer
t ques Show
A Benefit for the American Folk Art Museum at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC THURSDAY, JANUARY 16—SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2003 Gala Opening Night Preview WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2003 Honorary Chair Paige Rense, Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Digest For TAAS 2003 Ticket and Special Event Information email taas@folkartmuseum.org or call 212. 977. 7170 THE AMERICAN ANTIQUES SHOW
Managed by Keeling Wainwright Associates, Inc.
OON REEK Antiques,L.L.C.
PO Box +57,20 Main Street Bridgeport, NJ 0801+ Phone:(856) +67-3197 Fax:(856) +67-5+51 raccooncreek@comcast.net
Stone ire salt Glazed Water Cooler with Cobalt Decoration "Edmonds 6, Co" N.\y', State, ca. 1350-1805
Bus McGR
INQUIRIES:(760) 730-4630
THE
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collection
VIRTUAL GALLERY. WWW.ZETTEROLITSIDER.COM
AMERICAN PRIMITIVE GALLERY 594 BROADWAY #205 NEW YORK, NY 10012 (212) 966-1530 MON-SAT 11-6
ANTHONY DOMINQUEZ
30 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
Paint on black cloth 14 x 30 inches
2003 0utts4lArior Art Foulx Say& the'Dote'!
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Wed.ne/sciay,fa/masa/try 22, 2003 The/Putok
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This exuberant evening celebration is a highlight of the museum's calendar! Preview night offers a first look at thousands of works by contemporary self-taught artists—presented by an array Of the best American and international galleries. We hope you will join us for this unique and exciting annual museum benefit!
HOLY ST. ADOLF TOWER /Adolf-Weilflk(1864-1930)/13erw, Switirerland4 1919 / Pencil,and,coLored.periza ow paper/30 1/2 w 22 1/4"/collection,of American/ Folk/Art M weturv, prorpti4ed,gift ofSam,and.Betsey Farber, P10.2000.7/ photo- by acwi.n.Ashwortiv
For 'no-re,iNt,fo-r-vnati,an,an/ ttcket prize4,- cwvi./ mtry tine.-, pleez co-yttact the, nuAiSeAknaik SIDOCAA1/ ovonts,clepas-tvneAftt at 212. 977. 7170, eixt". 308, or ei-nizat/,speci,a2e)vmtse'foLkartniktiseumli.org:
AMERICAN
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LAURA FISHER ANTIQUE QUILTS & AMERICANA
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NEW YORK, NY 10022 4
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Mon—Sat llam— 6pm tel:(212) 838-2596 alt:(212) 866-6033 laurafisher@netlinkl.net
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New York City's broadest selection of antique quilts, hooked rugs, coverlets, paisleys, Navajos, Beacons, textiles, home furnishings and American folk art.
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STUFFED! Tactile, dimensional berry clusters and leaves in an exuberant 1860s applique quilt, from an extensive collection of trapunto quilts.
BRANT MACKLEY GALLERY AMERICAN INDIAN ART & FOLK ART 7096 Union Deposit Road, Hummelstown, PA 17036 Tel: 717-566-9409
Southern-pottery face jugs, left: Brown Family circa 1890-1910; right: Brown Pottery circa 1930-1939. Exhibiting: Heart of Country Antiques Show, October 17-20, Nashville,TN Jim Burk 's Greater York Antiques Show, November 1-3,York,PA
32 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM
GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP • • • RECEIVE A FREE GIFT FROM US! Purchase a gift membership and receive a box of Museum notecards. Order today for holiday delivery!
MEMBERSHIP LEVELS Senior or Student $45 (with ID) Individual $55 Dual/Family $75
Telephone the Membership Office at 212. 977. 7170 or e-mail membership@folkartmuseum.org
AMERICAN
1=1
LEAPING STAG AND ROCKY KNOLL / Possibly W.A. Snow & Co. or Harris & Co. / New England, possibly Boston /1870-1900 / molded and gilded sheet copper /27 x 351 / 2 x 31 / 2"/ Collection of the American Folk Art Museum, New York; gift in memory of Burt Martinson, founder and first president of the American Folk Art Museum, by Cordelia Hamilton, 1985.14.1
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ModernAmericanArt.com an online resource of Gary Snyder Fine Art
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601 West 29th Street, New York, NY 10001 Untitled (JSP458), c.1946-48, gouache on cardboard, 14 x 8 inches
phone 212 871 1077 fax 212 871 1262 www.garysnyderfineart.com
art brut
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Drawings, paintings, and sculptures by long-term asylum inmates, mediums, isolates, and religious visionaries as well as inspired plumbers, housekeepers, miners, and shopkeepers. This exhibition is organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York City
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900 East Princeton St. • Orlando, Florida 32803 407.246.4278 • Fax: 407.246.4329 www.mennellomuseum.com • cityoforlandoart@mindspring.com Tues.—Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. noon-5 p.m.• Closed major holidays
The Mennello Museum of American Folk Art is owned and operated by the City of Orlando.
34 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
Adolf WOlfli, Christoph Columbus, 1930 Pencil and colored pencil on paper, 124; x 8',/8 inches
Slotin Folk Art Auction Presents the
Myron Shure Collection November 9, 2002 Buford, Georgia CATALOG: $25 800 LOTS - Fully-Illustrated Send checks: Slotin Folk Art Auction 5967 Blackberry Ln. Buford, GA 30518
INFORMATION: 770 932-1000 Email: folkfest@bellsouth.net www.slotinfolkart.com GAL #2864
1)OETHEY GORHAM "A rerfect World" October 12 - 30, 2002 Porethey Gorham is a self-taught Georgia artist. Her joyful paintings are personal reflections of hearth, home, and faith. To view a selection of her paintings please visit our website.
www.mainstreetgallery.net "big Moon Rising"
22" x 2E3"
Main Street
F.O. Box 641 (51 N. Main St.) Clayton, Ga. 30525 706-782-2440
gallery
DAPPLED GREY MAKE-DO ROCKING HORSE Constructed of mixed woods and metal: a narrowed rocking chair base forms the rockers, legs and carriage for the trimmed, planed, and shaped log body; silhouette sawn planking completes the head and neck with tin cabinet handles for reins and tack eyes All polychrome enamel paint decorated: dappled with black sponging on white and wearing an orange-red halter. Origin: North Central Midwest Late 19th - Early 20th Century Length 38' Height 28' Width 9 7/8' Aunties' Attic Antiques: Richard & Priscilla Lindstrom 101 S. Main,PO Box 297 St. Joseph, IL 61873 217.469.2256
36 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
BLUE 8z WHITE TEXTILES IN AMERICA I8th
I9th CENTURY
JAN WHITLOCK TEXTILES • CORA GINSBURG LLC
NOVEMBER 13- 22, 2002 Exhibition at Cora Ginsburg Gallery, 19 East 74th Street, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10021 GUEST SPEAKER Linda Eaton, Curator of Textiles, Winterthur Museum Wednesday, November 13, I I:00am
PREVIEW — Tuesday, November 12, 5:00-8:00pm FEATURING 18th Century Calimanco, Chine, Silk Brocades, Toile Normande, American & English Crewelwork, Indigo Resist, English Copperplate Toile, American Homespun
Painted Parlors Jacob Maentel's Ornamented Interiors By Ann Eckert Brown
GENERAL SCHUMACHER'S DAUGHTER Jacob Maentel Probably southeastern Pennsylvania c. 1812 Watercolor, gouache, and ink OH paper 1 2 " 147/le x 9/ National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbish, 1980.62.54
uch can be learned about the lifestyle of Federal period Americans by studying the work of the numerous untutored portrait painters commissioned by their contemporaries, who, proud of their accomplishments in a new nation, desired images of themselves and their possessions for posterity. While filling this need and the need to augment their incomes, these mostly itinerant artisans documented the culture and decorative arts of a most important period in America's development.
For some forty years, the welldocumented and prolific folk artist Jacob Maentel recorded a wide range of decorative styles and techniques popular in predominantly German areas of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and later in the frontier states of Indiana and Illinois. Much information can be gleaned by viewing the room interiors and furnishings, and even the dress and reading material, of his subjects. Maentel was born in October 1778 in an area of Germany called Hesse-Kassel.' He was the son of Elizabetha Krieger and Friedrich Maentel, beadle of the principal post office. He grew to manhood in the elegant city of Kassel, a cosmopolitan center of art and culture. When parts of Hesse came under Napoleon's rule late in the eighteenth century,' Maentel found himself drafted into the French army, where he spent seven years, including service as secretary to Napoleon himself. His decision to immigrate to America in 1806 was precipitated by two events, the death of his father in 1805 and, of course, his discharge from the army soon after. Maentel seems to have arrived via the port of Baltimore, where a few records of his advertising as a portrait painter in
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 39
1807-1808 have survived. The first real proof of his presence in Pennsylvania, however, dates to 1811 when he applied for citizenship at York,3 just in time to enlist in the 2nd Regiment of the Pennsylvania militia, which was preparing for the War of 1812. Maentel must have been comfortable in York, with its predominantly German speaking population including a number of Hessians,4 possibly dating to the Revolutionary War period. During his stint in the militia, Maentel painted several portraits of military officers and their families. Of this group, the portraits of General Schumacker and his daughter, c. 1812, executed in watercolor, gouache, and ink on paper, are perhaps his finest early works. Frdulein Schumacker is depicted in the parlor of her home. Painted in profile, she appears to be not quite twenty years of age and is dressed and coiffed in the Empire style, a late classical-period style made popular by the Napoleonic Court, subsequently popular in England and then in America by the early nineteenth century. Holding an open book, which appears to be a German bible, she makes a fetching picture posed against a delightfully ornamented interior, featuring a festoon of pink roses at the ceiling level, a delicate guilloche border accenting the room's architectural elements, and faux graining in a style called Pecky Bois ornamenting the dado, or lower third of the room. It is a charming room in the classical style, which was the rage in Europe starting midway through the eighteenth century and which later became America's Federal style. Walls embellished only with borders, like those seen in Pompeii, were very fashionable beginning about 1789. Paper borders with classical motifs were first imported and later manufactured by numerous domestic wallpaper stainers. Appleton Prentiss of Boston produced a rather elaborate version of the rosefestoon border frieze late in the eighteenth century. Several other American paper stainers are known to have produced different, somewhat simpler versions. Wall stencil artists, who plied their craft up and down
40 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
JAN '..01A.J...Pg!IIOf
Detail of stenciled frieze border / artist unknown! Aaron Peck house, Wickford, Rhode Island / c. 1800 / distemper and pigmented whitewash on plaster! 7" deep! photo in author's collection
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FOUR LENGTHS OF UNCUT FESTOON WALLPAPER BORDER Probably Appleton Prentiss Boston, Massachusetts c. 1800 Block printed on hand-made paper 5/ 1 2" deep Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Virginia Hamill, 1955-24-1-a
Section of re-created painted decoration showing designs applied at different times from mid-eighteenth to early nineteenth century!found on kitchen walls!Samuel Rex house, Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania! re-created in 1980s / Catherine Bucher Eckert/ photo in author's collection
America's eastern seaboard, perhaps as early as 1790, were greatly influenced by wallpaper when choosing designs for their stenciled wall decorations. The very popular rose festoon was converted to a technique by several of these artists said to be working in the classical genre of stencil decoration. It was used to ornament the plaster walls of numerous homes of all social and economic levels throughout New England, with isolated sightings in New York State, Long Island, and Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. With their portfolios of classical stencils such as urns, fans, belle flowers, swags, festoons, etc., stencil artists often sought new commissions, traveling by water using the coastal sailing vessels connecting
42 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
early seaport towns and the barges that traversed the large rivers. In Wickford, Rhode Island, a bustling colonial seaport, two stenciled versions of the rose-festoon frieze and a stenciled guilloche border were luckily preserved under wallpaper in a group of late eighteenthcentury homes. The Robert Potter house (1779), the Samuel Carr house (1797), and the Aaron Peck house (1785) all retain stenciling dating to 1800 or before, which is of the classical border type. In northwestern Vermont, the parlor of the Samuel Rich Tavern, built in 1805 in North Montpelier, retained a stenciled copy of the Appleton Prentiss wallpaper border under a thick wallpaper covering. It is
Original stenciling in David Thompson house, which once stood in Alewive District, Kennebunk, Maine!c. 1820!attributed to Moses Eaton Senior and/or Moses Eaton Junior / distemper and pigmented whitewash on plaster! Collection of The Brick Store Museum, Kennebunk, Maine, Collection 29, Barry Family, Box 1, 1.19
such a precise copy that, if viewed by an untrained eye, it might seem to be a "ghost" or transfer of wallpaper, which once covered the plaster substrate. It is definitely stenciling. These are but a few of the numerous sightings of the very popular rosefestoon stenciled border. Although no stenciling in the classical genre has been found in the mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania and Maryland as yet, wall stenciling of a different type by at least three itinerant stencil artists has been discovered in this area. It is possible that a stenciler using classical borders also visited the area, or perhaps at least the Schumacker house. In the painting of General Schumacker's daughter, the decora-
tive borders adorning the wall behind Miss Schumacker could very well be painted, probably with the use of a stencil plate. Certainly, they depict popular wallpaper motifs, which were freely borrowed by wall stencilers. Short of finding General Schumacker's house with its stenciling still intact, which is a very unlikely scenario, this mystery must remain unsolved. In addition, the wood graining on the wainscoting is most certainly Pecky Bois, or hand painted. All types of faux graining, realistic and fanciful, were a particularly popular decorative feature in the midAtlantic area starting in the colonial period and remaining in favor well into the Victorian era. About 1819, Maentel married Catherine Weaver of northern Maryland—she was about seventeen years old and Maentel was just forty. By 1820 they were living in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, where for some twenty years he painted numerous portraits of mostly Germanic families posed in rooms with brightly patterned walls, grained wainscoting, painted chairs and mirrors, and multicolored flat-woven carpets covering the floors. The late Windsor chairs, either dark wood grained or solid yellow, have top slats decorated with either floral or scenic motifs. The looking glasses, many of the splitspindle architectural type, are gilded with reverse-painted tablets depicting sea or landscapes at the top5—a delightful window into the interior decoration in an area of Pennsylvania where Germanic culture and artistic foundations had been firmly established for three generations at the time of Maentel's recording. Known as Pennsylvania Dutch Country, the German American counties that radiate out from Philadelphia—the port of entry for most emigrants from Germany—were areas of high artistic activity, with numerous furniture makers and painters,6 fraktur artists, potters, carvers of wood and stone, embroiderers, weavers, and perhaps glass painters, all using techniques and designs remembered from Germany. Any of the furniture decorators would have had the artistic know-how and access to oil-based paint materials needed to execute the decoration
depicted on the furniture and the graining on the wainscoting seen in Maentel's interiors. The focus of this study, however, is the technique or techniques used to achieve the colorful patterned walls behind many of his subjects, such as Caterina Bickle, painted 1815-1825, and Maria Rex Zimmerman, painted c. 1828, both in Lebanon County. Bickel and Zimmerman are similarly posed facing three-quarter forward, as were most of Maentel's portraits during his middle period, dating roughly from 1820 to 1838. It could be wallpaper, of course, because paper with small evenly spaced floral motifs, known as "sprig" style,2 was made in America before 1789 and was widely disseminated. It was imported from Philadelphia and sold in Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, as early as 1800, according to a daily ledger kept by storekeeper Samuel Rex.8 It would have been well within the price range of those who could afford a highstyle gilded Hepplewhite looking glass,6 such as that in the Bickel portrait. Considering the strong history of Germanic affinity for the painted surface, however, it is possible that the simple floral motifs depicted by Maentel were applied directly to colored plaster walls using a type of water-based paint called distemper,' the paint of choice of most wall painters and wallpaper stainers during the Federal period. Numerous examples of painted interiors have been recorded in the Lebanon County area, beginning in the mid-eighteenth century and continuing well into the nineteenth. In Schaefferstown, the residence of the aforementioned storekeeper—Samuel Rex, who was Maria Rex Zimmerman's uncle—has remnants of four layers of white-on-red distemper decorations on the same kitchen wall, the earliest possibly dating to before 1750. The mid-eighteenth-century Peter Wentz house (now a museum) in nearby Montgomery County has at least two layers of hand-painted decoration re-created throughout. In basic black, white, and red distemper, the simple circles and crescents suggest the colonial New England—style decoration often described by Nina Fletcher Little in her scholarly writ-
ings. The Bechtel house, built in 1816 in Berks County, continues the tradition, with fragments of free-hand decoration in blue, yellow, red, and dark green-black throughout the house, with multiple layers in several areas. It is clear that the tradition of painted interiors, which started in Germany, remained popular in the New World well into the Maentel period. Paint materials were readily available in the bustling German market towns encircling Philadelphia. By 1825 Maentel was buying his supplies from the Rex store," now owned by Samuel's younger brother, Abraham. In 1826 he purchased Prussian Blue and Chromic Yellow pigments, and sheets of paper.'2 He also purchased vast amounts of honey and sugar and other confections, reportedly for his wife, who ran a cake shop. Perhaps the very popular barter system helped pay for these supplies, because during this period Maentel received commissions to paint two portraits of Abraham's daughter, Maria Zimmerman, one of his son-in-law, Peter Zimmerman, plus members of other related families such as the Buchers and the Valentines. If painted, the wall decoration seen in the Bickel and Zimmerman portraits could have been achieved by several techniques—free hand, stenciling, or something called "potato stamp," which seems to be of American invention, since potatoes did not become popular in German American communities until late in the eighteenth century (but of course, any large root vegetable such as a turnip would have worked just as well). This quote concerning nineteenth-century Germanic homemaking mentions potato printing: "As whitewashed walls gave a cold bare look to a room, the walls were tinted pale pink, blue or buff—some people, in their love of beauty, added a figure to their walls. After the room had its coat of wash, they took a large potato, cut it through the center, cut a conventional figure on it, then dipping it in whitewash touched the walls at intervals, making a figured wall."" A daisy, similar to that depicted by Maentel in the Bickel house of Jonestown, is among the original designs retained in the Rex
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 43
house. When viewed closely, this daisy is definitely produced with a mechanical aid, either stamp or stencil, and is not free hand. Another original motif from the Rex house, a rather primitive four-leaf clover, matches one found stenciled in a house that once stood in Stewartstown, York County. It was part of a stenciled scheme found on top of earlier nineteenth-century wall stenciling. The guilloche border depicted by Maentel above the dado in many of his paintings was also found in the Stewartstown house, an indication that in-house potato stamping, and free-hand painting or stenciling by itinerant artists, can be found in the same house and occasionally on the same wall, more often than not, under many layers of wallpaper. The body of information on the paint-versus-wallpaper debate is inconclusive, but it does strongly suggest that at least a portion of the patterned walls depicted by Maentel in eastern Pennsylvania were actually painted and not papered, or perhaps of Maentel's invention. No guesswork is required to identify the type of wall decoration that is behind Rebeckah Jaquess of Poseyville, Indiana, painted by Maentel in 1841. It is clearly recognizable as New Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;style wall stenciling of a type attributed by Janet Waring"in her groundbreaking 1937 book to America's most documented wall stencilers, the father and son team of Moses Eaton Senior (1753-1833) and Moses Eaton Junior (1796-1886). They worked mostly in New England during the first half of the nineteenth century, but it has been often suggested that Eaton Junior stenciled his way west sometime after his father's death. Jaquess is posed in the family's best parlor seated on a green bamboo Windsor chair with a writing arm, which supports an open bible written in English. She is in front of a wall decorated above and below the chair rail with red, green, and blueblack stencil designs on a vivid blue wall. It's a lighter blue than that seen in the Bickel portrait, but is no doubt made with the same Prussian Blue pigment. The woodwork appears to be salmon pink; there is probably a tint of minimum (red lead) and, on
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the floor, the familiar woven carpet is stripping thirteen layers of paper seen. Jaquess was seventy-nine years from the parlor walls. Remarkably, old when she was painted, and is she found remnants of the stenciled posed full-faced, as were most of designs recorded by Maentel more Maentel's later portraits. than a century and a half ago. The The Jaquess clan had resided actual designs were the same but in Indiana for close to twenty-five were arranged a bit differently and of years before the arrival of the Maentel slightly different proportion; the colfamily, which by then included Jacob, ors were appropriately aged variaCatherine, and four children. Report- tions of those used by Maentel, and edly, they were on their way to Texas but, because of illness, stopped in Indiana to seek assistance from an old friend from Schaefferstown, the Reverend Jacob Schnee, who had come west in 1827 hoping to establish a religious commune. Schnee assisted his friends by finding a farm for them to lease in Poseyville, and work for the sons. Not surprisingly, as Poseyville was an agricultural community where money was scarce, Maentel again used his art as a commodity, exchanging portraits for much needed goods for his family. Here Jacob Maentel resided until his death in 1863. When the signed and dated portraits of Jonathan and Rebeckah Jaquess, considered the best of Maentel's late work, were purchased by the Abbey Aldrich Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, Virginia, in the 1960s, the paintings and their creator caught the attention of folk art historians such as Mary C. Black and Nina Fletcher Little. Since then, numerous portraits by Jacob Maentel have come to light, establishing him as one of America's foremost nineteenth-century folk painters. all designs proved similar to those In 1975, when the Jaquess used by the Eatons, either compared house was about to be razed, Historic to actual stencils in the Eaton paint New Harmony,'5 believing that the box" in the collections of the Society stenciling was preserved under of the Preservation of New England wallpaper, accepted the house, in Antiquities, Boston, or stenciled on exchange for its removal, as a gift the walls of numerous New England from the last Jaquess family member houses, such as the Thompson house, to own portraits and homestead. which once stood in Alewive, Maine. Once the house was transported to a Maentel had depicted an almost phofield outside the nearby museum, tographic image of the Jaquess parIndiana preservation architect Rose lor, including the unusual writing A. Broz began the tedious work of arm of the Windsor chair and
REBECKAH JAQUESS Jacob Maentel Poseyville, Indiana 1841 Watercolor, gouache, pen, and pencil on paper 17 x 111 / 2" Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1959.300.7
