Folk Art (Winter 2007)

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One of a collection of sixteen original paintings on paper of early electric trade signs produced and manufactured by the Federal Sign System Electric Company, located on West 43rd Street, New York City. The collection dates from 1910 - 1918 with all paintings by the same artist, H.C. Williamson.

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Exhibiting at the TAAS Show: January 18th - 21st, 2007, Metropolitan Pavilion, Booth #36

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Rooster Weathervane American, 4th qt. 19'h c.

Molded copper and cast zinc with an especially fine weathered surface of verdigris and traces of gilt and sizing.

W 25 / 1 4'; Ht 26 / 1 4" We will be exhibiting at the 53rd Annual Winter Antiques Show New York City, January 18-28

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Antiques 26 West Main Street, Westborough, MA 01581 • Tel:(508) 366-1723 • davidwheatcroft.com

WILLIAM EDMONDSON • Standing Woman • carved limestone • 18 inches high • Tennessee • circa 1937

) ISA MAN American Folk Art Quality American Folk Art for over 30 years

Still selling great weathervanes!

HAND WEATHERVANE A superb wooden -life size- hand that was originally _found in Niagara Falls. N.Y.. early 20th century.

Pictured on page 119 in Art of the Weathervane by Steve Miller. Private collection since 1986.

LOCOMOTIVE AND TENDER WEATHERVANE Fabulous sheet copper locomotive and tender weathervane. late 19th or early 20th century.

Pictured on pages 74-75 in Art of the Weathervane by Steve Miller. Private collection since 1987.

Ken, IdaE.-P Kate Manko, Proprietors 2071 646-2595 Visit our barn gallery in Moody. Maine. or our new website: www.mank.oamericanfolkart.com

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Mid 19t6 Centt..9 Stencil Decorated Pennsqvania Wall box.

Trotta Bono Antique Native American Art Art of the Frontier and Colonial Periods ^

Pueblo Door Sky City, Acoma, New Mexico Circa: 1600-1800 Collected in 1934 Ex. Paul Dyke Collection Ref. Nabokov, Peter, . Architecture of New Mexico

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Located "On the Green" in Litchfield, Connecticut.

39 West Street, Box 1609, Litchfield, Connecticut 06759 Tel: 860.567.9693 Fax: 860.567.8526 www.tillouantiques.com email: jtillouantiques@earthlink.net Monday, Wednesday thru Saturday 10:30 AM - 5:00 PM Sunday 11 AM - 4:30 PM

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FOLK ART VOLUME 32, NUMBER 1 / WINTER 2007

FEATURES

Martin Ramirez: Motifs and Memory

46

Brooke Davis Anderson

58

The Business of an American Folk Portrait Painter: Isaac Augustus Wetherby MichaelR.Payne and Suzanne Rudnick Payne

The Taxonomist: Gregory L. Blackstock

68

Katharine Harmon

DEPARTMENTS

Cover: UNTITLED (Breck Girl) / Martin Ramirez(1895-1963)/ Auburn, California /1953 / crayon and pencil on pieced paper /46/ 1 4x 30W / The Cartin Collection, Hartford, Connecticut / photo courtesy Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York =NMI

Museum Information

12

Books ofInterest

86

Editor's Column

12

Museum Reproductions Program

88

Director's Letter

15

Museum News

94

Miniatures

28

Obituaries

104

Conversation

36

Public Programs

106

The Collection: A Closer Look

44

Donors

108

Quilt Connection: Midwestern Amish Quilts

80

Index to Advertisers

112

Folk Art is published three times a year by the American Folk Art Museum.The museum's administrative office mailing address is 49 East 52nd Street,New York,NY 10022-5905,TeL 212/977-7170,Fax 212/977-8134.Prior to Fall 1992,Volume 17,Number 3,Folk Artwas published as The Clarion. Annual subscription rate for members is included in membership dues.

0 Copies are mailed to all members. Single copy $8.00.Published and copyright 2007 by the American Folk Art Museum,45 West 53rd Street,New York, NY 10019-5401.The cover and cornm contents ofFolkArt are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those ofthe American Folk Art Museum.Unsolicited manuscripts or photographs should be accompanied by return postage. Folk Art assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage ofsuch materials.

Change ofaddress: Please send both old and new addresses to the museum's membership department at 49 East 52nd Street, New York,NY 10022-5905,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 ofobjects or quality ofservices 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 ofobjects 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 ofworks of art. For this reason,the museum will not knowingly accept advertisements for Folk Artthat illustrate or describe objects that have been exhibited at the museum within one year ofplacing an advertisement.The publisher reserves the right to exclude any advertisement.

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART 9

FOLK ART Tanya Heinrich Editor and Publisher Mareike Paessler Managing Editor

AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM Maria Ann Conelli Director

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Executive Committee Laura Parsons President/Chair oftbe Executive Committee

Linda Dunne Deputy Director/ChiefAdministrative Officer

Barry D.Brislcin Vice President

Cara Zimmerman Assistant Editor Benjamin J. Boyington Copy Editor

ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE Robin A.Schlinger ChiefFinancial Officer

DEVELOPMENT Cathy Michelsen Director ofDevelopment

Eleanor Garlow Advertising Sales

Susan Conlon Assistant to the Director

Christine Corcoran Manager ofIndividual Giving

Madhulcar Balsara Assistant Controller

Pamela Gabourie Manager ofinstitutional Giving

Angela Lam Accountant

Katie Hush SpecialEvents Manager

Irene ICreny Accounts Payable Associate

Dana Clair Membership Manager

Danelsi De La Cruz Accounting Assistant/Membership Assistant

Lan Allen Development Coordinator

ICatya Ullmann Administrative Assistant/Reception

Matthew Beaugrand Membership and SpecialEventsAssistant

COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITIONS Stacy C. Hollander Senior Curator/Director ofExhibitions

Wendy Barreto-Greif Membership Clerk

The Magazine Group,Inc. Jeffrey Kibler Design Mary Mieszczanski Production Manager Denise Butler Production Artist Jennifer Morgan Advertising Traffic Coordinator

Publishers Press Printer

Brooke Davis Anderson Director and Curator of The Contemporary Center and the Henry Darger Study Center MUSEUM ADDRESS 45 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10019-5401 212/265-1040 www.follcartmuseum.org ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES 49 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10022-5905 212/977-7170,Fax 212/977-8134 infothfolkartmuseum.org BOOK AND GIFT SHOP 45 West 53rd Street New York,NY 10019-5401 212/265-1040,ext. 124 STAFF Assistant to the Director ofMuseum Shops: Sandy B.Yun Shop Managers:Dorothy Gargiulo,Louise B.Sheets,Pierre Szczygkl, Marion Whisky Book Buyer:Evelyn R. Gurney Staff Andrea Gillcey, Hiromi Kiyama,Joel Snyder BRANCH LOCATION/BRANCH SHOP 2 Lincoln Square (Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets) New York, NY 10023-6214 212/595-9533 STAFF Weekend Gallery Manager:Ursula Morillo Security: Kenneth R. Bing, Bienvenido Medina

EDUCATION Diana Schlesinger Director ofEducation

Ann-Marie Reilly ChiefRegistrar/Director ofExhibition Production

Lee Kogan Curator ry Public Programs and Special Exhibitions

Sue McGuire Assistant Registrar

Sara Lasser Manager ofSchooland Docent Programs

Elizabeth V.Warren Consulting Curator

Jennifer ICalter Museum Educator and Coordinatorfor School Partnerships and Programs

DEPARTMENTS Susan Flamm Public Relations Director Marie S. DiManno Director ofMuseum Shops Richard Ho Manager ofinformation Technology Nicole Whelan Manager ofPhotographic Services Jane Lanes Director of Volunteer Services Caroline Kerrigan Executive Director ofThe American Antiques Show

Madelaine Gill Family Programs Coordinator

Lucy Cullman Danziger Vice President Frances Sirota Martinson Vice President Edward V. Blanchard Jr. Treasurer Taryn Gottlieb Leavitt Secretary Didi Barrett Joyce B. Cowin R.Webber Hudson Joan M.Johnson Michelle L Lasser Selig D.Sacks Members Akosua Barthwell Evans David L. Davies Jacqueline Fowler Patricia Geoghegan Susan Gutfreund Robert L. Hirschhorn ICristina Johnson Nancy ICarch Robert I. Kkinberg J. Randall Plummer Terry Rakolta Margaret Z. Robson Richard Rosenthal Bonnie Strauss Nathaniel J. Sutton Richard H.Walker L.John Wilkerson Trustees Emeriti Ralph 0. Esmerian Chairman Emeritus

FACILITIES Robert J. Saracena Director ofFacilities

Joseph E Cullman 3rd (1912-2004) Samuel Farber Cordelia Hamilton Cyril I. Nelson (1927-2005) George F. Shaskan Jr.

Alexis Davis Manager ofVisitor Services

Gerard C.Werticin Director Emeritus

Christine Rivera Assistant Manager of Visitor Services Daniel Rodriguez Office Services Coordinator PUBLICATIONS Tanya Heinrich Director ofPublications Mareike Paessler Managing Editor Cara Zimmerman Assistant Editor

AMERICAN

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10 WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

ALLAN KATZ Americana

"The Vices of Men" Bottle Whimsy.

Boxing, gambling, whiskey and drinking.

American. Ca 1910. Wood with polychrome and glass. 35" x 11 1/2" x 11 1/2".

Pictured "American Vernacular" page 137.

Allan & Penny Katz

By Appointment 25 Old Still Road Woodbridge, CT 06525 Tel. (203) 393-9356 folkkatz@optonline.net

111111101

American Folk Art Museum

EDITOR'S

COLUMN

45 West 53rd Street 0

1111111121

New York City 212/265-1040 www.folkartmuseum.orq

TANYA HEINRICH

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fititt,4 MUSEUM HOURS Tuesday—Sunday Friday Monday ADMISSION Adults Students/Seniors Children under 12 Members Friday evening 5:30-7:30 PM

10:30 Am-5:30 Pm 10:30 Am-7:30 Pm Closed $9 $7 Free Free Free to all

SHOP HOURS Saturday—Thursday Friday

10 AM-6 PM 10 AM-8 Pm

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE Folk Art Revealed Floors 4 and 5 On continuous view

A Deaf Artist in Early America: The Worlds of John Brewster Jr. Floors 2 and 3 ThroughJan. 7,2007 Martin Ramirez

Atrium and Floors 2 and 3 Jan. 23—April29,2007

The Great Cover-Up: American

Rugs on

Tables, Beds, and Floors

Atrium and Floors 2 and 3 May 8—Sept. 16,2007

BRANCH LOCATION/BRANCH SHOP 2 Lincoln Square (Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets) 212/595-9533 Admissison: $3 suggested donation Hours:Tuesday—Saturday, noon-7:30 PM; Sunday, noon-6 PM Midwestern Amish Quilts

On continuous view

12 WINTER 2007

FOLK ART

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- -• artin Ramirez, who is the subject of a retrospective opening at the museum later this month,is one of my favorite artists.This is because I've always felt that UNTITLED (Train)/ Martin Ramirez (1895-1963)! Auburn, California / his work evokes a particularly c.1953 / crayon and pencil on pieced paper / 221 / 2x 47"! American Folk Art Museum, gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill Jr., 1990.1.2 Californian (and,indeed, Mexican—the state's ancestry) landscape, and it connects me instantly with my origins.This is not, however,a California captured so well by other artists, with luminous light or a particular spirit. With his chosen medium and specific application ofline, Ramirez squarely nails the terrain ofthis westernmost region,so fertile and yet so rocky and dry.

Of Ramirez 's works,I'm most familiar with the drawing illustrated above, because it has long been in the museum's collection and I've incorporated it into various print pieces over the years. Last spring, at a photo shoot for the catalog produced to accompany the museum's exhibition,I was reminded ofthe role ofscale.(I'd forgotten how big this drawing is.) So often, when we become familiar with artworks in print or in other reproduced forms, we lose sense oftheir true size. Scale, when much bigger or smaller than expected,can radically change the response to a work. For this reason, you really must come to the museum to see these grand, magnificent drawings in person. Curator Brooke Davis Anderson's overview of Ramirez's life and the prominent motifs in his body of work begins on page 46.

Gregory L. Blackstock, a self-taught artist living in Seattle,is another master draftsman, but he works in an intimate format,rendering collections ofa variety ofitems, both natural (fruits, birds,flowers) and manmade (tents, pianos, tools). He is gifted with an acute compositional sense, and he inks his subjects with great precision and seriousness, as would a taxonomist. Despite this encyclopedic approach, however,the dense drawings, with each image carefully captioned, are highly celebratory For Katharine Harmon's lively introduction to the artist, please turn to page 68.

Isaac A.Wetherby, a 19th-century itinerant portrait painter who plied his trade first on the East Coast, mostly near Boston, and then in the Midwest,was also very detail-oriented;for 23 years, he kept a daybook in which he recorded the specifics of his enterprise,such as sitters, fees, transactions by barter, and his occasional failures in supplying a satisfactory likeness. His commissions included a fair volume of posthumous portraits, as well as phrenological charts and copies of well-known paintings of George Washington. Michael R.Payne and Suzanne Rudnick Payne have carefully scrutinized Wetherby's daybook entries to bring us an interesting study ofthe business side offolk portraiture; please turn to page 58.

Roughly a century later, Frank C.Pease also worked as a portraitist in the Midwest—he operated a photography studio in the town ofLaPorte,Indiana. Around 30 years after Pease's death,Jason Bitner, the coeditor ofFOUND magazine,stumbled upon an enormous collection ofthe photographer's portrait proofs collecting dust in the back room of a LaPorte diner.

Bitner sustains an enthusiasm for lost or forgotten items that, though seemingly mundane,can nonetheless be seen as evocative and eloquent in a different context; our conversation begins on page 36.This column continues to be a rewarding exploration ofthe loose topic ofcollecting, in which we get to engage in some informal meandering. I hope you enjoy it.

Stay warm this winter—we'll see you again in May.

Queen Anne maple side chair with a pierced crest and an old painted surface.

Gaines School, Coastal Massachusetts or New Hampshire, 1745-1765

ESTABLISHED 1920

NATHAN LIVERANT AND SON •ANTIQUES • 168 SOUTH MAIN STREET • PO Box 103 • COLCHESTER, CT 06415 •(860)537-2409

www.liverantantiques.com

Fleisher / Oilman Gallery is pleased to offer one of two known large-scale horses by William Edmondson.

Tennessee Limestone, 21 3/4 x 27 74 x 872 inches Conserved and exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Reproduced in Visions in Stone by Edmund L. Fuller Exhibited in William Edmondson, A Retrospective, Tennessee State Museum

FLEIS

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DIRECTOR'S

LETTER

MARIA ANN CONELLI

all and winter at the American Folk Art Museum are always hectic seasons due to the opening of new exhibitions and two back-to-back fund-raising events,but the atmosphere is an exciting one,fidl ofexhilaration and anticipation."A DeafArtist in Early America:The Worlds ofJohn Brewster Jr." premiered in October. Originally organized by the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.,the exhibition in New York is distinguished by the addition ofseven rarely seen paintings by the artist. The show also reunites for the first time two paintings featuring four members ofa single family. We applaud the museum's senior curator, Stacy C. Hollander,for her vision and beautiful installation.There is also a new exhibition of Midwestern Amish quilts installed at the museum's branch location.(For a sampling ofthe rich textiles on view, please see Quilt Connection,beginning on page 80.)

We await the opening ofthe much anticipated exhibition "Martin Ramirez"later this month,on Jan. 23.

The retrospective, and the book that accompanies it, is the first study to give equal consideration to the biographical, historical, and cultural influences on Ramirez's oeuvre,its artistic quality and merit, and its standing in the context ofthe work of20th-century self-taught artists. Brooke Davis Anderson deserves high praise not only for her organization ofthis first major retrospective ofthe artist's work in the United States in more than Director Maria Ann Conelli (left) and Nancy Mead 20 years, but also for the insightful research that shows Ramirez in an astonishing new light.In conjunction with this exhibition,the museum has planned a number ofcollaborative programs with several Manhat-tan institutions:The Hispanic Society ofAmerica,El Museo del Barrio,the Americas Society/Council ofthe Americas,and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance.The museum will also host a two-day symposium,Culture in Context: Self-Taught Artists in the Twenty-First Century,on April 27 and 28.This event will address issues ofauthenticity,intentionality, biography, and place as they relate to Martin Ramirez and to contemporary self-taught artists today.

Session cochairs indude Brooke Davis Anderson,Daniel Baumann, Roger Cardinal, Susan Mitchell Crawley, Kristin E. Espinosa,Victor M. Espinosa, Lee Kogan,Randall Morris, Colin Rhodes,Leslie Umberger, and Victor Zamudio-Taylor.

A new show has been added to the spring exhibition schedule.

"The Great Cover-Up: American Rugs on Tables, Beds,and Floors," organized by curator Lee Kogan,will be on view beginning May 8. Although the museum regularly includes rugs in its exhibitions,this will be the first presentation entirely devoted to this topic since 1974,when Kate and Joel Kopp organized the seminal show"Hooked Rugs in the Folk Art Tradition," which generated an enormous interest in the field that continues today.

F

The work of Henry Darger continues to intrigue and delight museumgoers. Last fall, the museum's exhibition "Henry Darger: Highlights from the American Folk Art Museum"traveled to the Frye Art Museum,in Seattle,following its stint at the Andy Warhol Museum,in Pittsburgh, where it drew record numbers of visitors.

As part ofits goal to serve a national audience,the American Folk Art Museum launched an exhibition-touring initiative in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.The national tour of"Ancestry and Innovation: African American Art from the American Folk Art Museum"will begin in February 2008; be sure to check back to see if this magnificent show will be on view in your area.

The museum's American Antiques Show will be held from Jan. 18 to 21 at the Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street; the Gala Benefit Preview will take place on Jan. 17.The annual fund-raising event's cochairs are Barry D.Briskin and Joan M.Johnson, museum trustees who are tireless in their efforts and who deserve our heartfelt thanks for everything they do on behalfofthe museum.

One week later,from Jan.26 to 28,the 15th annual Outsider Art Fair will be held at the Puck Building,in SoHo.The preview gala, on the evening ofJan.25,is a benefit for the American Folk Art Museum.The museum will also have a booth at the fair, and the festivities will be punctuated by the museumorganized annual Outsider Art Week,featuring a number ofexciting programs,including the popular Uncommon Artists symposium on Jan.27.

I wrote previously that it is especially gratifying to me that the board oftrustees continues to grow in strength and diversity. The museum welcomes several new board members: Patricia Geoghegan,Nancy Karch, Robert Kleinberg, and Richard Rosenthal.These individuals bring not only enthusiasm and a passion for the field but also strong expertise in a variety ofareas that will benefit the museum.I am very sorry to say good-bye to Nancy Mead,who will be leaving the board after ten years of dedicated service. She has spearheaded the museum's membership initiative, Folk Art Circle, which has tripled in contributions under her stewardship.I will particularly miss her gracious, warm,and good-natured manner,although I know she will continue to be an active member ofour community. All ofus at the museum extend our fondest best wishes to Nancy Mead.

Exhibition openings,special events, the American Antiques Show, and Outsider Art Week offer opportunities to meet new friends ofthe museum and renew acquaintances; I've met many visitors, members,and patrons.If we haven't yet met,please don't hesitate to say hello—and I'll see you at the museum!*

WINTER 2007

FOLK ART

15

Schoolhouse Village Quilt The schoolhouse image is one of the most familiar in American quilts. Here, the maker included the night sky with the moon and stars looking down over the village of 55+ buildings, including those labeled "Barn", "Coal", and "Union Depot". The train runs through town. Houses have lamp posts, the schoolhouse has a ringing bell, and the two churches have graveyards. Small people are embroidered in heavy cotton thread, the same used to indicate the town well and bucket and other details "about town". The quilting is significant as the background is filled with hearts, stars, trees, and simple wreaths.

78" x 80", dated 1891, Pennsylvania possibly York

JAN VVI-IITLOCK TEXTILES & INTERIORS 10 Station Way • P.O. Box 583 • Chadds Ford, PA 19317 wwwjanwhitlocktextiles.com 610.388.7950

HILL GALLERY

Exceptional American Show Figure Attributed to Charles J. Dodge, N.Y.C. Commissioned by the McLean Family McLean Virginia Circa 1840 5 ft 4 in H x 3 ft 2 in W x 1 ft 6 in D Carved Pine and Pigmented Varnishes

407 WEST BROWN STREET

BIRMINGHAM, MI 48009

TEL 248 540 9288

FAX 248 540 6965

WWW.HILLGALLERY.COM

AMERICAS LEADING ANTIQUE SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

TLis work peril abs my f r lends may have When 5 am in my silent grave And which wheneer they chance to see cMay kind remembrance picture me 1/1/Aile on the glowing canvass stands ,The Labour of rn7youthfui hands'irl'

Outstanding Chester County, Pennsylvania Sampler by Orpah P. Lewis, 1825.

Fine original mahogany frame. Frame size: 24 by 27.5 inches. est. 1947

M.Finkel0Daughter.

936 Pine Street • Philadelphia, PA 19107 • tel: 215-627-7797• fax: 215-627-8199 www.samplings.com • mailbox@samplings.com

African American bed cover. Kentucky origin. Circa 1915-1925

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lo35 Wesley Avenue Evanston, Illinois 60202 847.866.6766 www.harveyantiques.com

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2 1 2 x 3/ 1 Edwin Plummer (Haverhill, MA), Portrait of a Woman, c. 1825, watercolor and gouache on paper, 4/

FINE AMERICAN FOLK ART AT AUCTION The Collection of Meryl

Jay Weiss

February 17,2007 • 63 Park Plaza, Boston, MA Americana department 978.779.6241 / americana@skinnerinc.com

SKINNER

Auctioneers & Appraisers ofAntiques & Fine Art WWW.skinnerinc.com

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Auction January 18-20 Viewing January 12-17

Inquiries 212 636 2230 Catalogues 800 395 6300

New York 20 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10020

An Exceptional Canada Goose Decoy O1111 Susquehanna River, PA Last quarter of the 19th Century

christies.com

IMPORTANT AMERICAN FURNITURE, FOLK ART, SILVER AND PRINTS New YorkJanuary 18-20, 2007

CHRISTIE'S SINCE 1766

JOAN R. BROWNSTEIN ART & ANTIQUES

A Masterpiece of Eighteenth Century American Folk Portraiture Catherine Heston as painted by her husband Isaac Heston Philadelphia circa 1774

Original moulded black frame is rose head nailed to the poplar panel. 20"x 25 3/4".