Rebeckah's reading glasses, both of which have been located and are now displayed in the parlor. An added perk for Broz and the museum was the discovery of stenciled fragments in the front stair hall. Once installed in the museum, the parlor was restenciled, relying on Eaton stencils to interpret incomplete original decoration. In the hall, however, where only a fragmented image of a pineapple was discernable, most of the stenciled scheme was invented using compatible Eaton designs. Thus stenciling by Moses Eaton Junior was re-created as possible evidence of his journey west in the 1830s. The discovery and re-creation of New England—style stenciling of a type made popular by America's bestdocumented stencil artist is a great accomplishment by numerous preservationists, and a remarkable resource for researchers and connoisseurs of American material history and decorative arts—all thanks to Jacob Maentel's extremely accurate and charming painted images of the culture and domestic life of the American frontier.* Ann Eckert Brown has been researching and teaching eighteenth- and nineteenth-century decorative painting techniques since the 1960s. Included in her restoration commissions is the painted interior ofa Gothic Revival chapel in Newport, Rhode Island. Her work has been exhibited widely andfeatured in Yankee magazine and Early American Life, which named her Craftsman ofthe Year in 1993. She has presented numerous programs on American wall stenciling, including those at Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts, and the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, New York Brown resides with her author—historian husband, Henry A.L. Brown, on the historic Spring Green Farm, overlooking Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. Notes: 1 Mary Lou Fleming and Marianne Ruch, "Jacob Maentel: A Second Look," Pennsylvania Folklife(Autumn 1991), p. 3. 2 About 1797 much of Hesse became part of Napoleon's military district called Westphalia. 3 Mary C. Black, Simplicity, A Grace: Jacob Maentel in Indiana (Indiana: Evansville Museum of Arts & Science, 1989), p. 14. 4 James McClure,"Nine Months in York Town,"(Pennsylvania: York Daily Record, 2001), p. 113. 5 It is impossible to determine precisely which Pennsylvanian German-type reverse paintings were painted in America and which were painted in Germany. It is thought that many were produced at glass factories in Wistarberg, New Jersey, not far from Philadelphia, and at
the Stiegel glassworks in Mannheim, York County. Source: Mildred Lee Ward,Reverse Paintings on Glass, exhibition catalog, 1978, the Helen Foreman Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, p. 47. 6 Cynthia V.A. Schaffer and Susan Klein, American Painted Furniture 1790-1880(New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1997), p. 135. 7 Richard C. Nyland, Wallpaper in New England(Boston: Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, 1986), p. 57. 8 In 1800 Samuel Rex sold two yards offlowered paper to Frederick Garret for 1 shilling, 8 pence. Garret also bought two looking glasses for 16 shillings,6 pence. Source: Samuel Rex ledger #11, Historic Schaefferstown Collections. 9 In 1799 Samuel Rex sold one looking glass to Elizabeth Dickman for 8 shillings,6 pence. Source: Samuel Rex ledger #10, Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Library Collections, Delaware. 10 Distemper is a water-soluble paint made by dissolving dry hide glue in warm water. Color pigment is added to form a paste, which is thinned to spreading consistency with water. Of British origin, it is the paint favored by most eighteenth- and nineteenth-century wall decorators, and is very similar to gouache but more suitable for large areas. 11 In April 1826 Jacob Maentel purchased two paintbrushes, one ounce each of Prussian Blue and Chromic Yellow pigments(the blue cost 10 cents and the yellow 6 cents). Source: Abraham Rex daybook #71, Collections of Historic Schaefferstown. 12 In October 1826 Maentel bought twelve sheets of paper. Source: Abraham Rex daybook #72,Collections of Historic Schaefferstown. 13 Mary L. Roedel,"When Grandmanuna Was Young," paper read before the Lebanon Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1925, Collections of the Lebanon County Historical Society, Lebanon,Pennsylvania. Brought to the author's attention by Abe and Nancy Roan of Bechtelville, Pennsylvania. 14 Janet Waring,Early American Stencils(New York: William R. Scott, 1937), p. 78. 15 New Harmony,Indiana, is the site of two of America's earliest utopian communities. The earliest was established by George Rapp, founder of a German religious group called the Harmony Society. He and his followers left their homes in Harmonic,Pennsylvania, in 1814 to settle a much larger tract in southeastern Indiana. Historic New Harmony Inc. interprets and preserves this unique history through individual properties, of which the Jaquess parlor and stair hall represent the 1840s period. 16 While researching her book of American wall stenciling, Janet Waring found the Eaton stencil box tucked away in the attic of Junior's home in Dublin, New Hampshire. It contained eighty worn brushes and seventy-eight stencil plates that made up forty designs. Upon Waring's death in 1941, her sister gave the box to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities(SPNEA),Boston, Massachusetts.
American Wall Stenciling, 1790-1840 By Ann Eckert Brown or today's owner of an antique house, the discovery of an early stenciled wall—even a fragment of one—is a revelatory glimpse into the past. In post—Revolutionary War America, walls painted with intricate stenciled designs were the decoration of choice for a surprisingly large number of home owners. Successive generations of wallpaper, which became increasingly more affordable after the industrial revolution, covered stenciled walls, obliterating some designs and preserving others. American Wall Stenciling, 1790-1840, by Ann Eckert Brown and published by University Press of New England, will be available in December. With a text enriched by 150 color images, Brown makes fresh stylistic connections among more than two centuries of designs, artists, regions, and houses, and ties together the (,,(// / "2/1/firwg )4//// shared destinies of the 17.90 IS-70 families, descendants, artists, wall rescuers, and restorers who lived with, created, and preserved this beautiful art form.
F
"Brown gives us a genealogy of design relationships and similarities in shapes—leaves,festoons, flowers, and fans—as well as the more abstract record of their juxtapositions, density, size, and spacing. Her absolute familiarity with the myriad variations of folk and classical designs, as well as their migrations, and her ability to place them in context, is a great advantage to those of us who are glad to know about what remains of these bright, lively images from the quickly receding American past." —Mimi Handler,former editor of Early American Life This beautiful and informative 224-page, 8'/2 x 11" clothbound edition includes 250 illustrations(150 in color), and sells for $60. Available in December 2002 at the American Folk Art Museum's Book and Gift Shop, at 45 West 53rd Street, and at the museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery Shop,at 2 Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue, between 65th and 66th Streets). Museum members receive a 10 percent discount. For mail order information, please call 212/265-1040,ext. 124.
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KEEP RIGHT
"You are your environment. If you're not open to it, it'shete anyway.'' â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Anthony Dominguez, in conversation, September 25, 2001, New York City
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STREET SCULPTURE AT COOPER SQUARE Curtis Cuffie New York City 1996 Mixed media assemblage
he three artists introduced in the following pages constitute half of an unaffiliated group who were represented in an exhibition for which I served as guest curator, at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning in Jamaica, Queens, New York. (The show ran from January 21 through March 9, 2002.) Two of the artists discussed here were also the subjects of a talk I presented in late January at New York University, as part of the American Folk Art Museum's tenth annual Uncommon Artists symposium. Although they've often been labeled "outsiders," these artists are all in close touch with the pulse of street culture in the urban U.S.A. Their artistic expressions reflect their street wisdom in myriad direct and indirect ways, most obviously in the materials from which their works are largely madeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; primarily objects salvaged from the streets of their neighborhoods. They've all learned to make resourceful, inventive, and insightful use of what the street has taught and provided them. Even when engaging issues that would seem to range well beyond the immediate concerns of street culture, their work speaks from a street stance and is thereby all the more compelling. They are among a large number of younger artists whose works combine "raw" and sophisticated traits in ways that provide a strong and welcome challenge to the artificial distinction between insider and outsider, or contemporary and folk.
T
The Urban Street Art of. Curtis Cuffie Kevin Sampson Anthony Dominguez
By Tom Patterson
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ITS JUST WHAT IT IS "A builder, a Family Tree" Curtis Cuffie New York City 1994 Mixed media assemblage 46 36" Collection of Chippy Irvine
Curtis Cuffie ne day in 1984, in Lower Manhattan, Curtis Cuffie was walking along Fourth Avenue in the vicinity of Astor Place, pushing the metal shopping cart that had served as his mobile storage unit ever since the previous year, when he'd lost his residence and moved into the urban outdoors. Happening upon an old rag mop that had been tossed out onto the sidewalk, he picked it up and placed it in his shopping cart. Suddenly, the discarded cleaning implement assumed, for him, the form of a scrawny, spunky woman with stringy gray hair—a transformation that literally inspired him. In that moment, as he recollects, "the spirit came to me." He gathered some used sponges and scraps of fabric from nearby dumpsters and trash cans, and he used them to complete his life-size figural sculpture, fashioning a torso, arms, legs, and clothing. Then he set the piece out on the edge of a nearby parking lot to admire and show to passersby.' In the ten years that followed, Cuffie became a near-legendary figure on the streets of Lower Manhattan for his continued practice of gathering such throwaway items and finding inventive ways to combine and reconfigure them. His impromptu, street-side displays of the resultant free-form art installations were much admired by many of his academically trained counterparts at the Cooper Union, the center of his orbit in those days. The armature for his early works was a metal fence that lined a public parking lot on the west side of Fourth Avenue, across from the school. For several years, he used that metal grid as the substructure for a constantly changing, improvisational, visual symphony of color, form, detail, texture, implied narrative, and metaphorical association, rendered in scraps of fabric and a plethora of other objects
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he picked up on the city's sidewalks or in its alleyways, public parks, and subways. An African American man who began his street-art career at age twenty-nine, Cuffie lacked any formal education beyond high school. Having spent his childhood and early adolescence in the small town of Hartsville, South Carolina, he came to New York in 1970, when he was fifteen, initially to live with one of two older brothers who had previously settled in Brooklyn. Dropping out of school after he finished the eleventh grade, he went to work in a succession of low-paying, manual-labor jobs. Living, as he did, on the economic edge, he was ill prepared for the serious spell of depression that overcame him in the wake of his mother's death in 1983. Psychologically debilitated, he lost his motivation for working and eventually fell into the homeless state in which he existed at the time of his spiritual and artistic awakening on the New York streets. For the record, when asked after ten years on the street if he wasn't homeless, he said, "No! I'm holy .....2 The works of art that Cuffie produced during his early years with no fixed address were, by virtue of their siting, ephemeral, rarely in place for more than a day or two before city sanitation crews would dismantle them and dispose of the objects and materials he had used to construct them. After the fence on which he had made his first such temporary installations was taken down, he relocated his base of operations from the parking lot on Fourth Avenue to a series of other nearby spots, including, for a while, a concrete traffic island on the Bowery, in front of the Village Voice headquarters. He began salvaging tripods, floor-lamp stands, and other objects that could
' 110 MIDASISE YOUR FAMILY "Midasise Your Family—Hang on sloopy is the cloth and ribbons, gills on the side are wings. The pipes are the inside of the body. Grandma is the Grand Martian, Grandpa is Grandpa. The house is not complete without the ballerina. It all comes to the mother, the Grandmother, the Grand martian—pointing to the Heart" Curtis Cafe New York City 1994 Mixed media assemblage 54" high Collection of the artist
serve as freestanding sculptural bases, and he worked on them in much the same loosely improvisational manner he'd applied to the fence. These pieces functioned as idiosyncratic decor for the domestic setting he constructed on the traffic island. By moving a cast-off sofa and other discarded furniture onto the site, he converted it into his own open-air, urban "living room," as it were, where he could sometimes be seen lounging on the couch and reading. In addition to its function as ad-hoc gallery and unenclosed domicile, the area served as a stage on which Cuffie enjoyed performing for and interacting with his fellow pedestrians, as well as with drivers and passengers in the automobile traffic by which he was almost constantly surrounded. Throughout his years on the streets, he engaged in such interaction much of the time, meanwhile tirelessly carrying on his additively creative work. He sometimes had sculptural assemblages temporarily installed in several locations at once. Cuffie's artistic ingenuity and the persistence with which he pursued his creative endeavors eventually earned the respect of many who grew accustomed to seeing him on the streets, and especially of those who happened to be fellow artists or otherwise specially attuned to visual art. His works began to be shown in gallery settings while he was still living on the streets, and he has enjoyed further artworld success in the six years since he managed to regain some stability in his life and moved into a small apartment with art historian Carol Thompson, who shared it with him until last year, when she was hired as curator of African Art at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Now, with a full-time, permanent job—at the Cooper Union, as it turns out—Cuffie has rejoined the domestic, workaday world. Living in the East Village, a few blocks from his former street haunts, he continues to create his metaphorically resonant conjoinings of disparate objects and materials. Critic and art historian Jenifer Borum has remarked, appropriately, on the congruency of Cuffie's work with longstanding African American yard-art traditions that have been particularly prevalent in the South, where he grew up.3 His pieces are generally scaled to the proportions of the human body and are otherwise at least vaguely anthropomorphic, as was apparently the case with his initial discarded-rag-mop piece. Any of his individual works might center on a single theme, but more often they're imbued with multiple thematic references. Playful and intuitively inspired, they nonetheless address serious contemporary issues, continuing—despite Cuffie's current domestic status—to reflect a deep familiarity with life on the socio-economic edge, in all of its implications. His work also reflects his deeply religious view of the world, his sense of social justice, and his free spirit. ••• hile Cuffie's approach is largely additive, Kevin Blythe Sampson employs both additive and subtractive processes in his sculptural work. An k' inveterate junk collector, Sampson uses such objects and g materials as cast-off furniture, costume jewelry, chicken -! bones, candle wax, chili peppers, twigs, and human hair to make his evocative painted assemblages, which tend to
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Kevin Sampson resemble altars, shrines, reliquaries, and/or architectural structures. After strategically conjoining such objects, he paints the resultant assemblages with enamel and then sands them to partially erase the paint before adding a final coat of golden oak stain. These processes give the works a weathered, timeworn appearance—a patina of experience—appropriate to their historical grounding and, in particular, their deep roots in African American history. Only one generation removed from the rural South, Sampson lives and works in a loft in Ironbound, a traditionally Portuguese neighborhood of inner-city Newark—a place celebrated in his sculpture of that title. He was born and raised in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey, where his father, Steven Sampson, has long been a prominent civil rights activist—a position that early on enabled the young Kevin to meet Malcolm X, Shirley Chisholm, Dick Gregory, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, William Kunstler, and Robert Farris Thompson, among other well-known individuals associated with progressive politics and Black culture. Citing his father as the most inspirational figure in his life, Sampson says, "I spent my childhood on picket lines and in the back of a van singing 'We Shall Overcome.' There were always meetings and heated arguments around my kitchen table between communists and civil rights workers. All of the demonstrations and civil unrest were planned in my kitchen, with my mother frying fish for the planners." The younger Sampson's upbringing in this charged milieu has had an ongoing, invigorating influence on his life and his art, which is also informed by his experience as a Black male in a racially profiled society, his interest in his African heritage, his grounding in traditional spirituality, his passion for music, and his concern for the welfare of his community, not to mention his eighteen years of experience as a police officer in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.4 It was in the latter capacity that Sampson began to develop his artistic skills. Having drawn and "made things" since he was a child, like most artists, he painstakingly honed his technical skills at figure drawing by busying himself with a pencil and sketchpad during idle hours in his patrol car. After several years as a police detective, he underwent special training in the interview techniques that enabled him to work as a composite sketch artist for the police department, and he spent his last ten years on the force interviewing crime victims and eyewitnesses, using their descriptions to draw portraits of suspects. Sampson retired from police work on an early disability pension in 1994, following the untimely deaths of his young, prematurely born son and then his wife. By the time of his wife's death, he had begun to experiment with sculpture, trying his hand at woodcarving before making the first of his painted and stained assemblages. His sculptural work served him in part as a kind of selfadministered therapy, enabling him to endure the period of
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UNCLE SAMMY Kevin Sampson New York City 2001 Mixed media 1 2" 38 19 12/ Cavin-Morris Gallery, New Yoric City
intense mourning that followed in the wake of these family tragedies, and his art-making process has continued to nurture him spiritually and psychologically. A devoted single father of four children, Sampson is also deeply committed to his community, which plays a fundamental role in his work. He says that living in Newark provides him with the "adrenaline rush" to which police work accustomed him. He draws creative inspiration from the diverse social context of his inner-city neighborhood, and in return he tries to contribute what he can to the well-being of his neighbors."On any given day I am out there," he says of Ironbound. "In this neighborhood I have become the lawyer for the homeboys. They come to me for advice. They look out for me and my kids. Many of these kids never get to talk to a Black male adult, and they flock to me. I have a household of kids—Puerto Rican, South American, and Black—around me constantly." As for his community's relationship to his art, he says plainly, "I make this work for my community. It's
DONNA RHEA AND DEVIL LAND Kevin Sampson New York City 2001 Mixed media 16,20 23" Collection of the artist
CHILDREN OF THE DOME Kevin Sampson New York City 2000 Mixed media 20 / 19 12" Collection of Mark and Taryn Leavitt
about them, because of them, and inspired by them. One day I hope to be in the position to show it to them in my neighborhood. That's my dream, and the only thing that will make me feel as though its message is being heard." • . • uffie and Sampson share common cultural roots as African Americans, and neither of them had much exposure to art history or contemporary art prior to their own artistic emergence in the 1980s and 1990s. Anthony Dominguez, on the other hand, is of mixed Mexican, Native American, and Anglo heritage, and he has had a lifetime of exposure to art and artists. His father, the late Priscillian "Pris" Dominguez, worked as a freelance commercial artist in Forth Worth, Texas. Growing up there in the 1960s and 1970s, the younger Dominguez started drawing early on, and soon began absorbing many types of imagery through his perusal of the art books in his father's library and his exposure to his father's work
C
and that of other artists his father knew. After finishing high school, Dominguez spent four years at Texas Christian University, where he took courses in design, illustration, and art history, although he left the school without a degree. During the early and mid-1980s Dominguez remained in Fort Worth, taught himself the craft of commercial sign painting, and established himself as a freelance sign painter. In 1987, on something of a whim, he moved to New York and supported himself for the next five years by working for a graphic-design company and two commercial-sign companies in succession. Then, early in 1993, he made a conscious, carefully considered decision to walk away from the workaday world, discard all of the artwork he had made and saved up until that time, and give up his tenant status in exchange for living out in the open, seeking free sources of food, and improvising compact, makeshift shelters for himself. Thus, at about the time Curtis Cuffie was ending his ten years of homelessness to "get his life back," Dominguez was deliberately forsaking the trappings of employment and domestic life in exchange for the streets, sidewalks, parks, derelict buildings, and tunnel hideaways of Manhattan. The only thing he didn't give up in this radical lifestyle change was his lifelong inclination to make images. Dominguez doesn't consider himself homeless; he views himself as free. For some time before he adopted a domestically unmoored lifestyle, he says, "I felt that it was calling me, and that I had to be a part of that. There was something admirable, I felt, about experiencing hardship and doing it with a smile." After he moved outdoors, he says, "I would always meet people who would say, 'You can stay with me,' and I would say, 'That's nice of you, but that's not what I'm about.'"5 The signature style of imagery that Dominguez has developed and refined during the nine years he has lived on the streets is dominated by figures—people, animals, insects, birds, and the grinning, animated skeletons that are the principal players in his one-scene visual tragicomedies—delineated in white and sometimes accompanied by brief, cryptic texts, on black fabric. He finds virtually all of the materials he uses to make his art during his ongoing pedestrian explorations of the city. His first such pieces to draw public attention were small, circular, text-augmented images he made and marketed at very low cost to young people who frequented Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. He designed these as patches to be sewn onto articles of clothing, applying stencils he cut out of bookbinder covers and other thin plastic items to black fabric, then blanching the exposed areas using bleach and hypodermic syringes he obtained through a clean-needle program aimed at reducing the spread of disease among intravenous drug users. Some of the resultant images were stylized depictions of scorpions and other insects. Others combined concise emblems with similarly brief texts in order to critique aspects of capitalist society; for example, a profile of a skull wearing an American Indian war bonnet and accompanied by the legend, HOME OF THE DESTROYED, or a hybrid symbol incorporating a dollar sign and a Christian cross trailing chains, illustrating the motto, SELL YOURSELF. Another of his images from those days was then his signature emblem: a grinning human skull wearing a baseball
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cap emblazoned with the word ALIVE. In addition to making the bleached fabric patches, he sometimes used the stencils in conjunction with spray paint to create graffiti versions of the same images. Dominguez's work has undergone considerable stylistic evolution over the past eight years even as it has retained the invariable white-on-black contrast that characterizes his pieces from the early 1990s. Working on black fabric that typically ranges in size from twelve to forty-eight inches in either dimension, Dominguez now creates what are essentially white-painted line drawings that have grown increasingly precise and refined over the last year or two as he has experimented with various tools, including plastic ketchup dispensers and Wite-Out速 correction fluid applicator pens. He currently uses a ruling pen, a specialized drawing instrument that he found a couple of years ago, and it has lent an unprecedented degree of refinement to the works he has made in the interim. In addition to scavenging his materials on the streets of New York,Dominguez finds much of his subject matter there, too. His daily experiences roaming the city and observing the life around him serve as his primary inspiration. "Mostly I base it on what's happened to me," he says of his work. "If it's something terrible, I look at it in a funny way. I look at it in ways that aren't favorable, and I have fun with it."
The pervasive themes in Dominguez's work are the inevitability of death, the constant presence of death in daily life, and the yin-yang relationship between the two. My initial meeting and interview with Dominguez took place on September 25, 2001, two weeks after hijackers piloting commercial jetliners destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center, killing some 3,000 people. As he and I sat with two other admirers of his work in a Tribeca loft, seven blocks north of the vast pile of gaseously smoking debris where the buildings had stood, Dominguez spoke softly about the thematically central role that mortality occupies in his art. "In our culture, you don't want to befriend your death," he says. "You want to be with things that offer comfort, to be away from that. But that's the inevitability. Everything is transitory and is leading up to that. We hope to find ourselves on the upside of that, rather than on the downside, because all this is going to be taken away. It's like the [World] Trade Center: You put all your hopes in things that are offering security, when, in fact, there is no security." About his experience of living on the street, Dominguez says, "I'm exposed to the environment, as opposed to someone living indoors. I have an opportunity to encounter what is disfavorable and what is favorable. They both are there, but it's a matter of balance. It's
Anthony Dominguez 52 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
KINDNESS, CRUELTY CONTINUUM Anthony Dominguez New York City 1997 White enamel on black cloth 60 x 108" Peter Brams Collection
SOMETHIK,V)
OVERCOME,
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wORLD. I% ARE THE
let go; you've got to give something in return. If you leave three pennies in a telephone coin-return slot—preferably heads up—you'll find a quarter. Try it. It works."* Tom Patterson is afreelance writer, art critic, editor, and independent curator. His books include St. EOM in the Land of Pasaquan (Jargon Society, 1987), Howard Finster, Stranger from Another World (Abbeville Press, 1989), and Treasures of Contemporary Folk Art from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Watson-Guptill Publications, 2001). His latest curatorial project is "High on Life: Transcending Addiction," a large, yearlong group exhibition that will open October 4 at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Patterson lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. THE WORLD IS SOMETHING TO OVERCOME Anthony Dominguez New York City 1997 White enamel on black cloth 1 2" 31 49/ Private Collection
NO LUGGAGE REQUIRED Anthony Dominguez New York City 1997 White enamel on black cloth 28/ 1 2x SO" Art on the Edge Archive
important to be a non-identity. If there's too much identity, there's too much attention. If there's too much attention, there's less coming and going. If you're free from identity, you're free from the constraints that society brings to bear on you. That way, you open yourself to how you see things. That's why I use the door." He was referring to the tiny sketch he uses in lieu of signing his name—a stick figure opening a door with a Valentine's heart on it—usually placed in the lower right corner of his images."You open yourself anyway," he added,"so that's just the way it is." Commenting on how he manages to meet the material needs of his art activities and his survival, this streetsavvy artist, deeply committed to living as an urban outsider, gave away one of his trade secrets. "Often I make a suggestion, and it will appear. It happens all the time in New York, especially if you're looking for something to eat. If you want to get something, you've got to
NOTES: 1 Except where otherwise noted, information about Cuffie comes from the author's conversations with the artist in New York on August 2, September 27, and September 29, 2001. The author is also grateful to Carol Thompson (recently appointed as curator of African Art at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta) for providing additional information about Cuffie and insight into his work. 2 Cuffie quoted by Sarah Ferguson,"Artful Dodger: Curtis Cuffie on Redemption Street," Village Voice, June 1, 1993, pp. 33-34. 3 Jenifer Borum,"Curtis Cuffie: Heaven is Under Your Feet," review of Cuffie's exhibition at the Fourth Street Gallery, New York, August 2000,in Raw Vision #36, Spring 2001, pp. 65,67. 4 Information about and quotations of Sampson are drawn from the author's discussion with him during a visit to the artist's studio on August 2,2001, and from subsequent e-mail correspondence in November and December 2001. 5 Quotations of Dominguez are from the author's interview with the artist in Lower Manhattan on September 25,2001. Also participating in the discussion were Jenifer Borum and Val Wagner.
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 53
TH. '. hi
Cf'fl:
Cmi
Thomas Hanfor Wentwo rth d Little-Known
Early American Limner
By Arthur and Sybil Kern ur first knowledge of Thomas Hanford Wentworth came with the discovery of the small pencil-on-paper portrait of Colonel Charles Hollister. In a large cartouche just below the bustline is the pencil inscription, "T.H. Wentworth. del. Dec'. 8 1822 / Cola. Charles Hollister." Accompanying the drawing was a printed trade card that reads as follows (our italics signify that the words are inscribed with pen and ink): "T. WF_NTWORTH / TAKES / LIKENESSES / WITH / PENCIL, INDIA INK, OR COLOURS,/ OF ANY DESCRIPTION THAT MAY BE REQUIRED,/ ins Price depends on the manner of the work; and in all
cases he engages to give satisfaction to his employer, or will not require the Picture to be taken from his hands. / He is at Marblehead,for a few days / and will remain in town (after his return) only to attend to whatever applications may be made in his absence窶年ames may be left with Mr. Barton "Barton's Hotel" 1 If requested it will be MR. WENTWORTH'S pleasure / to wait on persons at their respective houses. / Salem 10th Septem. 1822." The only state in which there are towns of both Salem and Marblehead, separated by just about two miles, is Massachusetts. Was one of these two towns his place of residence? The fact that their identification on his trade card is not printed, but written, suggests that this was not so and that he was there as an itinerant. The combination of this neatly and crisply done portrait of an identified subject with an intriguing trade card served to stimulate our desire to learn more about the artist.
54 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
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JOHN RIDOUT 1816 Pencil on paper 3/ 3 4 3" Inscribed: T.H. Wentworth. Del. just below the bustline; on the verso John Ridout/ taken in 1816/when 10 years old. Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 968.13.1 John, the eldest son of Samuel S. and Eliza Parsons Ridout, was born in 1806 and married Charlotte Bleeker Powell in 1839.
The New York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America 1564-1860 includes a short biography of Wentworth and a few references to other reports.' The earliest, an 1878 genealogy of the Wentworth family, identifies Thomas Hanford Wentworth as the son of Josiah W. and Mary Hanford Wentworth, born in Norwalk, Connecticut, on March 15, 1781.2 His father was a supporter of the American Revolution, but his mother's family were royalists. When Thomas was about one year of age, his mother, who was strongly opposed to her husband's fighting against the British, moved with her child to Saint John, New Brunswick, where he was educated. He then worked for his uncle, Thomas Hanford, in a commercial business that involved the shipping of materials all over the world. During his stay in Saint John he sent a great many letters to relatives, friends, and business acquaintances. Copies of some of those written between June 1798 and May 1802 are included in a bound 365-page book now in the collection of Christopher P. Bickford, a fifth generation descendant. In a letter dated August 10, 1798, Wentworth writes,"You want to know if I paint. No I do not." In May and June 1800, however, he writes to a Mrs. Cruikshank regarding profiles he had done for her. In July 1800 he writes to Hannah Smith about making some changes in a profile, and three months later asks his mother to arrange for a box of paints to be sent to him. In November 1800 he writes to a friend requesting that six frames be sent to him, and six weeks later sends a letter to
56 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
a Mary Nortin asking her to bring in a profile he had done of her sister. He lived in England in 1805, returned to America in 1806, and married Hannah M. Smith in Utica, New York, on June 5 of that year. Their first child, Mary, was born in Utica on December 27, 1807, but their other six children were born in Oswego, New York, between 1809 and 1818. Although he lived in Oswego, in February 1815 he was back in Utica making portraits in pencil, oil, and in miniature.' His activity in Utica while his wife was having her sixth child in distant Oswego that same month suggests that he was there temporarily as an itinerant painter.4 Frederick Fairchild Sherman in 1930 noted that the artist was very active in Connecticut during the 1820s and expressed doubt that he did portraits in oil; it was also his belief that Wentworth was an Englishman who came to the States after the War of 1812.5 A January 1937 commentary in The Magazine Antiques reports on and presents Wentworth's portraits of six members of the Pease family of Auburn, New York.6 Significantly, two of these are numbered 3,225 and 3,226 while another two are numbered 3,230 and 3,243. From this it can be assumed that Wentworth was among the busiest of the early American itinerant limners. Another reference to Wentworth, in the June 1937 issue of The Magazine Antiques, confirms Wentworth's dates of birth and death, and reports that he painted excellent large portraits in oil, miniatures on ivory, a self-
COLONEL CHARLES HOLLISTER 1822 Pencil on paper 3% >< 2%" Inscribed: TM. Wentworth. del Dec 1822/Col" Charles Hollister. Private collection Artist and subject may have initially met in Connecticut as children, and later in New York. Hollister died in Ellisburg, New York, on June 27, 1855, and is buried there in the Village Cemetery.
FIEIV of th,e FALLS of VIEW OF THE FALLS OF NIAGARA, AS SEEN ON THE CANADA SIDE FROM THE "UPPER-BANK" 1821 Engraving 4½6 (Caption in center below image and title) Entered according to Act of Congress the 4th day of June 1821 by Thomas H. Wentworth of the State of New York. Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 970.324.6
NE.A.GARA, a
seev, 0/2 the ntiVAD "the "goper-Bart
portrait and aquatint, and lithographs in addition to those in pencil2 The July 1937 issue of the same magazine comments on his circa 1821 engravings and lithographs of Niagara Falls.8 It also reports that the reproduction of Wentworth's pencil portraits in the magazine's January issue had inspired a writer for an Oswego newspaper to research local records and find enough material to publish an article on the artist in the paper's February 27, 1937, edition.8 This article points out that in 1806, at the age of twenty-five years, while stopping in Oswego en route to Canada, Wentworth recognized the potential value of the location as a water-power site owing to its being the point of juncture of the Oswego River and Lake Ontario. He took an option on several waterfront lots, completed the purchase one year later, and set up a transportation and forwarding business.10 Despite his financial loss when he later sold this property, Wentworth apparently did quite well with his other business ventures, for during the British occupation of Oswego in the War of 1812, a detachment of British Royal Marines looted his home of its silver and twenty roasted ducks, which had been prepared for what must have been a huge dinner party. It has been reported that the soldiers removed a fireboard bearing landscapes that Wentworth had painted. An advertisement for "Cooking Stoves of T. H. Wentworth's Patent" in the February 17, 1827, issue of the Oswego Palladium-Times suggests that Wentworth continued to depend for income on sources other than his paint-
S'DE
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ing. Review of later publications on early American folk art led to two that very briefly mention Wentworth." Most helpful was that of Anthony M. Slosek's,12 particularly in his bringing attention to the fact that the artist had taught for a time at Sarah Pierce's Litchfield Female Academy.'3 Seven of the school's students were subjects of the artist's. Wentworth's first known drawing was noted in a local newspaper as follows: "We have been shown a drawing of Oswego as it appears in 1807 when the city comprised but fifteen families."4 All evidence indicates that he was a resident of Oswego, beginning about 1809. His name, however, does not appear in the New York census until that of 1830, which shows him as a resident of Oswego. Although his home was in Oswego, much of his time was spent elsewhere as an itinerant. His activity as a painter of portraits in Utica is evident from the following advertisement in the February 2, 1815, edition of that city's newspaper, The Patrol: "Likenesses pencil'd in profile, and painted in profile miniature, and portrait by Mr. Wentworth." His travels extended through Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts, as noted earlier, and as far as Canada. Although there is ample evidence of his having started making portraits much earlier, Wentworth's earliest known portraits are the 1818 pencil-on-paper portraits of Toronto residents John Ridout and his sister Susan. A search was made to uncover as many additional works by Wentworth as possible. Review of catalogs for the major auctions of Americana and folk art after 1946
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 57
SARAH WARNER BIRGE SAGE 1822 Ink wash on cardboard 4s/8" Inscribed: T.H. Wentworth pinx 1822 on stile of chair. Collection of the Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut Sarah was born in 1807 to Jonathan and his wife, Sarah Warner Birge, died at Hartford in 1844, and is buried in the Old North Cemetery of Hartford.
JAMES BENNETT Attributed to Thomas Hanford Wentworth 1822 Watercolor 47/e 3/ 3 4 " Collection of the Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut
yielded knowledge of many of his pencil and watercolor portraits. Study of the Inventory of American Paintings, prepared by the National Museum of American Art/Smithsonian Institution, led to our discovery of large oil-on-canvas portraits of Alvin Bronson and of Thomas Miner. The Inventory and Argosy Book Store's catalog 629 both list his 6 by 5/ 1 4foot oil painting of 1823, Panoramic View of All the Falls of Niagara. Another particularly valuable fund of information was found in the Catalog ofAmerican Portraits of the National Portrait Gallery. It was from this that we learned of his many works collected at Connecticut historical societies. Still others were discovered by writing to museums likely to have work by Wentworth. Letters of inquiry in The Maine Antique Digest and Antiques and the Arts Weekly also led to several portraits. The Niagara Spectator, published in the Niagara area of Canada, close to Queenston,in its issue of May 27, 1819, carries an advertisement: "THOMAS H. WENTWORTH respectfully informs those who have patronized his painting by subscribing for his Perspectives of the FALLS OF NIAGARA, That the better to improve himself, and to do justice ... to the subject, he shall devote two months in the city of New York before he commences on the paintings.... The application and money may be made to him at Oswego... or paid to Thomas Dickson, Esq., Queenston." This advertisement is of particular interest in that it suggests that Wentworth may have received some formal training, albeit for a very short period of time. His contin-
58 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
ued activity in Canada is evident from the many lithographs and engravings of Niagara Falls executed in 1821. That he returned to Oswego from time to time is evident from his advertisements in the Oswego PalladiumTimes. In a September 1822 issue Wentworth writes, ". . .intentions are to employ himself from this time until spring in the village of Oswego atfancy painting. ... He will be particularly engaged in taking LIKENESSES, which in all cases will be warranted satisfactory or no pay required." A similar advertisement appears in the March 14, 1823, edition of the same newspaper. It was not until we turned to an investigation of early painters and engravers in Canada that we learned of Wentworth's activities in the 1830s and 1840s. He spent a good part of 1832 through 1834 in Saint John, New Brunswick. His advertisement in the January 21, 1832, issue of the New Brunswick Courier announced his return to the city of Saint John, and offered to "take likenesses at prices from two shillings to as much larger sum as may be desired. His manner will be from PROFILE to PORTRAIT, in which is included Miniature on Paper or Ivory. ... He has views from fifteen positions in which the Falls of Niagara may be seen, and will ... receive orders for painting from any one of them of a size that may be desired." He also notes that he has "Three Cooking Stoves, they are of different sizes, and possess qualities no other Stove in market has." The City Gazette of Saint John, each week from June 28, 1832, to at least the end of June 1833, carried a small
Pencil-on-paper drawings of James Bennett's mother, Elizabeth King Bennett, signed and dated 1822, along with the unsigned watercolor portraits of James'five siblings, were all executed by Wentworth.
JONA. LEAVOT c. 1832 Engraving Size unknown Inscribed: T.H. Wentworth, Del. in the lower left corner, and S.S. Jocelyn Sr. in the lower right corner. Present whereabouts unknown Photograph, courtesy Frick Art Reference Library, #20519 Nothing is known of the subject, but Jocelyn was an engraver active in New Haven, Connecticut.
Advertisement by Thomas H. Wentworth printed each week in The City Gazette of Saint John, New Brunswick,from June 28, 1832, to the end of that year. Courtesy of the National Library of Canada, NG 21898
TIEZO. H.WENTIATMELTH. MARY DEMING 1822 Pencil on paper 3/ 1 2 x 23/4" Inscribed: T.H. Wentworth, del. May 1822just below the bustline. Collection of the Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, Connecticut, LHS 1923-04-2 A student at Sarah Pierce's school, Deming was also a resident of Litchfield.