Illustrated: "Folk Art In American Life", Robert Bishop and Jacqueline M. Atkins, p. 6.

Exhibited: Washington Headquarters Museum, Valley Forge,PA, 1906-1982.

24 PARKER STREET NEWBURY, MA 01951 WWW.JOANRBROWNSTEIN.COM

(978) 465-1089

CARL HAMMER GALLERY

Exhibiting: The American Antiques Show January 17 — 21, 2007 Metropolitan Pavillion 125 W. 18th St., NYC The Outsider Art Fair January 25 — 28, 2007 The Puck Building Houston @ Lafayette St., NYC Art Chicago April 27 — 30, 2007 Merchandise Mart Chicago, IL

Phillip Chabot. Wood carved reclining nude figure.

Long Island, N.Y., c. 1930-40 15 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches Original finish

CARL HAMMER GALLERY 740 North Wells Street • Chicago, Illinois 60610 312.266.8512 / hammergall@aol.com / www.hammergallery.com

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Very Plump Plover by Obediah or Gruby Verity, Seaford, Long Island, NY,circa 1890.

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26 WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

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STEVE CANYON, JANUARY 26,1947 (detail)/ Milton Caniff / courtesy Milton Caniff Estate

BY CARA ZIMMERMAN

FACE JUG (Rock Teeth)/ Lanier Meaders (1917-1998)/ Mossy Creek, Georgia / 1969 / clay and wood-fired glaze with flint rocks / Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia, Sautee Nacoochee

NEW POTTERY MUSEUM The Folk Pottery Museum ofNortheast Georgia (706/878-3300; www.folkpottery museum.com),which recently opened in Sautee Nacoochee,is appropriately located in a region well known for its ongoing tradition of ash- and lime-glazed stoneware.

The museum's permanent collection includes approximately 200 pieces dating from the 1800s to the present, of which 160 are currently on view.In addition, several important loans will remain at the museum through August 2007,including a Mississippian earthenware bowl from the Smithsonian National Museum ofthe American Indian and two large jars by Dave,the renowned Edgefield, S.C., potter, from a private collection.

FOUND PHOTOGRAPHY UPSTATE Found photography will take center stage in "Joachim Schmid: Photoworlcs, 1982-2007," on view at the FrancesYoung TangTeaching Museum and Art Gallery(518/5808080;tang.skidmore.edu), at Skidmore College,in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.,Feb. 3— April 29. Artist Joachim Schmid began collecting vernacular photography in the early 1980s in Berlin and,since 1987, has focused his own art around found photographs and other public image sources.This exhibition includes selections from his Picturesfrom the Street, a 25year compilation offound photographs, as well as works addressing commercial portrait photography, advertising, and webcams. After closing at the Tang,"Photoworlcs" will travel to the Netherlands and Sweden,and a related exhibition will be on view at the Photographers' Gallery, London,April—June 2007.

NO. 140, BELO HORIZONTE, AUGUST 1992 / found photograph / collection of Joachim Schmid

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A COMICS HISTORY The traveling exhibition "Masters of American Comics," which showcases 14 key American artists who helped define the comic strip and comic book in the 20th century, is currently on view as a two-part exhibition at the Jewish Museum (212/423-3200; www.thejewishmuseum.org),in New York, and at the Newark Museum (973/596-6550; www.newarkmuseum.org),in New Jersey, through Jan. 28.

Comic strips from the first halfof the century by Milton Caniff, Lyonel Feininger, Chester Gould ("Dick Tracy"), George Herriman ("Krazy Kat"), Frank King,Winsor McCay ("Little Nemo"), Charles Schulz, and E.C. Segar are on view at the Newark Museum,while comic books and graphic novels from the 1950s onward by R. Crumb, Will Eisner,Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman(MAD magazine), Gary Panter, and Chris Ware can be seen at the Jewish Museum.This exhibition, co-organized by the Museum ofContemporary Art and the Hammer Museum,both in Los Angeles,and independent scholar John Carlin,contains nearly 600 original drawings, proofs, and comic books tracking the progression of the art form from newspaper comic strips to the early days ofcomic books to the rise ofthe independent comics movement.

EARLY NEW ENGLAND FURNITURE Thirty early American chests, chairs, and tables will be on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum (414/224-3200; www.mam.org)Feb.8—May 27.

"Pathways: Seventeenth-Century English Furniture-Making Traditions in New England"features fine examples offurniture by early English settlers and examines seven pathways through which colonial craftsmen honed their skills and created distinctive styles. The exhibition challenges the theory that variances in early New England furniture style and technique can be attributed to different shops or schools, and focuses instead on how the furniture can show trajectories that groups of craftsmen followed once settled in America.

JOHN MICHAEL KOHLER ARTS CENTER expect the unexpected

HEALING MACHINES AND IMMORTAL KINGDOMS A MAJOR EXHIBITION June—December 2007 22 artists who transformed their homes, yards, or other available spaces into multifaceted works of art presented in a 13,000square-foot exhibition.

PUBLICATION Summer 2007 Essays on the culture, history, nature, and the preservation of works by vernacular environment builders accompany richly illustrated chapters on each of the featured artists.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE September 27-30, 2007 Engage in conversations about the "visual vernacular" and its embodiment of cultural heritage.

To receive information about this project, please send an email to roadlesstraveled@jmkac.org or visit our web site, www.jmkac.org

Levi Fisher Ames(1843-1923) Ernest Htipeden (c. 1860-1911) Albert Zahn (1864-1953) Carl Peterson (1869-1969) Clarence Powell (1871-1945) Sam Rodia (1879-1965) Jacob Baker (c.1880-1939) James Tellen (1880-1957) Nick Engelbert(1881-1962) Peter Jodacy (1884-1971) Fred Smith (1886-1976)

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John Ehn (1897-1981) David Butler (1898-1997) Frank Oebser (1900-1990) Emery Blagdon (1907-1986) Loy Bowlin (1909-1995) Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (1910-1983) Mary Nohl (1914-2001) Stella Waitzkin (1920-2003) Nek Chand Saini (b. 1924) Tom Every (b. 1938) Dr. Charles Smith (b. 1940)

JOHN MICHAEL KOHLER ARTS CENTER 608 New York Ave Sheboygan, WI 53081 920.458.61 44 www.imkac.org

MINIATURES

MEXICAN SIGNAGE & R. CRUMB Two notable graphics exhibitions are being presented by the Yerba Buena Centerfor the Arts (415/978-2787; www.ybca.org),in San Francisco.

"Sensacional! Mexican Street Graphics," through March 4, explores signage, flyers, and posters designed by artisans to serve as advertising and promotional material for small businesses and organized events.

The show focuses on the importance of these individualistic, handmade pieces in a world increasingly filled with mechanically produced,corporate imagery.

"R. Crumb and Friends" will be on view March 17—July 1. Crumb,considered the founder ofthe underground comics scene, achieved cult popularity with his sexually charged comics,but his body of work extends beyond the corporeal in philosophical and introspective directions. Examples of his early solo work,along with collaborative projects and drawings on wooden spools, will be included.

WINTERTHUR QUILT COLLECTION "Quilts in a Material World: Selections from the Winterthur Collection" will be on view at the Winterthur Museum & Country Estate (800/448-3883; www.winterthur.org), in Winterthur, Del., March 10—Sept. 16.

Some ofthe 40 featured textiles are discussed in relation to their fabric and composition, while others are addressed through the more narrative stories they tell of their creators. Organized

by Linda Eaton,"Quilts in a Material World"is accompanied by a catalog and is the impetus for Winterthur's first quilt conference,scheduled for March 31.

N. 2 , Various signs for popsicle stores and ice-cream parlors / Mexico City /1999

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QUILT: FEATHERED VINE PATTERN / artist unidentified / United States/ c.1810-1840/ woolen worsted dyed with indigo, onion skin or turmeric, and woolen batting /89 x 90"!General Artemas Ward House, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, HU 1839

PATRIOTIC ART WorIcs from the General Artemas Ward House,a museum in Shrewsbury, Mass.,owned by Harvard University, are on view at the Fogg Art Museum(617/495-9400; www.art museums.harvard.edu),in Cambridge,through Feb. 11."A Public Patriotic Museum: Artworks and Artifacts from the General Artemas Ward House"features paintings,furniture, textiles, ceramics, and glassware dating from the 18th to the early 20th century, as well as a selection of domestic and agricultural tools used in the Ward household. In presenting tools and craft items next to objects traditionally accepted as art, the exhibition highlights the relevance of aesthetic qualities in the understanding of history, as well as the importance ofincorporating a range of disciplinary viewpoints in today's art museum.

KATCHER COLLECTION AT YALE Morethan 30 artworks from the 18th and 19th centuries will be on view at the Yale University Art Gallery(203/432-0600; artgallery.yale.edu), in New Haven, Conn.,Feb. 13—Aug.26."Made for Love: Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana" examines sentiments that are revealed through the exchange of gifts. Highlighting paintings,furniture, miniatures, and children's toys, this exhibition reveals the emotional bonds between gift giver and recipient."Made for Love" is accompanied by the book Expressions ofInnocence and Eloquence: Selectionsfrom theJane Katcher Collection ofAmericana(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2006).

GEORGE WARD HILLIARD / Sheldon Peck (1797-1868)/ Brighton, Illinois / c.1849 / oil on canvas / collection of Jane Katcher

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EMBROIDERY / Mary Sarah Titcomb / United States / 1760 / homespun linen with crewel embroidery / Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, purchased through the gift of James Junius Goodwin, 1934.276

EARLY CREWELWORK "Crewel World," on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum ofArt(860/278-2670; vvvvw.wadsworth atheneum.org),in Hartford, Conn., through Feb.25,focuses on more than a dozen examples of crewel embroidery from the late 17th to the mid-18th century Crewelwork,characterized by twisted,brilliantly colored yarns and textured stitches, is a decorative technique used for covering large areas such as clothing and bed curtains.This exhibition focuses on techniques and patterns as well as the changes in crewel aesthetics inspired by developing international trade and the American colonial identity

AARFAM REOPENS The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum(800/4478679; www.colonialwilliamsburg .com),in Williamsburg, Va., reopened in December 2006 in a new 10,400-square-foot building.The museum's new home, which is adjacent to the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and far closer to downtown Williamsburg,contains 11 galleries. The opening exhibitions present a wide range offolk art and introduce viewers to the diversity of the museum's collection; they include an exhibition of American stoneware,a presentation offolk music instruments, and the newly restored Carolina Room,reinstalled from the original museum building.

GRISWOLD'S ACQUISITIONS Fortyfive carefully selected paintings and objects are on view in"A Collective Endeavor:Three Decades of Acquisitions" at the Florence Griswold Museum (860/434-5542; www.flogris.org), in Old Lyme,Conn.,through March 25. Chosen to show visitors the range of work in the museum's collection,the pieces in this exhibition include historical artifacts, paintings from the Old Lyme School,and items from the Hartford Steam Boiler Collection (recently gifted to the museum).