Specimens of Work may be seen at his roomsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Prince William Street, near Market Square. Olt will not be considered an intrusion to have June 28. them examined.
advertisement by Wentworth to the effect that specimens of his work might be seen at his rooms on Prince William Street, near Market Square. In 1834 he published an advertisement in the March 29 issue of the New Brunswick Courier that announced the exhibition of portraits would continue in the ensuing week, and that he would "take likenesses at any price that may be desired." In 1839, when fire swept the city of Saint John, Wentworth's studio looked across Market Square to Prince William Street, where the fire was most disastrous. From the seat in his studio window, Wentworth painted the blazing scene below, depicting the buildings engulfed in flames while panic-stricken people struggled to salvage their furniture. In the early 1840s Wentworth had so much competition from visiting artists and from the newly popular daguerreotypes that he went back to the States to study the new art form. In September 1842, upon his return to Saint John, he turned his studio into a daguerreotype gallery.'5 During the next three and a half years he continued to photograph the residents of Saint John at four dollars a picture, at the same time making portraits in watercolor, India ink, and pencil.'6 Notices of his death on December 18, 1849, were found in the December 20 issue of the Oswego Daily Commercial Times: "In this city, on Tuesday evening, Mr. THOMAS H. WENTWOR'TH, aged 68 years. / His funeral will be attended at his late residence this day (Thursday) at eleven o'clock, A.m."; and in the December 22 issue of the
Oswego Palladium-Times: "In this city on the 18th inst., Mr. Thomas H. Wentworth, aged 68 years." His fmal resting place was found in Lot 18, Section Q, of Oswego's Riverside Cemetery. The inscription on his tombstone is as follows: "THOS. H. WENTWORTH./ BORN./ Norwalk. Conn./ Mar. 14, 1782 tin Oswego. N. Y./ Dec. 18, 1849. / in the 68 yr / of his age." The year of his birth as recorded on the tombstone is erroneous; the International Genealogical Index and all other sources give his year of birth as 1781. His last will and testament, written on June 18, 1849, exactly six months before his death, left his entire estate to his third-born child, Thomas Hanford Wentworth Jr. The latter, as executor, "shall from time to time apply such sum or sums of money as may be necessary and proper to the support and maintenance of my beloved wife, Hannah M. Wentworth, in a manner and style fit and proper for her condition in life as my widow, during the life of my said wife." His estate consisted of "rights, privileges, immunities, interest and property" in the Province of New Brunswick as well as in the United States. It is our impression that a sizable part of his estate may have come to him through inheritance. Genealogical review for the subjects of known identity was conducted in order to determine their places of residence and possible relationships to the artist and to one another. Of the eighty-two known works executed by Wentworth between 1807 and 1838, sixty-nine are portraits. Of these, forty-nine are done in pencil, nine are
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 59
watercolors, three are ink washes, two are oil paintings, Authors' note: The authors wish to thank Christopher two are engravings, one is a pencil, watercolor, and crayon, P. Bickford for allowing them to study Wentworth's book one is pencil and crayon, and in two instances the nature of of letters and for his suggestions in the preparation of the medium is unknown. About half the subjects are shown this report. in profile, and half in three-quarter view. They are generally small, averaging about 4 x 3", although a few are Arthur and Sybil Kern are researchers, writers, and lecturers on larger. Most are bust-to-waist length, in only a few are early Americanfolk art. Their work has appeared in Antiques hands shown, and objects such as a chair, table, and book World,The Clarion,Folk All; and The Magazine Antiques. They are depicted only occasionally. Characteristic of the naive are contributors to The Art of Family: Genealogical Artifacts in New England, published by the New England Historic Genealogical or non-academic painter, his portraits show little or no Society in conjunction with Northeastern University Press, 2002. facial modeling. Forty-seven are signed, in almost all instances "T.H. Wentworth," and in twenty-six of these the date of execution is also recorded; in one instance the work NOTES is dated but not signed. As a rule the inscription is placed 1 George C. Groce and David H. Wallace, The New-York Historijust below the bustline; in a small number it is placed on a cal Society's Dictionary ofArtists in America 1564-1860(New piece of furniture. Quite striking is the variation in style Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1957), p. 673. evident in Wentworth's work, perhaps owing to the fact, 2 John Wentworth, The Wentworth Genealogy: England and America, Vol. II(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1878), pp. seen in several of his advertisements, that the price the sub332, 333. The dates and places of Wentworth's birth and marriage ject was willing to pay would determine the style used. are confirmed by the International Genealogical Index. There are thirteen views of Niagara Falls, one in oil on 3 Theodore Bolton,Early American Portrait Painters in Miniacanvas, five in engraving, seven in lithograph, and one ture(New York: Frederick Fairchild Sherman, 1921), p. 170. depiction of the town of Oswego, medium unknown. The 4 John Wentworth,Ibid., p. 333. location of the artist was known for sixty-four of his paint- 5 Frederick Fairchild Sherman,"American Miniatures by Minor ings; Connecticut was the site in forty, New York in Artists," The Magazine Antiques, May 1930, pp. 423,424. 6 The Magazine Antiques, January 1937, pp. 10, 11. twelve, Canada in ten, and Massachusetts in two. T.H. Wentworth,like many early American itinerant 7 The Magazine Antiques,"Additions and Retractions," June limners, was a person of many interests and activities. 1937, p. 291. 8 The Magazine Antiques,"Wentworth, Engraver and LithograMasonry was probably among these; plate iv of the pher," July 1937, pp. 7, 8. December 1995 issue of The Magazine Antiques, page 800, 9 Oswego Palladium-Times, Saturday, February 27, 1937, p. 12, shows a bead chain [glass beads woven on a special loom cols. 3 and 4. into a ribbon or sash, sometimes used as a watch chain] 10 The forwarding business of Wentworth's is mentioned in other depicting Masonic emblems, made by his mother with the publications on Oswego,including Landmarks ofOswego following words woven into it: "This chain is the Property County, New York, edited by John C. Churchill, Syracuse, N.Y., of Thomas Hanford Wentworth Made and Presented by his D. Mason & Company, 1895, p. 295, and Landmarks ofOswego Mother in her Seventy third year 1834." His life was char- County. acterized by movement from one area to another. Born in 11 Alice Ford,Pictorial Folk Art: New England to California Connecticut and educated in Saint John, New Brunswick, (New York: Studio Publishing, Inc., 1949), p. 17. And, Jean Lipman and Alice Winchester, Primitive Painters in America he spent his early twenties in England, was then a resident 1750-1950(New York: Dodd Mead & Company, 1950), p. 182. of Utica and later of Oswego, New York, and of Saint 12 Anthony M.Slosek, Thomas Hanford Wentworth, Oswego's John. Initially active in the business world, most of Went- First Artist, unpublished manuscript; note 15 cites a letter from worth's adult life was spent as an itinerant painter. The Lockett Ford Ballard Jr. checklist of his paintings is far from complete. There is, for 13 Emily Noyes Vanderpoel, Chronicles ofa Pioneer School example, no record of his reported self-portrait, and only from 1792 to 1833, Being the History ofMiss Sarah Pierce and two of the portraits executed in Canada are known today. Her Litchfield School(Cambridge, Mass.: University Press, The list does, however, indicate that the greatest amount of 1903), Plates xxxrv, xxxvi, xxxvin, pp. 242,410-446. And, his time was spent in Connecticut, New York, and Canada. Theodore and Nancy Sizer, Sally Schwager,Lynn Templeton His mobility is particularly evident from the fact that in Brickley, Glee ICreuger, To Ornament Their Minds: Sarah Pierce's Litchfield Academy 1792-1833(Litchfield, Conn.: The 1821 he did a portrait of Benjamin Ropes in Salem, MassaLitchfield Historical Society, 1992), p.123. chusetts, and ten days later that of Colonel Charles Hollis- 14 Oswego Commercial Advertiser & Times, February 9, 1868. ter in distant Ellisburg, New York. 15 J. Russell Harper,"Daguerreotypists and Portrait Takers in The following was said of Thomas Hanford Went- Saint John," Dalhousie Review,(Autumn 1955), p. 261. worth in 1877:"Though bred to the mercantile pursuits he 16 J. Russell Harper,Early Painters and Engravers in Canada was an artist of much ability and in after years was in (Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1970), pp. 326, great demand as a portrait painter. He was the first devo- 327. And Painting in Canada: A History (Toronto, Canada: Unitee of the fine arts in Oswego, and should the lovers of versity of Toronto Press, 1966), pp. 107, 108-109. those arts ever dedicate a gallery in their honor, his por- 17 Crisfield Johnson, History ofOswego County (Philadelphia: trait would be entitled to especial prominence."7 An indi- H.L. Everts & Co., 1877), p.673. cation of the quality of his work is seen in the fact that the noted painter, Fitz Hugh Lane, in 1838 based his important work, View of the Great Conflagration ofSaint John, upon the earlier drawing by Wentworth.*
60 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
UNKNOWN GENTLEMAN c. 1834 Ink wash on paper 10 8/ 1 4" Inscribed: T.H. Wentworth del. on the arrn of his chair. Private collection
The Shirley K. Schlafer Library
A Resource for the Study of By Gerard C. Wertkin
62 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
ne of the American Folk Art Museum's outstanding resources is its Shirley K. Schlafer Library, now located in handsome new quarters in the museum at 45 West 53rd Street in New York. Named in grateful memory of a generous, public-spirited friend, the library received a major boost from the contributions of many of America's leading dealers in folk art, antique furniture, and decorative arts, and the work of contemporary self-taught artists. Bringing together the "trade community" in support of the library was the thoughtful initiative of Virginia Cave, a museum patron, and herself a principal donor to an effort that became a centerpiece of the museum's capital campaign. As director of the museum, I take special pride in the Shirley K. Schlafer Library and in the growth of its collections and service to the public. My purpose in this brief essay is to provide a glimpse into the history of the library and more especially to highlight recent developments in its record as a research facility. At the same time I seek to encourage researchers to visit the library and discover for themselves its rich and diverse holdings. The founders of the American Folk Art Museum,from its very inception as an institution, recognized the significance of a library to the purposes of a museum. Indeed, the museum's charter, as granted on June 23, 1961, by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, specifically authorized the establishment of a library as well as a museum and educational center devoted to the study of American folk art. The museum's archives record continuing efforts by trustees and staff to realize this objective in the years that followed. On January 23, 1962, acting president Joseph B. Martinson convened a meeting of the museum's Committee for an Initial Loan Exhibition. Attending this meeting in addition to founding trustees Adele Earnest, Cordelia Hamilton, Marian Willard Johnson, and Martinson were some of the field's brightest lights: Joseph T.
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Librarian James Mitchell
Photography by Matt Flynn
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 63
Butler of Sleepy Hollow Restorations, Tarrytown, New York, an authority on American furniture and decorative arts; the folklorist Louis Clark Jones of the New York State Historical Association at Cooperstown, New York; dealers Mary Allis, Edith Gregor Halpert, and Harry Shaw Newman, who had helped form some of the country's most influential collections; and pioneer collectors Col. Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Stewart Gregory, Katherine Prentis Murphy, and Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt Wallace, among others. It is noteworthy that although the purpose of the meeting was to consider the organization of the new museum's first exhibition, the discussion inevitably turned to the library. According to a Memorandum of Discussion prepared at that time, Martinson expressed the hope that "a central reference library of books, slides, catalogues, newspaper clippings and other material will be assembled for the use of artists, designers, students." Efforts to acquire a research collection began the same year. The museum's archives include a copy of a letter, dated September 11, 1962, from founding trustee Cordelia Hamilton to an antiquarian bookseller, seeking to locate copies of important out-of-print titles for the library. In 1963 the museum's trustees established the institution's first home on the rented parlor floor of a townhouse at 49 West 53rd Street, New York, and opened its doors to the public on September 27, 1963. Thoughts of the library were not far behind. At a meeting of the museum's officers on December 17, 1963, the location of the library within the new facility was discussed: "All of the committee are very much interested in the making of arrangements for a library on the subject of folk art. Our plan was that bookshelves would be placed in the gallery behind the [admissions] desk. Can this be done at the end of the present show and before the new show begins? Mr. Martinson has a number of books at home he is prepared to donate, and there are also some books at his office. These, we feel, should be brought to the gallery so that before additional purchases are made, we know exactly what we have and what we are likely to receive in the way of gifts. When these arrangements have been made we feel we will then be prepared to buy additional books."' With the formation of a beginning collection and its location within the new museum,the library had become a reality. Mary C. Black, who became director of the museum in 1964, placed further emphasis on its development. In a memorandum to the executive committee written soon after her appointment, Black commented that the library was "essential for research and exhibition planning," and suggested the formation of a library committee consisting of Millia Davenport Harkavy, Ruth Levy Guinzburg, and herself. Harkavy was a theatrical designer
64 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
and respected authority on costume, whose massive twovolume study, The Book of Costume(New York, 1948), is considered the trailblazing reference work on costume history. She organized and cataloged the museum's library collection in the mid-1960s. Notwithstanding these concerted efforts, the museum was obliged to place less emphasis on the library in the years that followed, principally as a result of inadequate space and resources. While the collection grew to nearly 1,000 books and catalogs through gift and purchase, and a succession of devoted volunteers undertook rudimentary cataloging, the museum found it necessary to place the library in storage for a number of years. In the mid-1970s the Friends Committee, then a new museumsupport group, took an interest in the library, and under the leadership of Helaine and Burton Fendelman acquired and arranged for the binding of a complete run of The Magazine Antiques and other resource materials for the collection. With this renewed interest and the support of Dr. Robert Bishop, who was appointed director in 1977, the
library was again a focus of activity. When I arrived as the newly appointed assistant director in 1980, the library was housed in an alcoveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;really a large closetâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;adjacent to the museum's second-floor offices at 55 West 53rd Street. Then, in 1982, two significant developments spurred the growth of the library as a true vehicle for research: the gift to the museum of the library of Jean and Howard Lipman, and the appointment of Edith Croft Wise, a distinguished professional librarian, as librarian of the museum. Jean Lipman, a pioneer in the study and collection of American folk art and one of the first published writers in the field, and her husband, Howard, had assembled a comprehensive collection consisting of more than 1,500 books, catalogs, and other published materials relating to the American folk and decorative arts. The Lipman collection was especially rich in early exhibition and auction catalogs, many of which carried the penciled annotations of Jean Lipman herself. In the conversations that preceded the gift of the Lipman library, Jean Lipman expressed the
Folk Art Institute Fellow Fuyu Shiraishi
hope that these materials would be properly housed and cataloged by the museum. With the incentive provided by Jean and Howard Lipman, the library was moved to a more prominent locationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the large area that Robert Bishop and I shared on the first floor at 55 West 53rd Streetâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and it was equipped with sufficient shelving to house its augmented holdings. Under a 1982 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through its Visiting Specialists program, the museum retained the services of Edith Wise, who had recently retired as head of reference for the Arts and Sciences at New York University following an impressive career in libraries here and in Latin America. A renewal of the NEA grant and a subsequent grant from The Larsen Fund permitted the museum to extend Wise's service. As a member of the museum's professional staff, she continued to serve as librarian until her retirement in 1992. During Edith Wise's tenure, the library's operation was greatly expanded. With the support of Robert Bishop,
she worked closely with me and my assistant, Jeanne Bornstein, to acquire essential titles. Wise cataloged the collection using the Library of Congress classification system, substantially enhancing the accessibility of its holdings; she provided research and bibliographical assistance to the professional staff of the museum, students in the museum's Folk Art Institute, and visiting scholars. She supervised the move of the library from 53rd Street to Park Avenue South and then to 62nd Street during the museum's peripatetic 1980s. She also secured the volunteer assistance of two distinguished colleagues, Eugene P. Sheehy, retired head reference librarian at Butler Library, Columbia University, and editor of the American Library Association's definitive Guide to Reference Books, and Rita G. Keckeissen, also a reference librarian from Columbia, who had given dedicated service to the institution. Among other accomplishments, Sheehy and Keckeissen have organized and inventoried several of the museum's archival and photographic collections,
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 66
including Robert Bishop's voluminous research files and the papers of founding trustee Adele Earnest; prepared specialized bibliographies and finding aids on a wide variety of subjects for programmatic use; and compiled and edited two comprehensive bibliographies for 1987 and 1988, which the museum published. Moreover, with Katya Ullmann as day-to-day library assistant, they provided part-time professional supervision of the library for the remainder of the decade between Edith Wise's retirement in 1992 and James Mitchell's appointment in 2001. In 1992, Art Libraries Society of North America, the professional association of art librarians, held a meeting at the museum, which I had the privilege of addressing. There was universal praise for the special nature of the collection and the exceptional quality of its cataloging and organization. Edith Wise has left a lasting legacyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the library still bears the impress of her dedication and energy. The gift of the Lipman library in 1982 was followed by other significant collections, among them the Margaret and Wesley Zeigler library, a comprehensive collection on Pennsylvania German art and culture; the library of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration, which not only amplified the museum's holdings in books on the decorative arts but also included thousands of meticulous renderings of examples of painted decoration, together with early manuscript records and rare books devoted to the subject; and substantial gifts of books, exhibition and auction catalogs, and reference files from Robert Bishop, David Davies and Jack Weeden, Davida Deutsch, Adele Earnest, Helaine and Burton Fendelman, Herbert W. Hemphill Jr., Maridean Hutton, Dorothy Kaufman, Eugene Sheehy, Julia Weissman, and other donors. The library now consists of 10,000 volumes and other material and has substantial runs of approximately 100 periodicals. The archival collections consist of many thousands of items, including valuable photographic resources donated by Charles and Janice Rosenak, and thousands of photographs representing the lifework of Ivan Rigby and Francis Y. Duval, researchers in American gravestone studies. Other gravestone materials were contributed by Daniel and Jessie Lie Farber, and Anne C. Williams and Susan H. Kelley. A new and highly significant institutional initiative, the Henry Darger Study Center, brings the Chicago artist's entire archive to the library. Just recently, Cuesta Benberry of St. Louis, Missouri, the widely respected authority on American quilts, donated her comprehensive library and research files to the museum. There are also holdings of rare books and some antiquarian titles as well, including Memoirs of the Life and Religious Labors of Edward Hicks (Philadelphia, 1851); Kate Sanborn's unfortunately titled but groundbreaking study of shop figures, Hunting Indians in a TaxiCab (Boston, 1911); and Samuel Kriebel Brecht's monumental The Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families (Pennsburg, 1923), to give but three examples. The library's resources are expressive of the broad-based mission of the museum. While that mission emphasizes the acquisition, study, and exhibition of American folk art, it recognizes the need to do so in a
66 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
Location: American Folk Art Museum 45 West 53rd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues New York, NY 10019 Mailing address: Shirley K.Schlafer Library American Folk Art Museum 1414 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019-2514 Contact: James Mitchell, Librarian 212/265-1040, ext. 110 library@follcartmuseum.org Hours: By appointment, 10 A.m.-5 P.M.
Save the Date Wednesday and Thursday October 16 and 17,1-6 P.M.each day Thanks to the generosity of our many friends, the Shirley K. Schlafer Library has hundreds of extra copies of books, magazines, and auction catalogs that will be for sale on Wednesday and Thursday, October 16 and 17. All proceeds to benefit the library's Book Acquisitions Fund. Please join us, and build up your own collections while helping to support the museum's newly installed and rededicated Shirley K. Schlafer Library. If you would like to donate additional materials for the sale, please contact the Librarian, James Mitchell, at 212/265-1040,ext. 110,or jmitchell@follcartmuseum.org.