Alex Maldonado

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more ... and some more ... and ordered another meal.I couldn't collectibles—handwritten notes, lost or tossed — was stop looking.Those photographs were like a beautiful visual census. established in 2001 by Davy Rothbart and Jason We first guessed that there might Bitner. Random findings are sent in by readers from be two or three thousand photos huge number,right? altogether—a two all over the world, and the magazine has spawned Later,I handcounted over eighcompilation books as well as a raunchy sister series, teen thousand portraits. After an hour offlipping,I decided to put DIRTY FOUND. Bitner is also the author of LaPorte, offeverything I had Indiana, a collection of midcentury proofs from a going on back in Chismall-town portrait studio, the kind of photographs cago and look at every portrait in those single displays on a family or one shares with friends and boxes.I ended up staymantel. In my conversation with Bitner, we explore ing two weeks,sipping coffee after coffee in saving. indeed worth throwaways are how some that back room,going through the entire portrait archive. thought we should get a quick TH Frank C.Pease (1900-1970) TH Pease's operation bite to eat before getting situated was a LaPorte boy,but he folwas by no means for the demo-derby.The diner, lowed the classic path ofwanderunique, as portrait B &J's American Café,was the lust—he ran away with a circus, perfect place to stop—it felt like a studios like Muraland spent time in Florida as an craft(which had been local's diner, and you never want assistant lion tamer. When he located upstairs from to skip places like that.Their returned home,he held jobs as the diner) existed all menu states that the cinnamon a crime-scene photographer,a over the country and rolls take an extra fifteen minutes newspaper cartoonist, and chief still do.The individual photographer at a local munitions to arrive, which means they have photos don't necesto be special. After ordering,I factory In the 1940s,he opened sarily resonate on their own,but, looked up and noticed his portrait business, as with other recent publications a few five-by-sevenMuralcraft Studios, ofvintage photography collecinch black-and-white and he photographed tions—artfully arranged album portraits taped to town residents for pages, photo-booth strips, mug the pie case.I asked approximately twoshots—something rather comthe waitress about and-a-half decades. pelling happens when you page the portraits, and she His wife, Gladys, ran pointed me toward the through this assemblage. the administrative end Much has been noted in reviews back room,where the ofthings and prepared of your book that the minimal waitstaff rolls silverthe sitters for their text and method of ware and consolidates ketchup session, combing hair and applyorganization—clusbottles.There was a metal shelving makeup.Your first encounter ters bearing subtle ing unit against the back wall with Pease's photo proofs makes similarities but without holding twenty-two cardboard a great backstory. JB A few years chapters, headings, or boxes. A little note was next to ago I heard about this crazy dethe boxes:"Find a family member! captions—allow for a molition derby that takes place surprisingly emotional Photos $.50 each—or—$5.00 during the LaPorte County Fair response. It circumfor a packet."The boxes were every year. I lived in the Chicago vents kitsch (funny overflowing with these amazing area at the time,so my friend hair,funny glasses) or black-and-white portrait phoPolly and I hopped in the car and cloying nostalgia. Did you have tos.I started ffipping through made the trip. Once we got into criteria when culling your the photographs,flipped some LaPorte,we saw an old diner and

FOUND magazine, a showcase for the unlikeliest of

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collection, or did it evolve?

JB When I began,I didn't really know what I was searching for.

I had no criteria or structure for the portraits, or even the thought ofediting a book. But early in the process,I noticed that when looking at uniform photographs the mind wants to notice only the sensational and oddball images. After I figured this out,I was able to gather a group that was much more representative ofthe community of LaPorte.

Pease's collection is far more interesting than a goofy haircut.

TH LaPorte's origins date to 1679,when French explorer and fur trader Robert Cavalier La Salle, retreating from Illinois to Canada,used trails cut by Indian tribes of the region. He referred to the clearing as "la parte"("the door"), and this hospitable locale seems to have fostered qualities still attributed to Midwesterners—sturdy, open, unassuming,welcoming.

Do you think the photos in your book are essentially Midwestern or more a reflection ofthe times?

JB It's true that editing can easily affect and create various tones and moods,but my"agenda"for this project was really quite simple: I wanted to show an accurate view of Midwestern people.

I care so deeply about our region and our people, and I want people in other parts ofthe country—and around the world—to have a straightforward and fair representation ofus.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK C. PEASE COURTESY PRINCETON ARCHITECTURAL PRESS, NEW YORK

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The Midwest has an amazing culture that often gets overlooked by the flashier lifestyles on the coasts.

Ours might be a little more subtle, but equally fascinating. TH You've stated that one of your favorite LaPorte portraits is the one of an earnest young couple, posed in profile, clasping hands,and gazing into each other's eyes.They are fairly clean-cut, but their clothing and hair subtly signal the major cultural shifts that occurred in this country in the mid-1960s. Most ofthe photos in the book betray little ofthe nervous energy or selfconsciousness that can arise when striking and holding a formal pose,or when trying to present oneselfin an idealized way. Pease's subjects appear to be quite at ease, having some fun.Is that true of the rest ofthe photos? JB They may appear at ease, but that's not totally the case.The photo ofthe Tonagels—the couple holding hands,looking into each other's eyes—is a great example. Hugh Tonagel has spoken about the experience of sitting with his nowwife Kathy for their engagement portrait.

Pease told them something like "You guys are getting married, and this is the photo that will represent this union forever.This is a really important moment and I want you to be here and present and understand what it is you're sitting for."

Hugh and Kathy handled it really well, but a sense oftension underlies some ofthese portraits.

TH Pease's story sort of picks up where Mike Disfarmer's leaves off: Disfarmer operated a portrait studio in Heber Springs,Arkansas, a small farming town,from 1917 to 1956. A cache of his glass-plate negatives was found after his

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death,and a collection of his vintage prints, unearthed after much research, was published in 2005(New York Edwynn Houk Gallery/powerHouse Books).The images reveal a community struggling with the economic difficulties experienced during the Depression era and the two world wars, but they become more joyful in the 1950s.I recently dug out my old high-school yearbooks for the first time in many years, and there's something so undeniably 1980s about them that has less to do with the obvious—hairstyles or clothing—but in the expressions or the composure. It's difficult to look back without sentimentality for a presumed innocence. Decades seem to acquire a collective character in hindsight. JB I've got a great story about Disfarmer. When I first told Billie Pappas (the B in B &J's American Café) about my wanting to make a book with the photos,I described the first Disfarmer book to her and gave her a little background.

When I mentioned he was from Heber Springs,Arkansas, herjaw just dropped.

Billie, it turns out, has a bunch ofrelatives living in Heber Springs, none of whom had ever heard ofits beloved, photographed past. Billie, in my head,became a connection between the two collections. I love that. TH Since your book was published, the LaPorte Herald-Argus has been running an occasional "where are they now?"feature. Have most ofthe sitters been identified?

Have any ofthem reacted negatively to having their photos published

in your book? JB With a ton of help from current and former LaPorteans,we've identified over half of the people in the book.

Copies ofLaPorte, Indiana sit open, pencil nearby,in a few LaPorte businesses so people can add names to the images. People continue to e-mail us names and updates for those that appear in the book.The feedback has been very positive, especially from folks in town.We put a lot oflove into the book, and I hope it shows.[Editor]Jennifer Thompson and designer Deb Wood at Princeton Architectural Press made sure we'd make something the town could be proud of, and I think it's gone over remarkably well.

TH Did Pease leave behind any notes or records? JB There were no notebooks or journals found with the boxes. He had such an active imagination,I bet there is a Frank Pease journal sitting around somewhere.I hope we can track it down before long. TH FOUND was hatched from a moment of mistaken identity: Your friend Davy Rothbart discovered a note on the windshield ofhis car that reads (expletives deleted),"Mario,/ I [really] hate you / you said you had to / work then whys/your car HERE/at HER place?? /You're a [big]/ LIAR I hate you / I [really] hate you / Amber /PS Page me later."This plaintive missive, with all its raw emotion and contradiction, represents the essential mission of the

magazine: Everyday detritus can be very revealing of situations to which we can all relate. Had either ofyou been collecting found notes such as this prior to this moment? JB I was sixteen when I started working on Saturdays at a local recycling center in a suburb of Chicago. People would drive in with their recyclables and I'd help unload their stuff. It wasn't the most exciting job in the world. One ofthe more detailoriented jobs I did there was separating those glossy newspaper advertisement inserts from the rest ofthe newspaper,and this is where things would get interesting. I would find all ofthese strange handwritten notes tossed in with the rest of the newspaper. Coworkers and I would snatch these bits, shove them in our pockets, and share them with one another during our breaks. When I met Davy, he was thinking about making a zine out ofthings collected from the streets(Davy had been a ticket scalper in Chicago).I knew instantly what could be discovered.

TH The finds include grocery lists, to-do lists, pros/cons lists, notes passed in class,scribblings found tucked inside library books,e-mail printouts left at computer stations, furious notes left on poorly parked cars, and a wide assortment ofvery personal notes and letters penned in anger or affection.They make for utterly compelling reading. Did you have any idea how engrossing or popular this project would become?

JB We never would have guessed.

We started FOUND because we

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CONVERSATION

wanted to share our finds with our friends. We went to Kinko's to print out fifty copies of what would later become FOUND #1.

We dropped it off around midnight, and when we came back for the copies later that night, the guy at the counter told us that he had been looking at it and had decided to make seven hundred copies.

He,too, knew from the things left in copiers and recycling bins, what could be gleaned from people's leftovers. From there, we just started passing those extra copies to people who we thought would like it.They gave their copies to friends, and all ofthe sudden,tons of people started sending us their finds. It just ballooned. TH The various lists turn out to be some of the mostjaw-dropping—that one item not like the others that takes the list into the realm of a short story. Do you ever suspect that some ofthe finds are faked?

JB After years of handling finds, I would like to think that Davy and I have developed a magical sixth sense for spotting the faked find; it's a feel-thing, I guess.I remember reading about how the producers of my favorite TV show,America's Funniest Home Videos, could spot fakes instantly. I understand their skills. And I hope to work there one day—for real.The finders that get involved in the FOUND project know that truth is far crazier and more spellbinding than the things we can make up.

TH Like in LaPorte,Indiana, in FOUND and the compilation books you refrain from editorializing too much,and therefore the approach is one ofenthusiasm rather than jest or sarcasm,which could be tempting with some of

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the pieces. What are some of your a journey involved. After we'd colfavorites? JB Over the years, there lected a bunch ofthese stories, we began a section on the FOUND has been one find that I've gone website called "Hey! That's Me!" back to so many times that I have where readers have written about to consider it my favorite. Walking to [Chicago bar]The Hideout encountering their own stuffin FOUND.TH I love the story of one night,I saw this tightly wadhow one ofDavy Rothbart's own ded piece of paper caught in a mislaid items—notes he'd jotted chain-link fence. When I picked on a napkin in preparation for a it up I felt like I was holding a baseball,like it had been collapsed performance on the national reading tour by a crumpling professional and ofFOUND—was somehow gained an extra pound by virtue ofits density. So I finally submitted to the magazine. Are you got it open,and once I was under self-conscious ofthe a bright streetlight I looked down to read it:"I love you./ yes./ yes./ afterlife of the notes you write now? yes."That's it. And that's all it JB That's a funny needed to say. Since I found it,I got to name it, too—"The Perfect story! I would love it if one of my to-do lists Note."TH You guys have received came back to me in tens ofthousands of notes and photos since you formed the mag- the mailbox.