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 67
global context. Hence it considers related art forms from elsewhere in the world. Similarly it embraces the artwork of twentieth- (and now twenty-first-) century self-taught artists, including creative expressions in the field generally called art brut or "outsider" art. The library's periodical holdings are impressive. Complete runs of Raw Vision, Folk Art Messenger, Winterthur Portfolio, The Shaker Quarterly, Maine Antique Digest, and other journals are available to researchers, along with significant runs of scores of other periodicals. Also included are annual publications like Uncoverings, the research papers of the American Quilt Study Group; the Annual Proceedings of the Dublin Seminarfor New England Folklife; and Markers: The Annual Journal ofthe Association for Gravestone Studies, each of which is represented by a complete run. Journals devoted to African American culture, the folk culture of New Mexico and other regions, and the study of carousel art, to give but three examples, further demonstrate the range and diversity of the collection. In May 2000, in recognition of the growing importance of the library to the work of the museum and in anticipation of its move into the new museum building, the Board of Trustees organized a library committee for the first time in several decades. Chaired by Dr. J.E. Jelinek, a respected collector of American folk art, the committee includes trustees Frances Sirota Martinson and Barry D. Briskin, and Didi Barrett, Catherine Brawer, Stephen Guittard, and myself. On the initiative of the committee, the museum retained Patricia Barnett, Andrew W. Mellon Librarian of the Frick Art Reference Library in New York, to undertake a study of the library. Her recommendations, contained in a report dated November 19, 2000, included the implementation of an online catalog, the development of finding aids for the library's bibliographic, photographic, and archival resources, and the organization of a library support group. She also stated, however, that "a professional librarian needs to be in place to develop and carry such plans forward." This recommendation was in keeping with the long-expressed hope of the museum's devoted volunteer librarians, Eugene Sheehy and Rita Keckeissen, who had carried the professional burden of the library on a part-time basis for nearly a full decade, and were about to retire. Following the completion of her report, Barnett agreed to become a member of the library committee and to provide ongoing guidance to its members. The committee agreed that retaining the services of a librarian was "uppermost in the list of priorities." Fortunately, a member of the library committee, trustee Barry Briskin, and his wife, Edie, rallied to the cause. Through their generous interest and their commitment to the institution, it became possible for the museum to retain the services of a full-time professional librarian for the first time since 1992. The leadership gift they arranged through the Shirley K. Schlafer Foundation also helped assure the building of the library facility within the museum's new home on 53rd Street. Other important contributions are helping to ensure a bright future for this significant resource. They preeminently include those from Virginia Cave and the community of dealers; Zipporah Fleisher;
18 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
the Estate of Margaret E. Davidson of Ames, Iowa; The Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation through the kindness of Catherine Brawer; Julia and Leroy Richie; and Thomas Isenberg. I was delighted to welcome James Mitchell to the staff as librarian in late 2001 in sufficient time for him to supervise the move of the Shirley K. Schlafer Library to 53rd Street and its installation in its new quarters. Previously assistant reference librarian at the Frick Art Reference Library, Mitchell quickly immersed himself in preparations for the conversion of the card catalog to an automated format. He also has been busy at work on the acquisition of needed titles, the establishment of an exchange program with other institutions, the planning of a book sale, and the resolution of budgeting, access, and policy issues. His research assistance is already proving invaluable to staff and visitors alike. It has been a pleasure to observe the library taking shape under his direction. At the same time, I am saddened to see my longtime associates, Eugene Sheehy and Rita Keckeissen, take their leave. In every respect they have been consummate professionals, painstaking in their work and dedicated to their responsibilities. They have stood for the best that volunteerism represents as a key element of the American spirit. I will always be grateful to them for choosing to crown their distinguished careers with more than a decade of service to the museum. All of us thank them warmly for their many contributions and will remember them with affection and respect. In its new home, the American Folk Art Museum is better equipped to serve the public than ever before in its history. In the full range of exhibitions, educational programs, and special events that the museum hosts in these facilities, the Shirley K. Schlafer Library holds a special place. I invite researchers to come to the library and use its resources. I also encourage continuing support from the museum's friends and supporters for this essential component of the institution's service to the public.* Gerard C. Wertkin is the director ofthe American Folk Art Museum.
Note 1 "Minutes of Meeting of Committee of Officers of Museum of Early American Folk Arts held at 29 East 72nd Street, December 17, 1963, 12:30 P.m.," p. 1-2, MS in archives of American Folk Art Museum.
Gerard C. Wertkin and Edith Croft Wise, 1992
WILTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY Celebrates
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Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road,Wilton, Conn.(203)762-7257
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THE EARLY AMERICAN LIFE ANTIQUES SHOW The Directory of Traditional American Craft? Show will feature over 100 craftsmen who have been selected in Early American Life Magazine's Directory of Traditional American Crafts*. These artists, will present the finest in reproduction furniture, pottery, original artwork, fine art and traditional crafts. GOODRICH & COMPANY PROMOTIONS,INC. PO Box 1577 • Mechanicsburg,PA 17055 • Ph: 717-796-2380 • Fax: 717-796-2384 E-mail: info@goodrichpromotions.com • Web site: www.goodrichpromotions.com For Travel Accommodations contact: Priority Travel at 1-888-796-9991 or E-mail: priotrvl@epix.net Admission is validfor all show days. Children 15 and under arefree. Strollers are not permitted on the showroomfloor
Early American Life Magazine will be presenting a special lecture series on Saturday September 28, 2002. Lectures will be presented by Steven M. Lalioff, Tom Connin, and Lester Breininger. For ticket sales and information contact Billie Stuck of Early American Life Magazine at 877-730-6263
The
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The Early American Life Antiques Show is proud to present quality period antiques, from 18th to mid 19th century Americana, featuring room settings that reflect our American "melting pot" of tastes and budget preferences.
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Lecture and Book Signing by Leigh and Leslie Keno of the Antiques Roadshow- on Saturday, September 28th at 1:30pm For advance ticket sales and additional Information contact Billie stuck of Early American Lye Magazine at 877-730-0263
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Pittsburgh Folk Art Show & Sale Friday, December 6 through Sunday, December 8 Western Pennsylvania has been home to some of the premier names in folk art — John Kane, Peter "Charlie" Besharo, Rev. William Blayney, Peter Contis, Anthony DeBernardin, Frederick Waganer, and Kathleen Ferri. Now some of the premier dealers and experts in folk art will be in Pittsburgh — for the Pittsburgh Folk Art Show & Sale. This unique event will not only feature many never-before-seen art works at the show & sale, but also a symposium with many noted speakers. What's more, you can take in the exhibit Contemporary Folk Art — Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Folk Art Show & Sale Saturday, Dec. 7 & Sunday, Dec. 8 Special Preview, Friday, Dec.6 Featured dealers: Angela Usrey Gallery Art Thing Project Dean Jensen Gallery Galerie Bonheur Galerie Bourbon-Lally Galerie Macondo Grey Carter — Objects of Art Hustontown Jimmy Hedges Rising Fawn Gallery LaRoche Collection Lindsay Gallery Mad Parade The Pardee Collection Patrick J. McArdle Collection
SENATOR JOHN HEINZ PITTSBURGH REGIONAL
0HISTORY CENTER IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Symposium Friday, Dec. 6, 10 am-3:30 pm Pre-registration required Featured speakers: • Brooke Anderson, The American Folk Art Museum (New York, NY) • Norman Girardot, Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA) • Michael Hall, independent curator (Hamtramck, MI) •Lynda Hartigan, Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, DC) • Rebecca Hoffberger, the American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, MD) •Jane Kallir, Gallerie St. Etienne(New York, NY) •Lee Kogan, The American Folk Art Museum (New York, NY) • David Lewis, Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) •Tom Patterson, The Nerve Museum (Winston-Salem, NC) • Colin Rhodes, Loughborough University of Art and Design (Leicestershire, UK)
Exhibit • Contemporary Folk Art — Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
All events will be held at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, 1212 Smallman St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more details, call 412-454-6430 Visit www.pghhistory.org Or email us at folkart@hswp.org. Event sponsored by and benefits the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center.
Peter Contis, "Downtown Pittsburgh" Courtesy of Dr. George Contis
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Representing more than 300 years ofAmerican design,from the late 1600s to the present, the American Folk Art Museum CollectionTM brings within reach ofthe public the very best ofthe past to be enjoyedfor generations to come.
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New Directions * PDK Worldwide Enterprises, Inc. Keeping warm with tradition! PDK Worldwide, a leading manufacturer and distributor of home textiles, is busy creating a new line of everyday bedcovers inspired by textiles, quilts, coverlets, samplers, and needlepoint masterpieces from the American Folk Art Museum's collection. Available early next year, pieced, hand and machine appliquĂŠd, and embellished quilts in king, full/queen, and twin sizes will be available on QVC and in stores nationwide. Watch this column for updates on this exciting new collection. Newsfrom Museum Licensees Share our legacyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;look for new products from our family of licensees, featuring unique designs inspired by objects from the museum's collection. *Concord Fabrics A stitch in time with tradition! Last May, Andover Fabrics, a division of Concord Fabrics, launched the first in a series of printed fabrics inspired by the museum's quilt collection, at the International Quilt Market in Kansas City, Missouri. Designed specifically for quilters and sold exclusively through independent quilt shops, the first designs were adapted from the museum's exquisite 1840s Savery Friendship Star Quilt. Capturing the essence of the fabrics' colors and print designs, the Savery line stays true
76 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
to the period and even includes preprinted "inked" motifs for the hexagon star centers. Gormorri Fabrics/Andover Fabrics, Savery Friendship Star Quilt Visit Concord's website, www.concordfabrics. com,to view the complete line. Elizabeth Warren, the museum's consulting curator and quilt expert, was a guest lecturer at the Quilt Market. Her session included an introduction to the American Folk Art Museum and highlights from the museum's world-renowned quilt collection.
Mary Myers, Nutcracker
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* Denyse Schmidt Quilts Going, going, almost gone! One Big Dog,Single Girl, and Center Star, three limited-edition quilts inspired and adapted by Denyse Schmidt from a painting, as well as two quilts in the museum's collection, have practically sold out. Don't miss owning one of these handmade contemporary textile masterpieces. Contact Denyse Schmidt at www.denyse schmidtquilts.com or visit John Kelly Furniture in New York City (212/625-3355) where all three of her quilts are currently on view. * FUNQuilts There's a limit to everything! Jewel Box, complete with a hanging sleeve and bar, Ocean View, perfect as a throw, and Baby Waves,a reversible baby quilt, are three limitededition contemporary textiles FUNQuilts created for the Amen -
can Folk Art Museum Collection.Tm Only a few of each style are still available. Contact FUNQuilts online at www. funquilts.com to order your quilt before it is too late. *Galleon Christmas greetings! Galison is heralding the Yuletide season with a glorious new card featuring the museum's magnificent Fame weathervane. With her soaring wings and proffered wreath, Fame is an example of American folk art at its finest. Available nationwide and in the museum's Book and Gift Shops for the holiday season. Dear Customer Your purchase of museumlicensed products directly benefits the exhibitions and educational activities of the museum. Thank you for participating in the museum's continu-
ing efforts to celebrate the style, craft, and tradition of American folk art. If you have any questions or comments regarding the American Folk Art Museum Collection,Tm please contact us at 212/977-7170. Family of Licensees Carvin Folk Art Designs,Inc.(212/755-6474) gold-plated and enameled jewelry.* Concord Fabrics,Inc.(212/760-0343) printed fabric by the yard and prepackaged fabric craft kits. Denyse Schmidt Quilts(800/621-9017)limited-edition quilt collection, decorative pillows, and AFAM eye pillows.* Fotofolio(212/2260923)art postcard books, wooden postcards, boxed note cards, and magnets.* FUNQuilts (708/445-1817)limited-edition quilt collection.* Galison (212/354-8840) boxed note cards and jigsaw puzzle.* LEAVES Pure Teas(877/5328378)loose tea in decorative tins.* Mary Myers Studio (800/829-9603) wooden nutcrackers, nodders, and tree ornaments.* On the Wall Productions,Inc.(800/788-4044) Magic Cubes.* Organic Lands(607/544-1090) organic deli items. Ozone Design,Inc. (212/563-2990)socks.* PDK Worldwide Enterprises,Inc.(508/676-2155) bedcovers, quilts, coordinated pillows and tugs, and throws. Takashimaya Company,Ltd.(212/350-0550) home furnishings and decorative accessories (available only in Japan). Wild Apple Graphics, Ltd.(800/756-8359)fine art reproduction prints and posters.*
*Available in the American Folk Art Museum Book and Gift Shops. Find products online and visit our website at www.follcart museum.org.
BOOKS
The Savery Friendshi Star Quilt Andover Fabrics,in cooperation with the American Folk Art Museum in New York City, is pleased to .40e introduce a new line CV of antique rho째 reproduction fabrics. , Based on textiles \ found in the' Savery Friendship Star Quilt, (c.1844, Phila.PA) these quilter's cottons and flannels will evoke quilting traditions of times past. Look for this shaming collection of rich period colors and authentic patterns at your local quiltshop today. Quilt by: Elizabeth Hooton (Cresson) Savery and others; Philadelphia, PA; 1844 Cotton and linen with inked signatures and drawings; 80" x 83.25" Gift of Moire D. O'Neill and Charles AT. O'Neill; 1979
ndover 'FabricsTM 1359 Broadway New York, NY 10018 (800) 223 5678 www.andoverfabries.com
OF
INTEREST
he following recent titles are great gift-giving ideas. All titles are available at the American Folk Art Museum's Book and Gift Shops at 45 West 53rd Street and Two Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets), New York City. To order, please call 212/265-1040. Museum members receive a 10 percent discount.
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American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum, Stacy C. Hollander, Brooke Davis Anderson, and Gerard C. Wertldn, American Folk Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams,2001,432 pages, $65 American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, Stacy C. Hollander, American Folk Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams, 2001,572 pages, $75 Darger: The Henry Darger Collection at the American Folk Art Museum, Brooke Davis Anderson, American Folk Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams,2001, 128 pages, $29.95 Decoys: North America's One Hundred Greatest, Loy S. Harrell Jr., Krause Publications, 2000, 208 pages, $49.95
Long May She Wave: A Graphic History ofthe American Flag, Kit Hinrichs and Delphine Hirasuna, Ten Speed Press, 2001, 223 pages,$60 Mississippi Quilts, Mary Elizabeth Johnson, University Press of Mississippi/Mississippi Quilt Assoc., 2001, 224 pages,$30 Painted Saws: Jacob Kass, Lee Kogan, American Folk Art Museum,2002,56 pages,$14.95 Ralph Fasanella's America,Paul S. D'Ambrosio, New York State Historical Association, 2001, 176 pages, $39.95 Red & White: American Redwork Quilts and Patterns, Deborah Harding, Rizzoli, 2000,two volumes, 144 pages and 64 pages, boxed, $39.95 Snowflakes & Quilts, Paula Nadelstern, C & T Publishing, 2001, 112 pages,$24.95 Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art, Volume One,Paul Arnett and William Arnett, eds., Tinwood Books, 2000,544 pages, $100 Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art, Volume Two, Paul Arnett and William Arnett, eds., Tinwood Books, 2001,600 pages, $100
Henry Darger:In the Realms of the Unreal, John MacGregor, Delano Greenidge Editions, 2001, 680 pages, $65
Spiritually Moving:A Collection of American Folk Art Sculpture,Tom Geismar and Harvey Kahn, Abrams, 1998, 176 pages, hardcover. Limited quantity available, $250
Home Sweet Home: The House in American Folk Art, Deborah Harding and Laura Fisher, Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 2001, 160 pages,$50
Treasure or Not? How to Compare and Value American Quilts, Stella Rubin, Miller's-Mitchell Beazley, Octopus Publishing Group,Ltd., 2001, 176 pages,$24.95
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Museum members waiting for the doors to open for the reception
A Song of Praise to the Nation he second part of the museum's inaugural exhibition year opened on July 11 with "American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum."In the works for more than five years and organized by Stacy C. Hollander, senior curator and director of exhibitions, and Brooke Davis Anderson,the director and curator of the museum's Contemporary Center, this exhibition explores American folk art within its cultural context through the museum's permanent collection, and includes major new acquisitions donated in honor of the opening of the new building. Hollander calls it "a song of praise to the nation...." The museum held a members' reception, beginning at 7:00 p.m., to extol this long-awaited moment. Celebrants lined up outside on the sidewalk, waiting for the doors to open, as museum volunteers handed out bottled water and peppermints to make the short wait more pleasant. A reception for donors to the collection
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and for the Jean Lipman Fellowsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the museum's acquisitions support group, who generously donated funds to support the exhibition catalog and for the purchase of two of the objects in the exhibitionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;was held earlier in the evening. The festivities started with opening remarks from the museum's deputy director, Riccardo Salmona, and former LipCurator Brooke Davis Anderson with Trustee man Fellow, Trustee J. Randall Laura Parsons standing behind Buffalo sculpture Trustee Robert L Hirschhorn Plummer,and included informal by Raymond Coins curatorial talks with the exhibition's co-curators Anderson and Hollander. The atmosphere throughout the evening Membership Director wasjet-charged and joyBeth Bergin ful. Museum director Gerard C. Wertkin, members of the Board of Trustees, and museum staff greeted old friends and new as Trustee Paul W. Caan they walked through the museum's unique exhibition space. The show, organized with the help of Ann-Marie Reilly, chief registrar and director of Trustee Margaret Curator Stacy C. Hollander with Nancy Druckman, senior vice president, director of AmeriZ. Robson exhibition production, and can folk art for Sotheby's, and museum guests Thelma and Terry Harris (right)
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Curator Brooke Davis Anderson with Deputy Director Riccardo Salmona
the exhibition design team of Ralph Appelbaum Associates, was quickly assessed as one of the most beautiful and interesting presentations of traditional and contemporary folk art ever assembled. "American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum" will be on view through Jan. 5,2003. The 432page catalog,featuring 576 illustrations, 293 in full color, and published in association with Harry N. Abrams,is available at the American Folk Art Museum's Book and Gift Shops at 45 West 53rd Street and at Two Lincoln Square on Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets. "American Anthem," the inaugural series of exhibitions at the American Folk Art Museum,is sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. Photography, M.Fly.
Trustee J. Randall Plummer addressing the Lipman Fellows
MUSEUM
NEWS
A cultural & educational service of Morehead State University.
Painted Saws Opens at Feld Gallery n the middle of one more New York City construction area proudly sits the American Folk Art Museum's undaunted and newly renovated Eva and Morris Feld Gallery. "Painted Saws: Jacob Kass" opened there on July 20,the first solo museum exhibition in New York to explore the full range of creativity of this unique and wholly New York artist, who painted captivating cityscapes and country scenes on handsaws, hacksaws, bucksaws, and other tools. Curator Lee Kogan has organized an exhibition of more than 60 paintings, 19 drawings,
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Director Gerard C. Werlkin, Raymond Kass, and curator Lee Kogan (center)
CENTER
Ann-Marie Reilly, chief registrar and director of exhibition production
Mon-Sat9 am-5pm,Sunday 1-5pm $3 Admission,free on Sunday
Come see our Permanent Collection, Traveling Exhibitions, and our Museum Store! For more information cag 606.783.2204, or visit www.kyfilkartorg 102 West First Street, Morehead, Kr 4035 1
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Photography, Matt Flynn
and archival photographs, so that it shines in its gem tones and subject matter and is truly delightful to see. A reception was held in celebration of the exhibition on Monday, July 22. Museum members and members of Jacob Kass's family attended, including his son, artist Raymond Kass. They were joined by museum trustees, staff, and friends. Wine and hors d'oeuvres, catered by Soutine, were served, and visitors were welcomed to the party by the haunting strains of Moses E. Josiah'sâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;of courseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; musical saw!
9/11 Memory Quilts he museum is honored to have received two quilts made in memory of the September 11 tragedy. The first, a Message Quilt, came from Brother Industries, Ltd.,in Japan. On their website for quilters, HeartQuilt.com, members were invited to submit 10-inch square quilt blocks with a 10-inch long string attached to each corner as a "tribute to the victims." The only stipulations, in addition to the size, were that each quilt block had to include an image of a heart and a written message. The blocks were tied to one another in the order in which they were
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received, and HeartQuilt.com did notjudge the blocks. The result is a beautiful quilt of 35 blocks made by 31 quilters. The quilt was presented to the American Folk Art Museum by a special delegation from Brother Industries, Ltd., who traveled from Japan for the occasion. The second quilt, which came to our attention at about the same time, is the National Tribute Quilt. It was assembled by a group called The Steel Quilters. The quilt is composed of 3,466 three-inch square blocks, 3,056 of which bear the names of those who perished at the World Trade
Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. Viewed from a distance the individual blocks merge to form the New York City skyline with the twin towers toward the center. The blocks were contributed from 50 states and four countries. The overall size of the six panels is eight feet high and 30 feet wide. Both of these quilts will be displayed at the museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery on Columbus Avenue(between 65th and 66th Streets)from Sept.7 through Sept. 15,to commemorate the first anniversary of the tragedy.
MESSAGE QUILT / 2002/ 70 50"
TRIBUTE QUILT YOU'D" nP ruzz_r C31118. 1"â&#x20AC;˘rl ,Alrf.J171â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ri7ri
NATIONAL TRIBUTE QUILT /2002/96 x 360"
Concerts at the Feld Gallery he American Folk Art Museum is proud to host a series of concerts at its Eva and Morris Feld Gallery on Columbus Avenue. Leonid Levin, former first violinist of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, performed for more than 50 visitors on June 19. In addition to neighborhood residents and out-oftowners, 35 guests from the Jewish Guild for the Blind attended-20 students from the Guild School and 15 from the Adult Day Treatment Program. Visitors had the opportunity to touch a violin, thanks to neighborhood violinmaker and dealer
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David Segal of David Segal Violins. Mr. Levin's program included classical, Russian and Hungarian folk, and popular American melodies. Six-year-old Kalsoom Ali was delighted to be able to touch the violin and feel vibrations from a Nat King Cole melody during the concert. A lunchtime series of Julliard student concerts is planned for the Feld Gallery, starting this September and continuing into April 2003. For information, call the American Folk Art Museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Two Lincoln Square: 212/5959533, ext. 21 or 23. Violinist Leonid Levin with enthusiastic young fan Kalsoom All
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Two Spring Tours for Folk Art Explorers useum members traveled by motorcoach to Berks County,Pennsylvania(May 2-5), to visit artists, craftsmen, private collections, and museums. A highlight of the three-day trip was a visit to the Ephrata Cloisters, where the American Folk Art Museum's director, Gerard C. Wertkin, shared his expertise about this famous destination. Unusual stops on the tour included a visit to Binney and Smith's Crayola Crayon factory, which brought out the child in everyone, and the Banana Factory, a contemporary art center, where the group met with French artist Danielle Jacqui. They also visited the Berks County Historical Society, the Reading Public Museum, and two local craftsmen—Meyerstown weaver Bill Lein Bach and well-known potter Lester Breininger of Robesonia—and viewed private collections that offered a wide range of folk art, antique toys, ocean-liner memorabilia, and a collection of art from Mexico. The membership office would like to thank Herm and Flip Imber, George and Sue Viener, Boots Fehr, Dick Walborn,Frederika and Richard Heller, Eric and Myra Outwater, Carter and Sarah Reese, John Post, Barbara Strawser, Norman Girardot, Nancy Matheny, and Diane La Bell for their enthusiastic help and support during this memorable tour. The Rhode Island tour(June 10-13) set off from the Providence/Pawtucket area with two visits to private collections of traditional folk art and American furniture. A visit to the Looff Carousel in Providence's Slater Park gave our museum members a chance to ride this beautiful and
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historic merry-go-round. Guided tours of the 1685 Daggett House, Newport's Hunter House (with its collection of eighteenth-century Townsend-Goddard furniture), the John Brown House(which John Quincy Adams described as "the prettiest house in America"), and a traditional stone-ender house gave the group a taste of life in early Rhode Island. Paul Miller, curator of the Preservation Society of Newport County, gave a tour of the elegant Victorian cottage, Chepstow. Writer and scholar Vincent Lutie led a tour of the Newport cemetery, pointing out the wonderful designs on the many historic gravestones there. A visit to the 1759 Touro Synagogue—America's oldest— was also on the tour. The "Green Animals" topiary garden, which boasts more than 80 topiaries and overlooks the sea, was a relaxing stop. Contemporary letter-carver and
gravestone artist Karin Sprague opened up her studio and hosted a delicious outdoor luncheon. Also on the itinerary were visits with sculptor Bill LaCivita and a stop at the home of contemporary folk art collectors George and Blake Jacobs. Beth Bergin and Suzannah Kellner of the membership department wish to especially thank Arthur and Sybil Kern, collectors and scholars, who shared their vast knowledge of folk art with the group during a visit at their home, and Arun and Barbara Singh for graciously welcoming the group to see their
Vincent Lutie, conducting a tour of the Newport, Rhode island, cemetery
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Potter Lester Breininger, Robesonia, Pennsylvania
collection of American furniture. For information about upcoming tours, call the membership office at 212/977-7170 or send an e-mail to folkartexplorers@folk artmuseum.org.
Victory Gardens at The American Antiques Show special feature of the 2002 American Folk Art Museum's four-day benefit event—The American Antiques Show—was the inspiring, whimsical, fun, and symbolic Victory Gardens displayed on the food-service floor above the exhibition areas. The displays were created by four of this city's finest floral designers in honor of New Yorkers' strength and resilience following the violent events of September 11. A selection of exquisite quilts from the museum's collection and the 1991 exhibition "America's Flower Garden" complemented the arrangements.
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"Formal Country for a Rainy Day in the City," created by Philip Baloun Design, presented a vegetable garden that needs no tending—guaranteed to bring a smile to a chilly day in the city. "A Backyard City Oasis," by Gotham Gardens, provided a charming city sanctuary for two. Talcashimaya's "Big Apple-All American New York Stars" featured New York State apples and roses(the state's flower)to honor two of New York's gifts to the nation. Very Special Flowers (VSF)displayed "Family Roots," an all-American picnic, complete with Grandma's blue-flower "blueberry" pie.
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FALL 2002 FOLK ART 83
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he museum held its annual Folk Art Institute Commencement and Docent Awards Ceremonies for the first time in its new auditorium on West 53rd Street. The happy events, attended by museum staff, family members, and friends, were graced with opening remarks by the museum's director, Gerard C. Wertkin,and accompanied by "Candace Wheeler: Creating the Professional Woman Designer," this year's Esther Stevens Brazer Memorial Lecture, given by Amelia Peck, associate curator, American decorative arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Lee Kogan,the director of the Folk Art Institute, led the commencement exercises, and Trustee Frances Sirota Martinson Esq. awarded certificates to graduating fellows Claire Hawley and Laura Tilden.
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Diana Schlesinger, director of education, presented New Docent Certificates to Virginia Chakejian, Francis Crespo, Midge Dembitzer, Judy Goldman, Audrey Heckler, Victoria Kravitz, Arlene Kreisler, Norma Lauring, Maureen Mingle, Selma Rosen, Helen Wepman,and Lisa Wolfe. Rebecca Hayes, manager of school and docent programs, spoke about the mission and importance of the museum's docent program and presented certificates of recognition to three-year docents Dena Bock and Su-Ellyn Stern, and 10-year docent Louise Kaminow. Participants received a well-deserved grand applause. Once again, special thanks goes to Joan Bloom and Institute Fellow Deborah Ash for overseeing the refreshments and lovely decorations.
Joan Bloom and Institute Fellow Deborah Ash
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fNDI610 ART5 Student Museum in Tribeca n Wednesday, May 15, second-graders from P.S. 234 in the Tribeca area of Manhattan visited the American Folk Art Museum with their teacher, Laura Sislcind, and explored the exhibition "American Radiance: the Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum." The visit was held in conjunction with the secondgrade social studies curriculum, which focused on New York City museums. The inquisitive secondgraders asked many important questions, including "What is folk art?" Rebecca Hayes, manager of the museum's school and docent programs, visited the secondgrade class at their school as a follow-up to their museum trip. The students were very curious about the workings of a museum and asked her about security, curatorial details, and the gift shop, among many other questions. After Hayes' visit, the students created an official questionnaire for employees of the museum that was then distributed to various museum departments. The following staff members participated in sharing their responsibilities with the class: Anthony
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Crawford of visitor services; Marie DiManno, director of museum shops; Celene Ryan of the curatorial department; Bob Saracena, director of facilities and security; and Diana Schlesinger, education director. In a culminating event, the second-graders turned P.S. 234 into an art museum and held an opening on June 20. There was an admission's desk, with a suggested donation of 50 cents. Visitors were required to wear proof-of-admission stickers at all times, otherwise second-grade security guards approached them to remind them to display their stickers. A gift shop was set up and held many items on display for purchase. Students' artwork was hung all over the building. Each piece of artwork was labeled with an accession number, and where appropriate it was indicated that the object was not created by members of the second grade but was,for instance,"on loan from the 5th grade." Their "museum" clearly demonstrated that these second-grade students learned not only about the different types of museums in New York City but also about the hard work that goes into running them.
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Popular and Folk Art from Asia, Africa and the Americas Cuban Self-taught Art•Latin American Folk Art Haitian Paintings&Vodou Flags •African Barber Signs Ethnographic Sculpture, Furniture &Textiles 151 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 215-922-4041
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FALL 2002 FOLK ART 85
Georgia Blizzard Michael 1919-2002 eorgia Blizzard, creator of clay vessels, plaques, and boxes, as well as a painter and poet, died June 1 at Smith County Community Hospital in Marion, Virginia. Suffering from pulmonary and cardiac disease, she was 83. Blizzard lived in Plum Creek, outside of Chilhowie, Virginia, with her daughter, Mary Michael, and her granddaughter, Sheila Hamm. Part Apache and part Irish, Blizzard was born in Saltville, Virginia. She attended school in Glade Springs through the eighth grade. She married Willard Michael, a coal miner, in 1940; he died in 1954. Blizzard worked in a DuPont munitions plant in Bristol, Tennessee, during World War II, and later in a Burlington Mills factory in Chilhowie. After the factory closed in the mid1960s, she and her older sister, Lucy May, made reproduction American Indian artifacts (pipes and pots) to supplement the family income. She eventually began to make her own pottery outside her 12-by-12-foot concrete-block shop along Route 609. As a child, Blizzard remembered that she and May (as Lucy May was called) played at the bank of a local creek near where they lived and made their own toysâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;dolls, dishes, and animalsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from clay dug there. Behind Blizzard's house,Plum Creek provided the clay for her more recent expressive vessels. Narrative, biblical, and autobiographical sources inspired her unique sculptures. After 1970, Blizzard methodically formed her shapes, smoothed them with pieces of plastic, and doublefired them in an electric kiln for durability and a coal-fired kiln for color. She used a variety of material in the firing, including
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wood, dried dung, leaves, coal, pine needles, and shredded paper. Distinctive are Blizzard's squatting female figures with rounded abdomens, as are her bas-relief mourning vessels. A lyrical poem by the artist is incised on the bottom of Mourning Urn, a vessel in the American Folk Art Museum's permanent collection and currently on exhibition in "American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum"; the vessel is illustrated in the accompanying book of the same title. The poem begins,"On yonder distant knoll / Daisies bow to the breeze." Blizzard's pottery is also in the permanent collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Entries on Blizzard are included in the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art Encyclopedia of TwentiethCentury American Folk Art and
Artists, by Chuck and Jan Rosenalc(Abbeville Press, 1990), and Not By Luck: Self-Taught Artists in the American South, by Tom Patterson and Lynn Ingram(New Milford, New Jersey, 1993). According to her granddaughter, Blizzard "believed in living life for every moment. She enjoyed
her life and everything God created." A fund has been set up in her name. For information, please write to the Georgia Blizzard Memorial Fund, Attention Rita Jones, Branch Bank and Trust Company,East Main Street, Chilhowie, Virginia, 24319.
Waldau Psychiatric Institution, where Wolfli lived from 1867 to 1930. In 1975, art historian Elka Spoerri became the founding curator of the Adolf Wolfli Foundation at the Kunstmuseum in Bern following her husband's death. Spoerri is credited with deciphering Wofli's narratives and music and analyzing his iconography within the context of his biography and imagination. Participating in more than 30 Wolfli exhibitions during her 30-year career, many of which she organized, Spoerri also edited numerous articles, and had a major role in preparing a two-
volume version of his 2,970-page autobiography, From the Cradle to the Grave. She is the author of the definitive book on the artist, Adolf Wolfli: Draftsman, Writer, Poet, Cornposer(Cornell University Press, 1997). In 1996, Spoerri retired from the Welfli Foundation but continued her work with her successor, Daniel Baumann. Together they planned the forthcoming Wolfli retrospective with The Contemporary Center of the American Folk Art Museum. A longtime and generous friend of the museum's Folk Art Institute, Spoerri gave many lectures to Institute students.
Elka Spoerri 1924-2002 r. Elka Spoerri, eminent scholar and interpreter of the art of the prolific Swiss artist Adolph Witilfli, died on May 17 at her home in Bern, Switzerland,following a long battle with cancer. Born Elka Zagaroff, she was the daughter of a noted economist. Her family were refugees just prior to World War II, living in Berlin, southern Germany, and Bern. In 1972, Spoerri was introduced to thousands of Won's works on paper and multivolume, illustrated texts through her psychiatrist-husband, Theodor, who assisted Swiss curator Harald Szeemann to reintroduce the nearly forgotten artist to the public in the exhibition "Documenta 5." Theodor Spoerri was a staff psychiatrist at
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Leroy Archuleta 1949-2002 ood-carver Leroy Archuleta died at his home in Tesuque, New Mexico, on May 24,following a short illness. A son of New Mexico's pre-eminent animal carver, Felipe Archuleta, Leroy followed his father, working side-by-side with him in his Tesuque workshop. Like his father, Leroy Archuleta used local woods and preferred cottonwood found along local streambeds(arroyos)for his carved animals. Rabbits, dogs, coyotes, and snakes were familiar in his environment and in his work, but he also carved bears,jaguars, lions, macaws, kangaroos, and yaks. The National Geographic Book of Mammals was an important reference source for Archuleta's choices of the more unusual species. Using a chainsaw to rough out the animal shapes, Archuleta refined his forms using an axe, a knife, chisels, rasps, and sandpaper. A mixture of sawdust and glue was used to build some forms, to join parts, and to fill crevices before painting. The artist applied latex exterior house paint for finishing. Glass marbles, broom bristles, bottle caps, baling twine, telephone cable, and leather provided realistic embellishment for eyes, whiskers, skin, harnesses, and saddles. Plastic lawn edging was used for animal toenails. Leroy Archuleta's style, though similar to that of his father's, is distinguished by the smooth surface and more benign attitudes than those of Archuleta Sr.'s animals. Following high school, Archuleta worked in Colorado. He was employed in a variety of jobs—as a factory worker, tree
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cutter, and laborer loading trucks at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. He returned to Tesuque in 1973, "tired of the big-city life." He worked full time, at first assisting his father, then carving his own animals. Works by Leroy and Felipe Archuleta were added to the permanent collection of the American Folk Art Museum in 1985, and were included in an exhibition and accompanying catalog,"Ape to Zebra," guest curated by Elizabeth Wecter. Leroy Archuleta's carvings are discussed in the Museum of
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Intuit American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists, by Chuck and Jan Rosenak (Abbeville Press, 1990), Leroy's Zoo (Black Belt Press, 1997), and Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art, by Betty Carol Sellen with Cynthia Johanson (McFarland and Co., 2000). Unmarried,Leroy Archuleta is survived by brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews, with Ron Rodriguez, another animal woodcarver, among them. Along with family, many friends filled Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Fe for the prayer service, with music provided by the Santa Lucia Choir. Folk art collector and neighbor Chuck Rosenak attended. —Lee Kogan
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art 756 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60622 312.243.9088 phone 312.243.9089 fax
Identity and Desire September 7 - November 30
Eight from Europe: A Study Collection through April 2003
www.art.org
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 87
TRUSTEES/DONORS
AMERICAN
FOLK
ART
MUSEUM
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. Brislcin Treasurer
Julia T. Richie Margaret Z. Robson Selig D. Sacks Esq. Nathaniel J. Sutton Richard H. Walker Esq.