TH FOUND Polaroids azine. How do you maintain the is your newest publisubmissions—are they filed? cation. Polaroids are JB We have an ever-growing FOUND archive in an Ann Arbor wonderful because the quality ofcolor basement, a bunch offinds tourand focus differs from ing around the world with conventional color FOUND art shows,and tens of snapshots, and they fade over thousands ofe-mailed time.The instant processing also submissions filling up seemed to encourage a higher our hard drives.

TH There's an inherent level of experimentation, and the vulnerability present discard rate with Polaroids must be pretty high.The popularity of in this project—these writings, although esPolaroids has been supplanted by digital cameras,ofcourse, with sentially anonymous, which unsatisfactory images can were never intended simply be deleted. Can you defor an audience. What scribe the book? JB I've always has been the response ofreaders had a special place in my heart for who encounter their own notes in Polaroids.They've got this instant FOUND? JB Utter disbelief and an overwhelming sense ofwonder. nostalgia thing going—images immediately appear to be faded We've become much more skilled and dated. Digital photography at obscuring identities these days, offers clearer shots and cheaper but even then,we've had some prices, plus it allows the photograforty or fifty reunions. People are pher more freedom to manipulate amazed at how a scrap ofpaper and improve the picture however lost fourteen years back in Seattle he sees fit. But how can you beat would end up in a couch in North a well-weathered Polaroid photo Carolina. Sometimes there's quite

with gravel embedded into the white borders? That's beauty you can't find anywhere else. With this in mind,I pulled a hundred of my favorite Polaroids from our collection ofseven hundred—plus found Polaroids and asked designer Paul Koob to design the book's interior and Esopus magazine's Tod Lippy to make the cover. It should be on shelves this winter, and it'd be great for any photo fan. TH What else are you working on? JB I tend to get restless pretty quick.

This year,I'm planning on learning entirely new skills. We're working on finding funding for a feature-length documentary about the people of LaPorte,and there's another film project I'm hoping to produce.There might be some magazine writing, and now that I think about it, ifI ever happen to get a call from producers at America's Funniest Home Videos, I'd seriously consider an offer. TH Do you collect anything other than notes and photographs? JB People's stories.

They're the best things going.*

FOUND and related titles can be purchased at www.found magazine.com. LaPorte, Indiana (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006) is available at the American Folk Art Museum Book and Gift Shop for $19.95; members receive a 10 percent discount on all shop items.

RALPH FASANELLA0914-1997) Artist of the People

A Bomb, 1965 oil on canvas 50 x 40 inches

December 9, 2006 through February 3, 2007

January 10: Museum Talk at American Folk Art Museum (45 West 53rd St., NYC) with Lee Kogan at 6:30 pm January 27: Gallery Talk at ACA Galleries with Dr. Paul D'Ambrosio at 4 pm

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CHICAGO Russell Bowman Art Advisory 312.751.9500 rb@bowmanart.com DAN IA BEACH Grace Gallery 954.921.1231 clare.m.vickery@attnet FORT LAUDERDALE Gallery 721 954.765.0721 Itc721@comcast.net MIAMI BEACH The Bergman Collection 305.531.3103 Showroom@ BergmanCollection.com NYC Daniel Aubry Gallery 212.414.0014 Daniell Aubry@aol.com PALM SPRINGS Colin Fisher Studios 760.328.3999 Colin@ColinFishercom

First comprehensive catalogue Raisonne of Purvis Young work is now being assembled.

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THE

COLLECTION

A

C

LOSER

LOOK

BY RALPH SESSIONS AND BROOKE DAVIS ANDERSON

he rare cast-iron Horse and Rider Weathervane (below),which surmounted a barn in Francistown, N.H.,for a hundred years or so, highlights the diversity of weathervanes made in the 19th century.

Perched on a galloping horse, an acrobatic Indian figure holds an oversize arrow as ifit is a spear he is about to hurl.

The figure's left hand and the top ofits head are flared to accept two screws that fix the arrow to them,indicating that this is the weathervane's original configuration. A photograph ofthe weathervane while it was still installed on the barn shows the arrow in this position, not in the more customary location below the horse.

The profile of the horse is reminiscent ofsome copper weathervanes attributed to A.L.Jewell ofWaltham, Mass.

This is not to suggest that it was made by Jewell but to underscore the influence of his designs on other makers. Cast iron may seem to be an unlikely material for weathervanes, given their need to turn freely in the wind.Then again, their symbolic and decorative functions have always been just as important, and, by the second halfofthe 19th century, other methods ofindicating wind direction were available.

Two other types of cast-iron weathervanes are known.

An unidentified workshop that probably operated in New Hampshire in the middle ofthe century produced a distinctive style of horse, also known today as a "formal horse," and a rooster, both ofwhich have cast-iron bodies and sheetiron tails.

—R.S.

T

HORSE AND RIDER WE Artist unidentified New England c. 1870 Cast iron with traces of paint 22/ 1 4 x 421 / 2x 1" American Folk Art Museum, promised gift of Ralph Esmerian, P1.2001.328

MAN ON A BUCKING HORSE Matteo Radoslovich (1882-1972) West New York, New Jersey c. 1947-1972 Painted metal, wood, and glass bottle 1 2x 27/ 1 2x 93/4 40/ American Folk Art Museum, gift of Dorothea and Leo Rabkin, 1983.17.20

fit was a windy day, everything was moving," recalls the daughter of artist Matteo Radoslovich,who created 30-plus sculptures in his yard in West New York, NJ.,over the course of25 years.Throughout the 20th century and earlier, self-taught artists have embellished their outdoor spaces with multimedia installations. Typically, a project begins humbly,with a wind toy, a birdbath, or a freestanding sculpture, then grows progressively to occupy every available space. It is also typical that a folk art environment,while initially a personal and private endeavor,inevitably attracts public awareness as it expands,and is sometimes integrated within the community—they may even become tourist destinations.

In this way,they can be seen as contemporary versions ofthe 18th-century folly.

As is the case in so many folk art environments,the sculptures from Radoslovich's property are made offound materials. Unlike many such environments, however, Radoslovich created his installation not in his front yard, where it could be seen by passersby, but in his backyard—yet it attracted an audience nonetheless.The artist designed a star pattern on his land and bordered it with his wind toys and sculptures depicting airplanes, animals,figures, and whimsical characters, such as the Man on a Bucking Horse(above); he made these objects using wood scraps, glass jars, metal cans, and other sundry cast-offs. Radoslovich was able to approach artmaking in such an innovative and imaginative way because of his lifelong occupation as a ship's carpenter,first in Yugoslavia and later in Hoboken,NJ.* —B.DA

I

Ralph Sessions is director ofSpanierman/Drawing in New York. Brooke Davis Anderson is director and curator ofthe museum's Contemporary Center.

44 WINTER 2007

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UNTITLED (La Inmaculada) 1950s Crayon, pencil, watercolor, and collaged papers 92 x 45" High Museum of Art, Atlanta, purchase with T. Marshall Hahn Folk Art Acquisition Fund for the T. Marshall Hahn Collection, 1999.9.3

46 WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

Martin Ramfrez The artist in 1952, photo courtesy Gomez-Ramirez family

artin Ramirez (1895-1963), the great self-taught draftsman of the twentieth century, left his native Los Altos de Jalisco, Mexico,in 1925 to find work in the United States so that he could support his wife and children back home.

By 1931, political struggles in Mexico that had a direct impact on his family, along with the economical consequences of the Great Depression, left him stranded, jobless and homeless, on the streets of California. Unable to communicate in English and apparently confined, he was soon picked up by the police and committed to a psychiatric hospital, where he would eventually be diagnosed as a catatonic schizophrenic. Ramirez spent the second half of his life in California mental institutions.

Separated from his homeland, his family, and his friends, and further isolated by the language barrier, Ramirez hardly talked to anybody during the thirty-two years of his confinement. Instead, he began to create large surfaces for drawing by assembling found bits of paper—including candy wrappers, greeting cards, flattened paper cups, hospital supply forms, and book pages—with a self-made glue. In the early 1950s, Tarmo Pasto, a visiting professor of psychology and art, saw some of Ramirez's works at DeWitt State Hospital, in Auburn, near Sacramento, and recognized their singular artistic value. Pasto not only made Ramirez a subject of his research into mental illness and creativity but also started to supply him with materials and, by organizing public exhibitions, made his artwork accessible to a larger audience.

MOTIFS AiND MEMORY "Martin Ramirez" will be on view at the American Folk Art Museum January 23—April 29, 2007, and at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin, October 6, 2007—January 6, 2008.

Presented by JPMorgan Chase Bank JPMorganChase0 Additional support has been provided by Altria Group, Inc., National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, the Men-Am Cultural Foundation, Inc., and Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

By Brooke Davis Anderson

In the fifty-plus years since that fortuitous meeting, there has been much speculation about Ramirez's life and work. His drawings and collages, which teem with traditionally Mexican motifs but also reference popular American culture of the midtwentieth century, form an impressive map of a life lived between two worlds separated by geography and culture.

The exhibition "Martin Ramirez," organized by the American Folk Art Museum, gives equal consideration to the biographical, historical, and cultural influences in Ramirez's oeuvre, its artistic quality and merit, and its standing in the context of the work of twentieth-century self-taught artists.

An interdisciplinary exploration of Ramirez's life and complex, multilayered artwork, the exhibition presents a holistic examination of his drawings and collages beyond the boundaries of his diagnosed schizophrenia and his long—and mistakenly— suspected muteness.

In almost three hundred drawings, Ramirez returned again and again to a favorite set of subjects: a rider on a horse, a train entering or exiting a tunnel, a Madonna confronting the viewer, and a landscape crowded with details. The artist never seemed to tire of these favored topics, and within the confines of these motifs he demonstrated an amazing variety of modes of expression. While his singularly identifiable figures, landscapes, palette, and lines show an exacting and highly defined vocabulary, they also reveal Ramirez to be an adventurous artist, exhibiting remarkably creative explorations through endless variations on his themes.

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47

artin Ramirezwas fascinated by modes of transportation, and his drawings display a relentless wanderlust.Trains, cars, Volkswagen vans, and horses all receive exceptional attention.

In some works, trains even morph into snakes,cars into turtles.

In Jalisco, horses were the primary conveyance. Driving through the area today, one still sees people traveling on horseback. Ramirez is remembered by his family as an accomplished horseman, which might explain why he has

M

thick of the fighting. Sometimes, the images like this abound in Ramirez's horse in these images is rearing; in artwork.

The drawing on the page opposome of them,the rider is brandishing a pistol, ready to shoot; at other times, site explores images beyond the emblematic man astride a working beast. the portrait is less action-based.