Members Paul W. Caan Barbara Cate David L. Davies Jonathan Green
Susan Gutfreund Robert L. Hirschhorn Kristina Johnson Esq. David Krashes Taryn Gottlieb Leavitt Nancy Mead George H. Meyer Esq. Cyril I. Nelson Laura Parsons J. Randall Plummer
Sheila & Auron Brog R. Scott Bromley The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston Curtis F. Brown, Hayden Goldberg Mr.& Mrs. Edward James Brown Gail Brown Marc Brown & Laurene Krasny Brown J. Bruce Antiques Fred & Theresa Buchanan in Memory of Sybil Gibson Charles & Deborah Burgess Jim Burk Antique Shows The Burnett Group Marcy L. Bums/American Indian Arts Joyce A. Burns Paul & Dana Caan Lewis P. Cabot Elinor B. Cahn Mr.& Mrs. Donald Campbell Bliss & Brigitte Carnochan Caterpillar Foundation John W.Castello in Memory of Adele Earnest Donald N. Cavanaugh & Edward G. Blue Edward Lee Cave Virginia G. Cave Shari Cavin & Randall Morris Peter P. Cecere Sharon S. Cheeseman Christie's Richard & Teresa Ciccotelli Barbara L. Claster Lori Cohen Alexis & George Contos In Memory of Daniel Cowin Mrs. Daniel Cowin Jeanne D. Crept Mr.& Mrs. Edgar M.Cullman Elissa F. & Edgar M.Cullman Jr. Joe & Joan Cullman Susan R.Cullman Catherine G. Curran Kendra & Allan Daniel David & Sheena Danziger Lucy & Mike Danziger Peggy & Richard M.Danziger David L. Davies Darwin/Carolinn Pocher & William Woody Vincent & Stephanie DiCicco H.Richard Dietrich, Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Charles M.Diker Patricia McFadden Dombal Colette & Jim Donovan Doyle New York/Kathleen M.Doyle Deborah & Arnold Dunn Ray & Susan Egan Gloria Einbender Sharon & Ted Eisenstat Elitzer Family Fund in Honor of Anne Hill & Monty Blanchard David & Doris Walton Epner Joyce & Klaus Eppler
Ralph 0. Esmerian Susan H. Evans In Memory of Heila D. Everard Sam & Betsey Farber Nancy Farmer & Everette James Deborah Fishbein Mrs. Albert D. Freiberg Mike & Doris Feinsilber Bequest of Eva & Morris Feld Elizabeth C. Feldmann M. Finkel & Daughter Fireman's Fund Insurance Company Alexander & Enid Fisher Laura Fisher/Antique Quilts & Americana Jacqueline Fowler Beverly Frank Gretchen Freeman & Alan Silverman Susan 0.Friedman Alvin E. Friedman-Kien, MD Furthermore,the publication program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund Galerie S. Etienne, Inc. Gallery of Graphic Arts, Ltd. Rebecca & Michael Gamzon Judy & Jules Garel Garth's Auctions, Inc. Rich & Pat Garthoeffner Sidney & Sandra Gecker Nancy Gerber Morad Ghadamian Sima Ghadamian Merle & Barry Ginsburg James & Nancy Glazer Mr.& Mrs. Merle H. Glick Carla T. Goers Edith H. Goldberg Russ & Karen Goldberger Mrs. Toni L. Goldfarb Tracy Goodnow Art & Antiques Ellin & Baron Gordon Howard Graff Jonathan Green Nancy M.& Ben S. Greenberg Greene & Mays American Antiques Marion E. Greene Blanche Greenstein & Thomas Woodard William & Shirley E. Greenwald Peg & Judd Gregory Audrey Elkinson Griff Bonnie Grossman/The Ames Gallery Pat Guthman Alan & Elaine Haid Robert & Linda Hall Cordelia Hamilton Ken & Debra Hamlett Nancy B. Hamon Jeanne & Herbert Hansell Deborah Harding Marion Harris & Jerry Rosenfeld Harvey Art & Antiques Audrey Heckler Donald Heller, Heller/Washam Nina Hellman
Jeffrey Henkel Mr.& Mrs. George Henry Mr.& Mrs. Samuel Herrup Ann Hickerson & Martha Hickerson Antonio Hidalgo The High Five Foundation Frederick D. Hill Pamela & Timothy Hill Kit Hinrichs The Hirschhorn Foundation, Robert & Matjorie Hirschhorn, Carolyn Hirshhom Schenker Historical Society of Early American Decoration Arlene & Leonard Hochman Mr.& Mrs. Joseph C. Hoopes Jr. Carter G. Houck Sr. Evelyn Houlroyd Ellen E. Howe Mr.& Mrs. Philip Howlett Allen & Barry Huffman Peter D. Hynson Antiques Paul Ingersoll In the Beginning Fabrics Thomas Isenberg In Memory of Laura N. Israel Thomas & Barbara Israel The Jamison Williams Foundation Johnson & Johnson Joan & Victor Johnson Kristina Johnson Esq. Louise & George Karninow Julie & Sandy Palley and Samuel & Rebecca Kardon Foundation Allan & Penny Katz Edwin U. Keates, MD Steven & Helen Kellogg Richard Kemble & George Korn, Forager House Collection Mrs. David J. Kend Leigh Keno Amy Keys Jacqueline & Jonathan King Phyllis Kind Joe K. Kindig III Susan & Robert E. Klein Nancy Knudsen Nancy Kollisch & Jeffrey Pressman Greg K. Kramer David & Barbara Krashes Dr. Robert & Arlene ICreisler Sherry & Mark Kronenfeld Robert A. Landau Bruno & Lindsey LaRocca Michelle & Lawrence Lasser William & Karen Lauder Jerry & Susan Lauren Wendy & Mel Lavin Mark & Taryn Leavitt The Edith and Herbert Lehman Foundation, Inc. In Memory of Henry J. & Erna D. Lair John A.Levin & Co., Inc.
Jacqueline Fowler Secretary Anne Hill Blanchard Joyce B.Cowin Samuel Farber
Trustees Emeriti Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Cordelia Hamilton George F. Shaskan Jr.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS The American Folk Art Museum announced a $34.5 million campaign to construct and endow its new home on West 53rd Street. As of July 12, 2002 the following donors have contributed $32,585,152: Marjorie W. Abel James & Gail Addiss Dr. & Mrs. Karl P. Adler Alconda-Owsley Foundation Judith Alexander George R. Allen/Gordon L. WyckoffRaccoon Creek Antiques American Capital Access American Folk Art Society Barbara Anderson Ingrid & Richard Anderson Mama Anderson Judy Angelo Cowen Foundation Marie T. Annoual Aarne Anton Barbara Ardizone Marion Armstrong R.R. Atkins Foundation Lois S. & Gad Avigad Joan & Darwin Bahm Marcia Bain Lori Ann Baker, Baker & Co. Designs Ltd. Marianne E. Balazs Denny Beach Judy & Barry Beil in Honor of Alice & Ron Hoffman Bankers Trust Company Barn Star Productions, Inc. Didi & David Barrett Jimi Barton-Rhinebeck Antiques Fair Joyce & Ron Bassin/Bird In Hand Patricia Beatty Mary F. Beck Ellen Stone-Belie Philip & Leah Bell Laurine Hawkins Ben-Dov Mrs. Arthur M.Berger Julie M.Bernson Big Apple Wrecking & Construction Corporation Mrs. George P. Bissell Jr. Diana H. Bittel Edward V. Blanchard & M. Anne Hill Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund Lenore & Stephen Blank Bloomberg L.P. The Bodman Foundation Booth Ferris Foundation Robert, Katharine & Courtney Booth Catherine & Chris Botta Marilyn W.Bottjer Edith S. & Barry D. Briskin/Shirley K. Schlafer Foundation Susan Brodish Florence Brody
88 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
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PROGRAMS
Unless otherwise specified, all programs are held at the American Folk Art Museum,45 West 53rd Street, New York City. Programs are open to the public, and admission fees vary. For more information, and reservations, please call the education department at 212/265-1040, ext. 102, or pick up the museum's Public Programs brochure.
EVENING EVENTS Presentations Craft and Folk: Confusion and Clarification Gerard C. Wertkin, director, American Folk Art Museum Stacy C. Hollander, senior curator, American Folk Art Museum Holly Hotchner, director, American Craft Museum David McFadden,chiefcurator, American Craft Museum Friday, September 27, at 6:00 P.M. $15 General $10 Members, seniors, and students Guided Tours with Architects If These Walls Could Speak Mondays, September 30 and October 7, at 6:30 P.M. Reception to follow $25 General $20 Members, seniors, and students Limit 20 persons per tour Slide Lecture Kass on Kass: A Personal Journey Thursday, October 17, at 6:00 P.M. Free admission Takes place at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, Columbus Avenue, between 65th and 66th Streets MUSICAL PERFORMANCES American Anthems A series of performances and talks exploring the diverse harmonies of America,from gospel to Appalachian songs and bluegrass to music from Tin Pan Alley and "outsider sounds"â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Fridays. Call for ticket information Hallelujah Hoedown: Merging Gospel and Bluegrass Traditions The Singing Conquerors October 4 at 6:30 P.M.
The Spirit of It Is All of It The McCollough Sons of Thunder October 11 at 8:00 P.M. Music from The True Vine Mike Seeger October 18 at 6:30 P.M. Music and the Mind: George Gershwin Dr. Richard Kogan, psychiatrist and pianist October 25 at 8:00 P.M. Songs in the Key ofZ Irwin Chusid, author of Songs in the Key ofZ: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music November 1 at 6:30 P.M. FILM SCREENINGS AND DIALOGS Outside the Frame: SelfTaught Artists on Film A series featuring premier screenings and documentary films and videos, followed by discussions with filmmakers, scholars, and artists. Fridays at 6:30 P.M. $15 General $10 Members, seniors, and students Thoth September 20 Art Is Life: Don't Kill It, with artist Lonnie Holley November 8 Visions of Paradise, with Allie Light and Irving Saraf December 6 This series is co-organized by Caroline Kerrigan, Stephen Romano, and the American Folk Art Museum. AFTERNOON PROGRAMS Wednesdays at 1:30 P.M. Free with museum admission Paper Cuts/Scherenschnitte Pamela Dalton, paper cutter September 18
Tinsmithing Walt Fleming, tinsmith and historian October 30 Creating Carousels Marvin Sylvor, carousel fabricator November 13 Rug Hooking: Then and Now Jule Marie Smith,fiber artist December 4 LET'S TALK FOLK ART Tuesdays at 12:30 P.M. This slide/talk series takes place at the Donnell Library Center 20 West 53rd Street Free admission Masterworks from "American Anthem" Stacy C. Hollander, senior curator, American Folk Art Museum October 22 Religious Traditions in American Folk Art Gerard C. Wertkin, director, American Folk Art Museum November 19 Uncommon Artists: Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century Lee Kogan, director, Folk Art Institute, curator ofspecial projectsfor the museum's Contemporary Center December 10 ANNUAL QUILT DAY Saturday, October 5 Steps to Xanaduâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a Glorious Quilt by a Glorious Quilter, Child and Adult Workshop Saturday and Sunday October 5 and 6, 2:00-4:00 P.M. Free with museum admission Reservations required
TAKE A BREAK FOR FOLK ART Informal and Informative Lunchtime Talks with Curators Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 P.M. Free with museum admission Highlighting Masterworks September 19 and 26; October 10, 17, and 31; November 7 and 14; and December 12 and 19 Jacob Kass: A Closer Look October 3, November 21, and December 12 Free admission Takes place at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, Columbus Avenue, between 65th and 66th Streets GROUP TOURS To book a group tour, please call the education department at 212/265-1040, ext. 119. FAMILY ART WORKSHOPS Sundays, 2:00-4:00 P.M. Free with museum admission All Hands: The Firefighter Patch Project September 15 New York Story Quilts September 29(a New York Is Book Country event) A Walk in the Woods October 13 Boo! October 27 Fantastic Fans November 10 Giving Thanks Paper Quilts November 24 Towers and Thrones December 8 Starlight, Star Bright December 22
The museum's public programs are funded in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 89
DONORS
Mary Michael Shelley Painted low relief woodcarvings since 1973 . C/D
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SERVICES TO OUR COUNTRY DURING THE WORLD'S
HARRIS DIAMANT 212-627-3964
90 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
Bertram Levinston, MD Levy Charitable Trust Judy Lewis The Liman Foundation Lipman Family Foundation The 2000 Lipman Fellows Bruce Lisman In Memory of Zeke Liverant Nancy MacKay Nancy & Erwin Maddrey Anne & Vincent Mai Maine Antique Digest Jolie Keller & Michael Malce The Jane Marcher Foundation Harriet Marple Plehn Trust Paul Martinson, Frances Martinson & Howard Graff in Memory of Burt Martinson Mr.& Mrs. Christopher Mayer In Honor of Nancy Mayer Mrs. Myron Mayer Kerry McCarthy Milly McGehee Mr.& Mrs. Dana G. Mead Mary 0. Mecagni Robert & Meryl Meltzer Charles W.Merrels Evelyn S. Meyer George H. Meyer Jim & Enid Michelman Mrs. E.J. Milano Mr.& Mrs. Samuel C. Miller Judith & James Milne Jean Mitchell Sandra Moers Keith & Lauren Morgan Morris Levinson Foundation, Inc. Alden & Jane Munson Lucia Cirino Murphy Drew Neisser Cyril Irwin Nelson New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York State Margaret & David Nichols Thurston Nichols Mr. & Mrs. Frank N. Norris Jr. Northeast Auctions, Ronald Bourgeault Susan Nova Sally W.O'Day Odd Fellows Antiques Bequest of Mattie Lou O'Kelley Olde Hope Antiques Cheryl Oppenheim & John Waters The Overbrook Foundation Patsy Palmer & Talbot D'Alemberte Virginia Parks Paternostro Investments Eloise Paula Rolando & Karin Perez Jan Petry Philip Morris Companies Inc. Elizabeth A. Pile Harvey S. Shipley Miller & J. Randall Plummer Frank & Barbara Pollack Lucile & Maurice Pollak Fund Pook & Pook Inc./Ronald & Debra Pook Wayne Pratt, Inc. Fran Puccinelli Jackie Radwin Teresa Ranellone Christopher T. Rebello Antiques Ricco/Maresca Gallery Julia & Leroy Richie Jeanne Riger Marguerite Riordan John & Margaret Robson Foundation Le Rowell Miss Virginia Carolyn Rudd
F. Russack Antiques & Books,Inc. Selig D. Sacks Judith Sagan Mary Sams-Ballyhack Antiques Jack & Mary-Lou Savitt Peter L. Schaffer Carol Peden Schatt Shirley K. Schlafer Memorial Fund In Memory of Esther & Sam Schwartz Marilyn & Joseph Schwartz The Schwarz Gallery, Philadelphia Phyllis & Al Selnick The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation Jean S. & Frederic A.Sharf In Honor of George Shaskan The George and Myra Shaskan Foundation,Inc. Roz & Steve Shaw Arthur & Suzanne Shawe Elle Shushan Jo Sibley John Sideli Eleanor R. Siegal Francisco F. Sierra Elizabeth Silverman Skinner, Inc., Auctioneers and Appraisers of Antiques and Fine Art Sanford L. Smith & Patricia Lynch Smith Sarah Barr Snook Elliott & Grace Snyder Mr.& Mrs. Peter J. Solomon Sotheby's Maxine Spiegel The Splendid Peasant/Martin & Kitty Jacobs Nancy T.& Gary J. Stass Frederick Stecker Stella Show Mgmt. Co. Su-Ellyn Stern Tamar Stone & Robert Eckstein Rachel & Donald Strauber Bonnie & Tom Strauss The R. David Sudarsky Charitable Foundation Nathaniel J. Sutton Leslie Sweedler John & Catherine Sweeney William Swislow Takashimaya Co., Ltd. Connie Tavel Richard & Maureen Taylor Nancy Thomas David Tieger Tiffany & Co. Jeffrey Tilton Antiques Peter Tillou Pamela P. Tisza Jean I. & Raymond S. Troubh Fund Tucker Station Antiques Karen Ulfers John & Kathleen Ullmann Joseph Del Valle Lee & Cynthia Vance Jacob & Ray Van Gelder Bob & Ellie Vermillion Joan & Clifford Vemick Joseph & Meryle Viener Robert E. Voelklg David & Jane Walentas Jennifer Walker Clifford A. Wallach Irene N. Walsh Don Walters & Mary Benisek Warburg Pincus The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Elizabeth & Irwin Warren Nani S. Warren Martha Watterson Weeden Brothers: Bill, Alan, Jack & Don
view
Mr.& Mrs. Alan N. Weeden Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Frederick S. Weiser David M. Weiss Jay & Meryl Weiss Julia Weissman Ed Weissman Mr.& Mrs. Peter Wells Ben Wertkin David Wheatcroft Harry Wicks Donald K. Wilkerson, MD John & Barbara Wilkerson Nelson M. Williams
John Wilmerding Charles & Phyllis Wilson Robert & Anne Wilson Dr. Joseph M.& Janet H. Winston Susan Yecies J. Evelyn Yoder Valerie Young Shelly Zegart Antique Quilts Malcah Zeldis I. H.& Birgitta X.L. von Zelowitz Bernadette Mary Zemenick Steven J. Zick Jon & Rebecca Zoler 27 Anonymous Donors
portfolio
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john kelson •
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RECENT DONORS FOR EXHIBITIONS AND OPERATIONS—
as of June 2002 The American Folk Art Museum greatly appreciates the generous support of the following friends: $100,000 and above Samuel & Betsey Farber John & Margaret Robson Carnegie Corporation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Two anonymous donors 09,999—S50,000 Lucy C. & Frederick M. Danziger William Randolph Hearst Foundation Mr.& Mrs. Vincent Mai Frances Sirota Martinson Esq. New York State Department of Parks & Recreation Two anonymous donors 849,999—S20,000 The ACTUS Foundation Edith S. & Barry D. Briskin Burnett Group Joseph F. Cullman 3rd David L. Davies & Jack Weeden Deutsche Bank Ralph 0. Esmerian Virginia S. Esmerian Jacqueline Fowler Robert & Luise KJeinberg Barbara & David !Crashes Mr.& Mrs. Lawrence J. Lasser Taryn & Mark Leavitt Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund Mr.& Mrs. Dana G. Mead J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Inc. Pfizer, Inc. Philip Morris Companies Inc. J. Randall Plununer The Ridgefield Foundation Selig D. Sacks Elizabeth & Geoffrey A. Stern Barbara & Thomas W.Strauss Fund The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. John & Barbara Wilkerson Two anonymous donors $19,999-10.0,000 AOL Time Warner, Inc. Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Dr. & Mrs. Alex Berenstein Edward V. Blanchard & M. Anne Hill Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Brooklyn Digital Foundry The John R. and Dorothy D. Caples Fund Citigroup, Inc. Con Edison Country Living magazine