In these drawings, the jinete is Ramirez framed this motif with elabonearly always framed in a boxlike room rate lines and shading on all four sides. strongly suggestive of a stage. The art- The line is enhanced by the careful ist adapted this device, so while the overlay of chine colle—at the top and scenes may seem, at first glance, to to the right, in particular. This sophisbe extremely repetitive, the construc- ticated collage technique, in which tion of the frame and stage is in fact additional imagery is built onto the subtly altered from drawing to draw- composition with the application of ing. Alterations in shading, line, a second piece of paper, echoes the

UNTITLED (Horse and Rider) 1954 Pencil, colored pencil, crayon, watercolor, and collage on paper 241/a 3515/16" Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 97.4604

a clear visual memory of the musculature and posture of horses, as well as the strength and skill needed to ride them. The horse and rider, or jinete, is Ramirez's most frequently drawn subject; he drew more than eighty of them.The bandolier worn by the rider in many of these works may suggest an armed rebel in Mexico's national revolution or in the Cristero Rebellion, a civil war led by armed Catholic insurgents against the secular government of Mexico, but the images may also suggest a wistful fantasy of Ramirez's—to be home, with his family, and in the

48

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perspective, color, texture, and scale create a surprising diversity in the entire series.

Ramirez also played with the jinete's central iconography. In the drawing illustrated above, he attached the image of a woman's head and shoulders, clipped from a magazine, to the drawn body of a rider. The juxtaposition of the collaged element, of a woman in typical 1950s attire—head scarf, button earrings, and prim blouse— with the drawn figure and the horse is humorous, especially because the positioning is so precise. Popular media

drawn line. The main "stage" in the drawing is crowned with ten smaller stages, or windows, each featuring a basic building in front ofa tree; the five on the left mirror the five on the right.

Ramirez bordered these architectural motifs with the "fingerprint" patterns that fill out space in many of his drawings.These mesmerizing lines look like illustrations of radio waves from the middle of the twentieth century It is tempting to attach meaning to this fact; depicting electromagnetic radio waves, especially after World War II, is a vivid method to illustrate the act

UNTITLED (Horse and Rider) c. 1954 Crayon and pencil on pieced paper / 2 " 49 >< 441 Collection of L. & L. Feiwel

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49

Idt'S'14,A /0

of communicating. Directly below the horse and rider is a suite ofseven forms that, given the stage setting, appear to be the ornamental cases of footlights.

At the very bottom of the composition sits a line of tiny, simply rendered identical figures wearing sombreros.

These replicated cartoonish figures, a device Ramirez used in several drawings, seem almost like an architectural design on a frieze. The diagonal lines that make up the floorboards,emerging neatly from the tips of the tiny sombreros, are evidence of how orderly and well thought-out Ramirez's compositions are.

UNTITLED (Train and Tunnels) 1953 Crayon and pencil on pieced paper 23/ 3 4 88/ 3 4" Collection of Sam and Betsey Farber

The other panels are decorative, but they strikingly suggest train tracks (as well as railroad ties and structural tunnel supports) as seen from above, below, and the sides. The overall effect is ofgreat movement,perhaps referencing Ramirez's long, personal journey from Mexico to the United States, and the great distance between where he had come from and where he found himself The controlled line in this drawing is admirable, especially when one considers the rough, uneven surface pasted together from a variety of papers, including a greeting card, a candy-box wrapper, and a book. According to one

with distinct details, such as pairs of animals or a stacked grid of deep windowlike openings (see below and left).

Dominating these compositions is the singular form Ramirez always lent to his mountains and tunnels, clouds and smoke—a boldly drawn set of contour lines that resembles a fingerprint or a mollusk shell or a rendering of electromagnetic radio waves.The visual power of this technique suggests its potent meaning for the artist and points to his sheer pleasure in making lines.

In some works, it is this form—and not the train or tunnel, or the spirited components of the landscape—that is

early as common as the nurse, Ramirez used a tongue depreshorse and rider in Ramirez's sor as a straightedge. The book pages oeuvre, and just as thor- used in the top panel were torn from a oughly explored by the art- copy of The Man Who Wouldn't Talk, a ist, is the motif of a train title startlingly evocative of the artist's emerging from or racing toward a tun- life; Dr. Pasto suggested that Ramirez nel. In some of these works, Ramirez was mute and "only hummed." Recent organized the scene quite formally: research by Victor M. Espinosa and Three or four bands of striped pan- Kristin E. Espinosa, however, reveals els divide the space in a firm, hori- that the artist spoke to people if apzontal fashion. In other drawings, the proached in Spanish. structure of the scene is more convenAfter having traveled to the United tional and pictorial, spread out on long, States, at least in part by train, Ramirez scroll-like sheets, allowing a more or- worked on the railroad and in the ganic interpretation of transportation mines in northern California (which and landscape. were served by rail lines). His larger An example of the first type of renderings oftrains driving through abcomposition, with four stacked bands, stract landscapes feel like visual diaries is the train drawing in the collection of ofthe artist's life experience.The forms the American Folk Art Museum (see are pared down to the basics: trains, page 12).The train enters the composi- tracks, and tunnels. While these drawtion from a tunnel on the left, with an- ings are compositionally similar and other tunnel beckoning from the right. the motifs are the same, subtle differOne gets the feeling that the train just ences exist. Just as he did in his horsecircles around and around, in and out and-rider series, Ramirez graced of tunnels, on a never-ending journey. individual train-and-tunnel drawings

the central element ofthe composition.

The outer shell appears to pulsate off the paper, emphasizing the mystery of its interior. The confidence with which the lines ofthe contours are drawn and spaced indicates an orderliness Ramirez forcefully brought to the scene, as well as a clarity and sense ofcontrol over the direction of his artistic expression. The repetitiveness is hypnotic. Even when Ramirez scaled down this abstract motif, making a smaller version appear in trees, mounds, and other forms, one senses a determined and willful repetition of line, of creative power focused into the making of a cohesive, finished work of art.

N

vidence of Ramirez's homeland can be found in nearly all ofhis compositions.The landscapes,horseback riders,architecture, the way his figures are dressed, and even the flora and fauna all point to Mexico—in particular, to

E

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51

UNTITLED (Madonna) c. 1948-1963 Crayon and pencil on pieced paper 75 35" Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California, 1885.623

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the region of Jalisco and, more specifically, to the area near Guadalajara, including the town of Tepatitlin and the surrounding villages. But the works most rooted in the place of Ramirez's birth are his Madonna drawings, of which approximately a dozen exist. While some of the Madonnas are intimately scaled,the majority are oversize constructions, indicating a grandeur and epic approach by the artist.

In these large-scale works, Ramirez demonstrated the technique of building up his working surface step by step.

At first using only the materials readily available to him within the hospital confines, he would, as needed, paste together smaller sheets of paper to create a large "canvas." If a composition outgrew its borders, then the borders had to expand. The artist never simply made do with the available space on a given sheet, he always responded to his vision and the inner compulsion to create drawings on his own terms.

Ramirez's Madonnasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;just like his jinetes and a few incidental figures in other drawingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are typically placed in the center of the composition and occasionally in one of his stagelike settings. The religious figure that most likely inspired these Madonnas is Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception as represented in the artist's home parish in Capilla de Milpillas. Her iconic attributes, both traditionally Mexican and Catholic, include a globe on which she is standing, with a snake swirling at her feet. Ramirez's renderings nearly always have the figure's arms raised (in sublimation,in praise),frequently with a blue cloth stretched between them. With few exceptions, the Madonnas wear heavily textured and ornamented robes with dense designs that recall sheaves of wheat.They also sport huarache sandals indigenous in style to the artist's homeland.

Ramirez crested each of his Madonnas with a crown, which breaks from traditional attributes in depictions of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception; it is perhaps a borrowed image from another revered Mexican saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe. Other than this one departure, Ramirez was unerringly faithful to traditional depictions of this religious figure, and the painting of her hanging above the altar in his home church.

D GALLERY, NEW YORK

UNTITLED (Madonna) c. 1948-1963 Crayon and pencil on pieced paper 79 41" Collection of Ann and James Harit has

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53

Ramirez's artwork. One starts to wonder, after studying any of his drawings at length,if he ever erased.

What does it mean, this composition? Ofcourse, one sees in these large landscapes references to contemporary American culture as well as an autobiographical flavor (the Mexican architecture of his home, the trains of his occupation, and the objects of his imagination), but as to the exact content ofthis particular collage, there will always be questions. Perhaps the only frustration upon confronting a work like this is that we have no true idea about what it signified to the artist.

Ramirez was never interviewed, and

UNTITLED (Landscape) c. 1948-1963 Crayon, pencil, watercolor, and collage on pieced paper 40 105" American Folk Art Museum, extended loan of Audrey B. Heckler

COURTESY PHYLLIS KIND GA

In the drawing on page 53, the from several pages of paper, is almost floating mollusklike motifs begin nine feet long. The recurring motifs to form a halo around the Madonna, in Ramirez's work—horse, rider, train, which has origins in the eighteenth- tunnel, animals, and female figures century painting of Our Lady of the (though it is unclear ifthese are images Immaculate Conception that is still of Madonnas)—populate the comhanging in the parish of Capilla de position. A large calligraphic letter R, Milpillas. These shapes of curvaceous decorative and embellished, serves as line take on the same airborne quality a clever signature by the artist. (Initial seen in the bed of flowers in Spanish R's are, in fact, the main motif in sevcolonial paintings. Ramirez further eral works.) Crayon, pencil, collage, referenced such floral components and chine cone are all materials and with the clusters of flowers encased techniques Ramirez used repeatedly in some ofthe mollusldike pods. and with great skill. But here, seen An unorthodox addition to this together and in such abundance, they drawing is to be found in the upper suggest an almost feverish zeal in the left corner: A tiny man-boy figure in work,conveying a celebratory quality

a type of sailor outfit sits atop a hill of lines looking across to the miraculous Madonna. Is this a self-portrait? The onlooker seems isolated and separated by a very great distance from the awesome Catholic religious spirit.

Ramirez's styles—representation he did not leave any writings about his and abstraction—are blended in this artwork, so his intentions and his mocomposition in a free-for-all that in tivations will never be fully known, althe end becomes expressionistic. Here, though elements of his life experiences as elsewhere, Ramirez demonstrated undoubtedly pepper each composition. his sophistication as an artist. His repA compulsion to draw seems to resentative inclination and his abstract have taken over in several smaller stylization of landscape—along with abstract works that have little that is nce Ramirez discovered a his lust for the drawn line—merge obviously representational in them, scale large enough to be in this distinct, singularly expressive becoming wonderfully resonant fields conducive to depicting land- collage. And just as he blended differ- of lines.(Jerry Salz, writing for the scape, he appears to have ent artistic styles, so he married cre- Village Voice, once cunningly observed, taken full advantage of a ative techniques as well. For example, "Ramirez used parallel lines like Slinky vast space in which to work, and it the roadway at the top features a kind toys.") These images recall landscapes seems he was empowered aesthetically. of crazed bumper-to-bumper traffic of trains and tunnels as much as they One work in particular is so extraor- jam of classic automobiles snipped reflect the pared-down, expressive joy dinary and so chock-full of imagery from popular media and Ramirez's of marrying stylus to page.If Ramirez's that it reads like an encyclopedia of own drawn cars depicted from vary- drawings were dated, it would be inthe motifs in Ramirez's entire body of ing angles. In a similar vein, different teresting to know if his abstracts were work. With its employment of figures methods and materials share the same his earliest works or his last.* and landscape, buildings and trans- space: A line will begin in crayon,conportation, as well as its use of both tinue in pencil, and conclude as a tom collage and the drawn line, it can be piece of paper. This apparent freedom Brooke DavisAnderson is director and seen as a kind of grand finale. The and assurance in artistic production is curator ofthe museum's Contemporary collage (above and opposite), made one of the many awesome aspects of Center.