Mrs. Daniel Cowin Credit Suisse First Boston William Doyle Galleries Douglas E. Ente in Memory of Ellin Ente FleetBoston Financial Foundation Furthermore, the publication program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund Mr.& Mrs. John H. Gutfreund Mr.& Mrs. Thomas C. Israel Joan M.& Victor L. Johnson Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies The Robert and Luise Kleinberg Fund at the Jewish Communal Fund Lair Charitable Trusts The Lipman Family Foundation, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Keith Morgan National Endowment for the Arts Mr.& Mrs. Richard D. Parsons The Parsons Family Foundation The Pinkerton Foundation Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Julia T.& Leroy Richie The Judith Rothschild Foundation The Shirley Schlafer Foundation Schlumberger Foundation, Inc. Sotheby's Nathaniel J. Sutton The Tomorrow Foundation Tenneco The Wilkerson Family Charitable Lead Trust One anonymous donor $9,999—$4,000 ABC,Inc. Amiens Foundation, Inc. The Bay Fund Jessica & Natan Bibliowicz Brenda Brody The Jay Chiat Foundation Colgate-Palmolive Company Peggy & Richard M.Danziger Debevoise & Plimpton Steven Ente in Memory of Ellin Ente Evelyn Frank in Honor of Myra & George Shaskan Barry & Merle Ginsburg Eric J. & Anne Gleacher Goldman, Sachs & Co. Stephen M. Hill Allan & Penny Katz The Magazine Group Marstrand Foundation Marvin Kagan,Inc. Mr.& Mrs. Gerald M.Lodge The Mattie Lou O'Kelley Memorial Trust MBNA America, NA. George H. Meyer Esq. New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
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LESLIE NIUTH GALLERY Contemporary American Folk Art SINCE 1981 AND NOW ON LINE A sample of artists on the website: Minnie and Greg Adkins Eddie Arning "Uncle Pete" Drgac Jake Harwell William Hawkins Greg Pelner "Alex" Sandoval Derek Webster and Navajo Folk Artists www.lesliemuthgallery.com 221 E. de Vargas Sante Fe New Mexico 87501 phone 505-989-4620 fax 505-466-2816 lesliemuth@aol.com By appointment or chance
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 91
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI
Aerosol Kingdom
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AEROSOL KINGDOM
Subway Painters of New York City
SUBWAY PAINTERS OF NEW YORK CM
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How hip-hop and spray-can art exploded from the subways of Gotham into global chic
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"Woman in Brown" Jimmy Lee Sudduth,24" x 24" Sweet Mud paint on board
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92
FALL 2002 FOLK ART
DONORS
Paul & Judy Paternostro Ricco/Maresca Gallery Robert and Dale Rosen Charitable Foundation The Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation,Inc. Schulte Roth & Zabel The William P. & Gertrude Schweitzer Foundation,Inc. The George F. and Myra Shaskan Foundation, Inc. Louise M.Simone/Manoogian Simone Foundation David Teiger Bennett & Judie Weinstock Gerard C. Wertkin Robert N. Wilson/Pheasant Hill Foundation Three anonymous donors S3,999-52,000 Aventis Pharmaceuticals Alvan & Claude Bisnoff Robert & Kathy Booth Richard & Marian Bott Edward J. & Margaret Brown Charles E. Culpeper Fund Allan & Kendra Daniel Maureen D. Donovan Duane, Morris & Heckscher T.J. Dermot Dunphy Mr.& Mrs. Alfred C. Eckert III Gloria G. Einbender Fastsig,ns Burton & Helaine Fendehnan in Memory of Ellin Ente Vira Hladun Goldman Elise Goldschlag & Kevin Lundeen Jeffrey & Lisa Grand Terry B. Heled Mr.& Mrs. Richard Herbst Pepi & Vera Jelinek Kristina Johnson Esq. JoCarole & Ronald S. Lauder Jerry & Susan Lauren Dan W.Lufkin & Silvia Kramer Mary & Stephen Meadow Neuberger Berman,LLC Robert & Stephanie Olmsted Anthony J. Petullo Foundation,Inc. The Mayer-Phillips Foundation Mr. & Mrs. J. Jefferson Miller II Joan & Martin Messinger Donald & Cynthia Murphy Gladys Nilsson & Jim Nutt Paige Rense Marguerite & Arthur Riordan John R. Robinson Esq. William D. Rondina Derald & Janet Ruttenberg Peter L. Schaffer Carol P. Schatt R. Scudder & Helen Smith Raymond & Linda Simon Richard & Stephanie Solar Mr.& Mrs. David Stein Su-Ellyn Stem Donald & Rachel Strauber Barbara Trueman Don Walters & Mary Benisek Irwin H.& Elizabeth V. Warren The Zankel Fund One anonymous donor 81,99941,000 Mr.& Mrs. A. Marshall Acuff Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Ted Alfond Jamie Davis Anchin Deborah & James Ash Jeremy L. Banta
Didi & David Barrett Marvin & Jill Baten Daniel Berman Mark C. Biderman Mrs. Peter Bing Mrs. George P. Bissell Jr. Mr.& Mrs. James A. Block Thomas Block & Marilyn Friedman Rhoda & Gerald Blumberg Betsy Bogner Mr.& Mrs. Bernard Brennan IV Bernard & Judy Briskin in Honor of Barry Briskin Marvin & Lois P. Broder/Lucile & Maurice Pollak Fund Meredith Brown Charles & Deborah Burgess Paul & Dana Cam Marjorie Chester Circuit City Foundation Citicorp Foundation Matching Gifts Program Liz Claiborne Foundation The Coach Dairy Goat Farm Mr.& Mrs. Edgar M.Cullman Susan R. Cullman William Cyr Aaron & Judy Daniels Michael Del Castello David & Sheena Danziger Gary Davenport James Asselstine & Bette J. Davis Kathleen M.Doyle Louis Dreyfus Corporation Nancy Druckman Arnold & Debbie Dunn Dunphy Family Foundation Inc. The Echo Foundation The Charles Edlin Family Charitable Foundation Joanne Fell Janey Fire & John Kalymnios Laura Fisher/Antique Quilts & Americana Florian Papp,Inc. Charlotte Frank Maxine & Stuart Frankel Foundation Jill Gallagher Daniel M. Gantt David A. Gardner Mr. & Mrs. James R. Gardner Roger L. Garrett Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Geismar Mrs. Bruce Gimbel Dr. Kurt A. Gitter & Ms. Alice Yelen Barbara Gordon & Steve Cannon Baron J. & Ellin Gordon Jonathan Green Studios,Inc. Susan Green Nancy & Ben Greenberg Fund Gayle Greenhill Cornelia Hamilton Mr. & Mrs. James Harithas The Hirschhorn Foundation Thomas Isenberg Theodore J. Israel J&B Auto Body & Repairs Betty Wold Johnson & Douglas F. Bushnell Louise & George Kaminow Richard T. Kanter Joel & Kate Kopp Mr.& Mrs. Abraham Krasnoff Robert A. Landau Naomi Leff Glorya & Fred Leighton Barbara S. Levinson Robert A. Lewis Mr.& Mrs. Carl M.Lindberg Ronnie Livia Carl D.Lobell & Kate Stettner Macy's East
Classic Rug Collection, Inc. American Primitive and custom-designed hand-tufted wool rugs and runners. Nancy B. Maddrey Michael T. Martin C. Mattsson The Helen R.& Harold C.Mayer Foundation Mrs. Myron L. Mayer Jonathan Miller & Phyllis Winstral Judith & James Milne Kathryn Morrison Judith & Bernard Newman New York Yankees Foundation Victor & Susan Niederhoffer David O'Connor Philip V. Oppenheimer & Mary Close Mr.& Mrs. Francis C. Parson Jr. Robert & Marianne Polak Polo Ralph Lauren Mr.& Mrs. Mortimer Propp Jack & Roberta E. Rabin Jean Rather Irene Reichert Mr.& Mrs. Keith Reinhard Betty Ring Cheryl Rivers & Steve Simons William D.Rondina Mr.& Mrs. Daniel Rose Mr.& Mrs. Jeff T. Rose Howard J. Rubenstein Stella Rubin Antiques Riccardo Salmona The San Diego Foundation Paul J. Schatt Mr.& Mrs. Henry B. Schacht Paul & Elizabeth Schaffer Kerry Schuss Mr.& Mrs. Marvin Schwartz Philip & Cipora Schwartz Senditz Glaser Foundation Harvey S. Shipley Miller Myron B. & Cecile B. Shure Hardwicke Simmons Nell Singer Donna & Elliott Slade Mr.& Mrs. Richard Solomon Patricia & Robert Stempel Maryann Sudo Doris & Stanley Tananbaum Mr.& Mrs. Jeff Tarr Dennis Thomas Mr.& Mrs. James S. Tisch Mr.& Mrs. Laurence Tisch Peter & Lynn Tishman Mr.& Mrs. Barry Tucker Ms. Karel F. Wahrsager Mr.& Mrs. David C. Walentas Clinton Walker Foundation Jennifer Walker Mr.& Mrs. Charles G. Ward HI Linda Waterman Alan N.& Barbara Weeden Donald & Pat Weeden Mr.& Mrs. John L. Weinberg Janis & William Wetsman G. Marc Whitehead Tod Williams Billie Tsien and Associates Michael Willoughby & Associates, Ltd. Mrs. Joseph M. Winston John & Phyllis Wishnick Laurie Wolfe & Ann C.S. Benton Ms. Teri Wilford Wood & Mr. John Busey Wood Anonymous in Honor of Gerard C. Wertkin Yale R. Burge Antiques Four anonymous donors 5999-5500 The Acorn Foundation Alexander Gallery Grace Allen Ms. Mary Lou Alpert
Richard C.& Ingrid Anderson Robert & Wendy Adler Anthony Annese Anton Haardt Foundation Mr.& Mrs. Al Bachman Joel Banker Frank & June Barsalona Mr.& Mrs. Barry Bell Charles Benenson Dena Bock Mr.& Mrs. Leonard Block Jeffrey & Tina Bolton Marilyn & Offen Bradley Marc & Laurie Krasny Brown Deborah Bush Miriam Calm Laurie Camiody Marcy Carsey Mr.& Mrs. Dick Cashin The Chase Manhattan Foundation Matching Gift Program Mr.& Mrs. Robert Cochran Maggie Cohen Kathleen Cole Mrs. Phyllis Collins Stephen H. Cooper & Prof. Karen Gross Country Floors, Inc. Judy Cowen Michael F. Coyne & Monica Longworth Karen L. Cramer Simon Critchell Mary G. Cullen Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Cullman Kathryn M.Curran Dr. Janet L. Denlinger Don & Marion DeWitt Mr.& Mrs. Gerald T. DiManno Michael Donovan & Nancye Green Richard and Barbara Donsky Foundation Cynthia Drasner Edward Clifford Duffell ifi Shirley Durst Mr.& Mrs. James A.Edmonds Jr. Raymond C. Egan Mr.& Mrs. Alvin Einbender Gloria Einbender Epstein Philanthropies Ross & Gladys Faires Robert & Bobbie Falk Jessie Lee Farber Burton & Helaine Fendelman Thomas K. Figge Mr. & Mrs. Scott Fine Annie Fisher Erin Flanagan Jane Fonda Ken & Brenda Fritz Denise Froelich Dale G. Frost Gail Furman,Ph.D. Gemini Antiques, Ltd. Margaret A. Gilliam Elizabeth Gilmore William L.& Mildred Gladstone Henry Goldstein & Linda Broessel Kelly Gonda Mariko Gordon Mrs. Terry S. Gottlieb Howard M. Graff Peter T. & Laura Grauer Robert M. Greenberg Nanette & Irvin Greif Ronald & Susan L. Grudziecki Susan Rosenberg Gunman Irwin & Marjorie V. Guttag Foundation in Memory of Ms. Frances Vogel Mr.& Mrs. William P. Hayes Audrey B. Heckler Mr.& Mrs. Tom Hess Stephen Hessler & Mary Ellen Vehlow
Now available at Einstein Moomjy.
718-369-9011 888-334-0063(toll-free) www.classicrug.com
AMERICAN STONEWARE COLLECTORS "AUCTION AND APPRAISAL SERVICES"
Richard C. Hume P.O. Box 281 Bay Head, N.J. 08742 732-899-8707
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 93
DONORS WORKS BY
SUSAN SLYMAN
CAN BE SEEN AT
FRANK J. MIELE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FOLK ART 1088 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK, N.Y. 10028 212.249.7250
GALLERIE JE REVIENS ONE RIVERSIDE AVENUE WESTPORT CT. 08880 203.227.7718
www.mshawfolkart.corn
(4, folk art 1#, painting directly on salvaged materials (734)428-7495, Manchester, Michigan
94 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
Leonard & Arlene Hochman Mr.& Mrs. Robert Hodes John & Laima Hood Pamela J. Hoiles Mr.& Mrs. Fred Imberman Michael T. Incantalupo Mr.& Mrs. Ken Iscol Brenda L. Johnson Guy Johnson Todd & Paige Johnson Mr.& Mrs. Austin Kalish Kande11 Fund Nancy Karlins-Thoman Sherry Kass & Scott Tracy Mr.& Mrs. Martin Katz Steven & Helen Kellogg Ms. Joan E. Kend Arthur & Sybil Kern Mary Kettaneh John J. Kirby Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Michael Klein Barbara S. Klinger Sherry ICronenfeld Mr.& Mrs. Theodore A. Kurz Elizabeth Larson Nancy Lasalle Laura Lauder Mr.& Mrs. Leonard A. Lauder Wendy & Mel Lavitt Sam & Stephanie Lebowitz Judith Lewis Stanley A. Lewis Lewis Mittman, Inc. Frances & James Lieu Sherwin & Shirley Lindenbaum Gloria & Patrick Lonergan Jane Marcher Foundation Esperanza G. Martinez Mr.& Mrs. Jonathan Marvel Al Marzorini Chriss Mattsson Kelley McDowell Emily McMahon M.P. McNellis Grete Meilman Mr.& Mrs. Robert Meltzer Michael & Gael Mendelsohn Robert & Joyce Menschel Evelyn S. Meyer Frank J. Miele Michael & Pamela Miles Timothy & Virginia Millhiser Joy Moos Kathy S. Moses Museums New York Leslie Muth Gallery Ann & Walter Nathan Cyril I. Nelson Mr.& Mrs. Bruce Newman Rachel B. Newman David Nichols Nancy Ann Oettinger Olde Hope Antiques, Inc. Mr.& Mrs. John E. Oilman
Paul L.& Nancy Oppenheimer David Passerman Bob Patton & Busser Howell Dr. Burton W.Pearl Janet S. Petry Mr.& Mrs. Terry Pillow Mr.& Mrs. Laurence B. Pike Daniel & Susan Pollack Mr.& Mrs. F.F. Randolph Jr. Toby & Nataly Ritter Dr.& Mrs. Roger Rose Abbey Rosenwald Robert A. Roth Frank & Nancy Russell Johnes Ruta Merilyn Sandin-Zarlengo Mr. & Mrs. Robert T. Schaffner Jane A. Shallat Margaret Schmidt Mr. & Mrs. Carl J. Schmitt Mr.& Mrs. Jospeh D.Shein Robert & Minda Shein Mr.& Mrs. Ronald Shelp Bruce B. Shelton Joel & Susan Simon Philanthropic Fund Michael Simon Arun & Barbara Singh Arthur M.Siskind & Mary Ann Siskind Rita A. Sklar John & Stephanie Smither Theresa Snyder Karen Sobotka Peter J. Solomon Kathryn Staley Mrs. Victor Studer Victor Studer Memorial Fund Jane Supino Phyllis Tepper Memorial Fund Barbara & Donald Tober Foundation Mr. Frank Tosto Dorothy C. Treisman Milton Trexler & Lisa Carling Mr.& Mrs. Raymond S. Troubh Tucson Quilters Guild United Way of Dutchess County Angela Usrey Mr.& Mrs. Hugh B. Vanderbilt Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Viener Robert & Ruth Vogele Brenda Weeks-Nerz Herbert C. Wells Judy & Harold Weissman Richard & Margaret Wenstrup Mr. & Mrs. CA. Wimpfheimer Susi Wuennenberg Tim & Nina Zagat Diana Zanganas Louis & Susan Zinterhofer Jon & Rebecca Zoler Benjamin & Barbara Zucker Mr.& Mrs. Donald Zuckert Two anonymous donors
JEAN LIPMAN FELLOWS Jeremy L. Banta Mr. Ronald Bourgeault Mary Benisek & Don Walters Edith S. Briskin Edward & Margaret Brown Virginia G. Cave Marjorie Chester Nancy Druclunan Andrew Edlin Gloria Einbender Peter & Barbara Goodman
Howard M. Graff Mr. Richard W.Herbst Harvey Kahn Susan Kleckner Susan & Jerry Lauren Mr. & Mrs. Gerald M.Lodge Eric J. Maffei Anne & Jeff Miller Keith Morgan Wendy Nadler J. Randall Plummer
JOHN C. HILL • ANTIQUE INDIAN ART 6962 E. First Avenue, Ste 104 • Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 (480)-946-2910 • email: antqindart@aol.com Cheryl Rivers Luise Ross Carol Peden Schatt Donna & Marvin Schwartz Jean S.& Frederic A. Sharf Harvey S. Shipley Miller Linda & Ray Simon
Mr.& Mrs. R. L. Solar Mr. William W.Stahl Jr. Su-Ellyn Stem Donald & Rachel Strauber Tracy Goodnow Art & Antiques Dr. Sin von Reis
RECENT DONORS TO THE COLLECTIONS Rebecca Alexander Larry Amundson & Gordanna Amundson Cole Brother Industries, Ltd. Barbara & Tracy Cate Nek Chand Maury Cohen Creative Growth Art Center Herbert & Dolores Danska Ralph 0. Esmerian Jane Ferrara Josh Feldstein Jane Fonda Charlotte Frank Jack L. Goldstein Mr.& Mrs James Goodman Lewis & Jean Greenblatt Jerry Grossman Nicholas Herrera Marion Harris & Jerry Rosenfeld Dr. Jean Ellen Jones & Alan Pieper Ivan & Marilynn Karp J.M. Kaplan Fund Ray Kass & Dr. Jerrie Pike
Steven & Helen Kellogg Ed & Lee Kogan Gael & Michael Mendelsohn Kathryn Morrison Alan R. Moss & Robert D. Walsh Cyril I. Nelson Setsuko Obi Palley Family Pauline C. Pharr Claudia Polsky Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Frances Rasmussen Joe P. Rhinehart Gleaves Rhodes John & Margaret Robson Cheryl Rivers Margaret Hardy Sachter Steven Scudder Smith The Steel Quilters Unilever United States, Inc. Thea Westreich & Ethan Wagner David B. Wiggins Sharon Yenter Miriam Troop Zuger
Alfred Charlie Willeto (1897-1964) Navajo Spirit Figure, 26 inches high
Philadelphia's Fall Art& Antiques Show
Barn Star Productions, Inc. is proud to announce its premier fall event featuring 42 nationally recognized American Antiques Specialists
Saturday & Sunday, October 19 & 20, 2002 with Friday Night Preview, October 18 to Benefit Children's Crisis Treatment Center • Period Furniture • Folk Art • Textiles • Ceramics • Fine Art • Metalwares • Garden Decor • Period Accessories • Jewelry • Oriental Rugs Located at the 23rd Street Armory,22 South 23rd St. between Market & Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia,PA For detailed information, call Barn Star Productions,Inc.(845)876-0616 or visit www.barnstar.com
FALL 2002 FOLK ART 95
EPSTEIN/POWELL 66 Grand St., New York, N.Y. 10013 By Appointment(212)226-7316 e-mail: artfolksemindspring.com
Jesse Aaron Rex Clawson Donovan Durham Antonio Esteves Victor Joseph Gatto (Estate) Lonnie Holley S.L. Jones Charlie Lucas
Justin McCarthy Old Ironsides Pry Popeye Reed Max Romain Bill Roseman Jack Savitsky Clarence Stringfield Mose Tolliver and other American outsiders
INDEX
Allan Katz American Folk American Primitive Gallery American Stoneware Collectors The Ames Gallery Andover Fabrics Anne Bourassa Anton Haardt Gallery Auntie's Attic Ballyhack Antiques Brant Mackley Gallery Cavin-Morris, Inc. Christie's Christopher Gurshin Classic Rug Collection Inc. Country Folk Art Festival David Wheatcroft Antiques Early American Life Epstein/Powell Fleisher/011man Gallery Garde Rail Gallery Gary Snyder Fine Art Gold Goat Antiques Harris Diamant
96 FALL 2002 FOLK ART
9 74 21, 30 93 20 77 72 83 36 23 32 10 4 84 93 79 14 70, 71 96 2 87 34 24 90
22 Harvey Antiques 73 Heinz History Center 11 Hill Gallery Indigo Arts 85 87 Intuit 3 J Crist Back Cover Jackie Radwin 37 Jan Whitlock 92 Jeanine Taylor 19 Jeff Bridgman American Antiques 95 John C. Hill 85 Karen S. Robinson 80 Kentucky Folk Art Center 32 Laura Fisher Antiques 91 Leslie Muth Gallery 25 Lindsay Gallery Main St. Gallery 36 94 Margaret Shaw 90 Mary Michael Shelley 34 Mennello Museum 33 Museum Membership Northeast Auctions Inside Back Cover 13 Olde Hope 31 Outsider Art Fair
Philadelphia Antiques Show 95 26 Phyllis Kind Gallery 29 Raccoon Creek Antiques, L.L.C. 74 Red Shoe Studio Ricco/Maresca Gallery Inside Front Cover Sidney Gecker 18 Skinner 27 Stella Show Management 84 1 Steve Miller 35 Steve Slotin 94 Susan Slyman 28 The American Antiques Show 75 The Workshops of David T. Smith Thomas Schwenke Inc. 5 12 Thurston Nichols American Antiques 17 Trotta-Bono 92 University of Mississippi Press 91 Vanier Galleries 6 Walters/Benisek Wilton 69 Yard Dog Folk Art 83 30 The Zetter Collection
51 YEARS OF OBSESSION, SAVVY AND LUCK.
NORTHEAST AUCTIONS Auctioneer RONALD BOURGEAULT 93 Pleasant Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801 Tel 603.433.8400 Fax: 603.433.0415
• II
JACKIE RADWIN
Unique and whimsical full-bodied sheet metal weathervane c1870 / Length 26" Height 25 1/2" '
18th-century Queen Anne paint decorated New England oval top tea table Maple / c1750 / Top 32" x 27 1/2" Height 27 1/2"
By appointment• San Antonio, Texas •(210) 824-7711 Visit us at our website www.jackieradwin.com