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GAVIN ASHWORTH

O

-

.•:-•••; 5

COMPILED BY VICTOR M. ESPINOSA AND KRISTIN E. ESPINOSA 1895

Martin Ramirez Gonzalez is born on January 30 in Rine& de Velazquez,Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico. On January 31, he is baptized in San Francisco de Asis, the central parish of Tepatitlan.

On May 31, Ramirez marries 17-year-old Maria Santa Ana Navarro Velazquez in the small parish of Capilla de Milpillas, Tepatitlan.

1918

1925 1930

1926

Late 1920s

Ramirez works on the railroad and in the mines in northern California and sends money home to Mexico.

1933

On February 2,the Ramirezes'only son, Candelario,is born in San Jose de Gracia.

Ramirez makes his first drawings in the margins ofletters to his family.

1921

1923

1934

1925

1948

1931

On August 28, the Ramirezes'third daughter, Agustina, is born in El PelOn,Tototlan.

Ramirez buys a small piece ofland on credit, in a rancheria near San Jose de Gracia, Tepatitlan.

On August 24, Ramirez leaves for the United States to look for work.

Art leen the Uiaterbed gind

SCRIMPHRINIC'S LIVE is she ad by withdrawel from a world of reality into • mnii of sod dr•su It is a world of e•yonolie• and relf-lose, to obtom he he., turned Menne of his feeliess of rejection by those who should hose made his seeti000I .fa aed attach—et. mesas.. The achiseph000 e ectually reyloiege • world in whick yee .h.....I reel.,

Seel • neat,

1932

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68 yens u td, peeeitnred iesereale, anise b... ... ..tiosaltaed ler over eme., Y.are. Him art estivim dn. book ehost ale y..... ibt is *tight of (ernes tuberculoos peen.. elm speeds hie ball& greet,/ anderweight. tint on P. art. In dees not spent to sane. bet t..... hues in • singea,.ey when pless.1 sith his visitors Can ...Inge .1 ,a4GS 14 tepoeseble.

Ramirez escapes Stockton again but returns of his own volition after having spent three or four days on the streets.

His semnr of verb is seisms. Rev mml paper root eseilahle tte glees tog..... *ere.tapes*, .14 envelope., P.P. bein. P.P see.. nagger.

— hers • clear dreong ere. . noao. onn bnekgremod ...ens, see Abell nd ...... far.. shirt, Oa • paper .....iag bag. au teed roll.. se Sabine • ... ..... ead steed te evolving piste,. erldemly to be tease tle fealties. hie sea glue eet of mashed potato. end — sometime. bread and Me sawn. ea late amesehee, movies else. the floor bases. tee .ass saies atm. er colored pest. med drawims • tattle here, little these. Kis drawing kept rolled sp and *natty eel, e sbls pl

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—Public Bel... Department Stamford R......h Institute

Ramirez begins to draw on a more regular basis.

armary ,Ram ez receives his first and only visit from a family member when his nephew Jose Gomez Ramirez arrives for two days.

In November,a solo Ramirez exhibition is organized by Pasto at the Women's clubrooms of Stephens Union at the University of California, Berkeley.

Some of Ramirez's drawings are sent by Stockton State Hospital to his family in Mexico.

Monday, Nermnbor 3, 193!

Schizophrenic

Odd art to be shown

Tarmo Pasto, who has just become professor of psychology and art at Sacramento State College, meets Ramirez at DeWitt.

1951

Tame sad art as Smsasste State Callv.v. Mete

Ms, •• •ss•Ms,

Ramirez is transferred to DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California.

On January 9, Ramirez is picked up by the police in California and committed to Stockton State Hospital, where he receives a preliminary diagnosis of manic depression.

In April,Ramirez makes his first escape from the hospital.

To eteld hart!, reel, he •ften ter. pen as.

works eiLb the patient 050.0 the Desimpationel Iherepy Deportee., it Lehitt Skate Deepitol et Salesmen.* Base wad.. no Pane j•ised forces with Mau Groat. who gets a. ens lity *hoe, te prods. • votive piemrs based apea • aeries of drawls.. by 000 ioote Ike ein drowises enibited tide nooth will be ropresested is nes000000 of Use file, to 6e celled ..flight teen Rinlity.s

The Ramirez family receives a letter from Stockton State Hospital, informing them about Ramirez's condition.

On January 8,the Ramirezes'second daughter,Teofila, is born in La Puerta del Rincon, Tototlan.

On May 20, Ramirez's older brother Atanacio marries Dominga Navarro,the younger sister of Maria Santa Ana.

July IPSO

On August 12, he is diagnosed with dementia praecox, catatonic form.

Mid1930s

On March 8, the Ramirezes'first daughter,Juana, is born in El Venado,Tototlan.

.

SIVISITIOS

the Boning of Int speech and .i... ie ell00000 Re en be extremely oestrustive, wren aill dente. ereatreoely cooetnctin le • hirers. .y

The Ramirez family moves to Tototlan, Jalisco.

1919

In July, Ramirez escapes Stockton for the second time. After a few days in jail, he is committed to the hospital again.

The E.B. Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento presents Ramirez's first solo show.

Br MN STEVENS Do modern or exhibitions strike tot institutions, acquaint the put you as being wild, unusual. even ... lie aith the personality of the rim crazy. tat deviant, and to collect a saw If this ts the Impreasion you get piing of reactions to the art pros Horn an exhibition beginning today nets of a schieophrenic mind. in the Women's clubrooms, SteThe artist. a slight man who hi phens Union, youll be absolutely been Institutionalized In DeWl right.

State hospital for about tweet Beginning today and extending years,spends mmt of his tine on h thniugh Nov. 14, the colored draw- art, refusing to neak to anyone. ings of a et-year-old Mexican When T.1 Miser is not availab schizobbrerde Mil be the featured to Min, he glues together scrape t attraction there. paper, old envelopes, paper beg The nitrite.. symbolic. and ten anything that wilt give him tee. drawing area. He makes his ow eraliy remarkable work is being presented. through the courtem o glue front mashed potatoes, c Tenon A Faso, professor at Sacra sometimes breed, and water. en draws squatting on his haunche menet State college, to enliven in tenet in the work stout state men using stubs of colored pencils an crayolas HS world. that of the Mice echlsophrenie is, according to Posh one of ',symbolism and [elf-love, t which he he. tuned beellgle of hi tenants of rejection by those wh shotfki have made his emote:on life and attachments more secure The profeesor. who is writing 'nimbus on the psychology of tel

%IT

' California at Berkeley in an unidentified newspaper, November 3,1952, courtesy California Archives,

Siu„ram 56

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

_

Review of "The fa Schizophr n the Oakland( Tribune, January 10,f 954, courtesy Calif rchives, State Libr

mi olsierir awl Jessirally Wass. Kraig. t.,.

Catalog

By Brooke Davis Anderson, with essays by Victor M. Espinosa and Kristin E. Espinosa, Daniel Baumann,and Victor Zamudio-Taylor, a foreword by Maria Ann Conch,and an introduction by Robert Storr

...selilt . sa . ;hseugh •••=4 .

7!

.Drawings by Insane Artist Building Code Exhibited at Mills College Commission

Published by Marquand Books,Inc., Seattle,in association with the American Folk Art Museum,2007,192 pages,137 full-color illustrations,6 blackand-white illustrations, hardcover,$45

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Early 1950s

The first solo Ramirez exhibition on the East Coast,organized by Pasto, takes place at the Joe and Emily Lowe Art Center at New York's Syracuse University.

1954

In January, the solo Ramirez show "The Art of a Schizophrene" opens at the Mills College Museum of Art in Oakland.

In May,Pasto organizes an exhibition of artwork by patients from various California mental hospitals, including Ramirez, at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco.

1955

1956

C. 1959

1963

Pasto sends ten of Ramirez's drawings to James Johnson Sweeney, director ofthe Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, but no plans are made for an exhibition.

Pasto goes to Helsinki on a Fulbright fellowship.

His visits to Ramirez become less frequent.

Pasto visits Ramirez for the last time.

On February 17, Ramirez dies at DeWitt of a pulmonary edema.

Victor M.Espinosa is currently pursuing a PhD in sociology at Northwestern University and is working on a project on the reception ofMartin Ramirez's art and the intersection ofsociology ofart, culture, and migration. Kristin E.

Museum Book and Gift Shop or through the publisher: www.marguandbooks.com/ramirez

iv-mposium Culture in Context: Self-Taught Artists in the Twenty-First Century April 27 &28,2007 at the American Folk Art Museum Information: 212/265-1040, ext. 104 or 105 At this two-day symposium organized by the museum,an eclectic range ofinternationally known scholars, artists, art historians, and critics will examine four major themes: artistic authenticity, intentionality, biography,and connection to culture.

Call for Papers Papers should address perceptions and perspectives on self-taught artists from around the globe. How have biographies of artists been distorted to enhance their inclusion into the realm of "outsider art"? What is the importance oflandscape, place, and culture in the work of self-taught artists? How will the field qualify and define the authentic self-taught artist in the twenty-first century? Do the twentieth-century strategies still have relevance in the future ofthis field ofstudy? What criteria do collectors, institutions, scholars, and students use to define an authentic self-taught artist? How has successful primary research exposed what motivates a self-taught artist to seriously engage in the challenging world of artmalcing? Please submit abstracts(maximum ofone page) and CV by January 15,2007,to education@folkartmuseum.org.

Espinosa holds a PhD in sociologyfrom the University ofChicago and has conducted extensive research on Mexican migration to the United States. Their essay "The Life ofMartin Ramirez"appears in the museum's exhibition catalog.

WINTER 2007

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57

or twenty-three years, between 1839 and 1862, Isaac Augustus Wetherby (1819-1904) maintained a daybook that served as a combination of account ledger and diary. Consisting of more than 360 pages in two volumes, it contains the details of approximately 700 portraits and Wetherby's income, as well as numerous comments about events, people, and places.' Years later, in 1876 and again in 1882, he added autobiographical details. The daybook provides the opportunity to read about the artist's life in his own words, recorded in his own time. It also allows for the analysis of a folk portrait painter's business in the middle of the nineteenth century. This examination of Wetherby is part of the exciting process of reclaiming American folk painters from obscurity. By adding their portraits to our collective visual experience and exploring such firsthand accounts of their lives and craft, they are brought to the position of eminence they so richly deserve.

The Business of an American Folk Portrait Painter

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Title page of daybook, 1843. The autobiographical details were added sometime after 1859.

'Portrait & Miniature Painting,

L'Isrsta:leacrIo)iinivir, i toTU.Fic,ri',71V, remain there bra short time, where lie will wait upon all those who may please to filvor ' him with their patronage. Ile will warrant all likenesses good.

ISAAC A. WETIIEItBEE. Milford, Oct. 1$, 1838.

Advertisement in the (Milford, N.H.)Farmers'Cabinet, October 26,1838. At the time, Wetherby was 18 years old.

Isaac Augustus 58 WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

Wetherby

By Michael R. Payne and Suzanne Rudnick Payne

Isaac Augustus Wetherby, c. 1860, courtesy State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City A travel pass issued to Wetherby during the Civil War described him as 6foot 1 inch tall with gray eyes.

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

59

Isaac A.Wetherby was "born of poorâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but Respectable parents" on December 6, 1819, in Providence, Rhode Island. He wrote that his "ancestors on the Wetherbee side, as the old name was speled (I spell it Wetherby) were from the town of Wetherby [England] ... two or three brothers ... came to America in the last part of the 1600.They settled in Marlborough & Stow & Harvard, Mass near then wild Indians."' His parents, Isaac Wetherby (17961868) and Sophia Greene (1798â&#x20AC;&#x201D;?), moved the family to Stow, Massachusetts, around 1823 and then to nearby Charlestown. Young Isaac was particularly close to his grandfather, Captain Judah Wetherby, who regaled the boy with stories of his revolutionary war exploits. Isaac's earliest schooling was in Charlestown and later, beginning in 1828, at the Stow Academy.

Around 1832, the family's grocery failed, so they moved to a farm in Norway, Maine, where a number of Isaac's father's sisters had settled. Isaac attended several terms at the Bridgton Academy."I commenced painting in the Spring of 1834 at age 15 in Norway, Maine," he wrote in the daybook."A miserable botch of a Painter came to Norway Village & painted old Esq. Whitman & others & my Father had me go to learn to paint portraits with him, his name was Rice. I had not been with him long before I could paint better portraits then he could."' While no further painting instruction is described, Wetherby notes owning several drawing instruction books and a"2 vol. Lives ofPainters."

In 1834 or 1835,the family returned to Charlestown.

They subsequently moved three times in the area over the next three years, first to Roxbury, then to Newton Corner and Watertown, where Wetherby "had the front room in the house & hung out signe (Wetherby, Portrait-Painter) I got some portraits to paint." In 1838, the family moved to a farm in Milford, New Hampshire, but Wetherby was not happy."This was a bad move," he wrote. "I painted 10 or 12 portraits in Milford, NH ...

I remained in Watertown, MA & painted portraits."

Except for a few journeys to paint, Wetherby lived in eastern Massachusetts until 1854.

Wetherby started the first volume of the daybook in April 1839. He was diligent throughout the years in maintaining his financial records.'It appears he was also keeping a separate expense book, as his annual profit or loss was carefully calculated for many years. The first entries in the daybook read: April 1839 Mr. Leonard Tufts, a Blacksmith, for painting two portraits of his children on one piece $18.00 Paid by horse hire at Riley's stable Charlestown $14.00 by Cash $3.00 $1.00 out The pictures were painted as soon as I came from New Hampshire at Charlestown at his house.

April 9th Recd of Mr. William Sticicney, Temple St. Boston for one nearly full length portrait of his sone painted at his house $15.00.

April 22 Recd of Capt. Brownell Baker for one portrait of himself $10.00...The most deceitful man I

60 WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

ever dealt with & according to phrenology. Recd of Capt. Ezra Baker for his two children on one piece $15.00 one of the best of men & good friend to me & has always proved so ... I painted miniatures of himself&wife they were not very good.[No fee was entered.]

Between April and December of 1839, Wetherby received thirty painting commissions representing thirtythree adult portraits, eleven paintings of children (four of

which included two children on one canvas), seven miniatures, one family group, and one landscape. Three of these commissions would still be unpaid in January 1843.5 For each portrait entered into the daybook, the artist recorded details such as who placed the commission, the sitter's name and address, and the fee. A truly bewildering and inconsistent range of prices was charged. During the years that Wetherby worked in the Boston area, the fees for most portraits were between $8 and $15, yet prices from $4 to $30 were also recorded. Extensive negotiations

SILAS PINCKNEY HOLBROOK Wrentham, Massachusetts 1839 Oil on canvas 30 x 24" Private collection Inscription, verso: "Silas Pinckney Holbrook age 1 year 10 months Painted

by Isaac A. Wetherbee Sept 1839."

The daybook entry for September 23,1839, reads:"Mr. George Holbrook he was putting up a clock & bell on church in Watertown of Wrentham, Mass Dr. for painting three portraits.

Portraits of himself & wife & one child $30.00."

SUSAN P. LIVERMORE Melrose, Massachusetts 1840 Oil on canvas 33 28" Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, Massachusetts Inscription, verso: "Miss Susan P Livermore, Aged 20 yrs. Painted June 1840 by 1.4. Wetherbee."

Wetherby recorded that he painted a portrait of Mr. J. Livermore on June 28, 1840. This portrait of Susan Livermore is not listed, yet in the daybook the artist noted on "Aug. 31st [1840] Recd pay for one miniature a copy of Miss Susan Livermore for Miss Housely."

probably determined the price of each portrait commission.

Wetherby rarely recorded the size of the canvas. Notations regarding the most expensive paintings were often accompanied by a statement in the daybook that the images featured both hands. Fees were paid either in cash or through barter, with a value attached to the traded goods. Generally,

The daybook entries often include interesting comments about the sitter. "Mr. Balch is a gentleman of the first water wile with him at his house, I was treated with the utmost politeness & by his lady and family which are engraved on the tablets of my memory" he noted. In another entry, Wetherby recorded his excitement when one sitter was so pleased with her portrait she paid extra: '[lit was a good picture, she gave me a pressent over that I asked for the picture $15.00 which was $5.00 / one of the finest ladies I ever met with."

Sometimes he commented about discussions he had with the sitter: "Finished one fine portrait of M. Ware of her self, a Lady of much talents & from her acquaintance with old [Gilbert] Stuart rendering her company more interesting to me with her anecdotes of him."

Payment was often quite complex, with small installments received over long periods oftime or by the bartering that was an integral part of Wetherby's finances.

Collecting payment could be trying. For one commission, a $25 portrait of a boy with his dog, Wetherby detailed eight payments received, which still totaled only $21. The goods and services bartered for his paintings included many of the items needed for everyday life in addition to occasional luxuries: horse hire, boat rental, clothing, medicine, paints and oil, wood, coal, groceries, carpentry, furniture, a rifle, a watch, a coffee mill, a looking glass, a spy glass, and shares in the Dorchester & Milton Railroad, as well as legal and dental services. When Wetherby took considerable time completing each portrait: a sitter was not able to pay in cash the price entered into "Mr. James Travis Dr. of Natick for painting portraits of the daybook, a barter was established. In 1839,for example, himself and wife $10.00 Commenced this Wednesday P.M. the $10 fee he charged a Mrs. Sticicney for a portrait was finished in three days & half" Sometimes, however, he finally covered in 1843, when she made a coat for him. painted faster, as the portrait of a Mr. Cushing was painted Wetherby was usually able to exchange portraits for room "in 2 sittings,/ 1 2day each $8.00." and board. In February 1840, he painted Captain Joshua

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61

Howes and his wife for $8 per canvas. This fee was paid "by four weeks of board at his house at $2.50 per week, use of room $1.25 and wood." Wetherby also painted portraits in the hope of paying off his debts. One entry reads, "finished a portrait of Jerome Fuseon as a specimen of workmanship his father may alow me something for it in settling for boots."

Often a family would commission a single portrait, and only when they were satisfied with the results would they ask for portraits of other family members. In April of one year,"Mr.Townsend ... a fine and Jolly man &Humorous" paid for a portrait of his youngest daughter. The next month,"he came back for portraits of himself $15.00 his daughter Cornelia $15.00 and his son, Frederick, after death $15.00 .In June, Mr.Townsend's son Beamont is done $15.00."

Clients were not always pleased with their likenesses, and the portraits were sometimes rejected. To satisfy disappointed clients, Wetherby routinely repainted their portraits, even multiple times. For instance, he painted "Mr. Eben Searses portrait this the second time to make it better. ... Painted portrait of old Lady Reed, Charles St. She had it painted twice before & no good $15.00."

Occasionally, a dispute with a client would last several years. Wetherby painted Samuel Rhodes's wife "having painted her three times before without success have succeeded this time. The picture was paid for in Feb. 1839 by her brother."The family must have been satisfied with this fourth attempt, completed six years later, because Wetherby then painted Samuel Rhodes's "portrait of himselfand his son $10.00."

The relationship with a sitter who rejected a portrait could continue to be pleasant. For Miss Lidia Emmonds, Wetherby "repainted the one I painted in 1840, it not being very good," and she graciously allowed him to "charge her for canvas $1.00." With another commission, a second portrait was done, but still "he did not like it & I erased it. He said he would pay me for time $5.00." On occasion, Wetherby realized that a client would never be satisfied:"Painted Mrs. Gillis portrait ... not satisfactory, it was a good likeness but she was so whimsied I took the picture away"The relationship between the artist and sitter was sometimes an unsuccessful association, and when valuable commissions were refused by the sitter, it must have been a major disappointment.

The opening of daguerreotype studios in Boston beginning in 1840 created enormous public excitement and competition for painters as it became fashionable to have one's likeness preserved with a photograph instead of a much more expensive painted portrait. In June 1841, Wetherby decided to profit from this new process by trading the portraits of An Davis and his wife for a daguerreotype apparatus valued at $25, but he was unsuccessful at getting this new technology to work. He recorded that on "Aug 11th [1841] went to Medfield & Wrentham on a viste with Daguerreotype apparatus did not succeed with it however." Like many other people, Wetherby was frustrated by this technically complex process. It would be twelve years before he again attempted to produce daguerreotypes.

62 WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

Many of Wetherby's painting commissions were for clients who wanted portraits of deceased loved ones. These posthumous portraits were a challenge to achieve. For example, on June 8, 1840, he "finished for Mr. Livermore in Grove St. one portrait after death from corpse $10.00."

He then received a much more difficult request from this patron, who asked him to paint "another portrait after death to do from imagination guided by friends $10.00."

If necessary, Wetherby would go to the graveyard and have the coffin opened:"Paid Sexton for opening tomb in Park Street yard for me to get in & take sketch of dead child for Capt. Hodge $1.00." After 1841, most of the posthumous portraits painted by Wetherby were from daguerreotypes supplied by the customer.

A surprisingly large number of clients requested paintings in which the deceased was to be depicted in a group portrait alongside living family members. For example, THOMAS BAKER Cape Cod, Massachusetts 1841 Oil on canvas 293 / 4 24" Private collection Inscription, verso: "Thomas Baker Painted Feb 1841 by LA. Wetherby" Wetherby recorded that he painted eight more Baker family portraits in March and April 1841.

one entry reads, "Finished & Recd Pay of Mrs. Stone on Central Street Natick, Mass for painting her child after death from a daguerreotype & her portrait also. Both on one piece $13.00," and another reads, "Mrs. Worthing of Charlestown Dr. for painting portrait of her husband after death from a daguerreotype & her two children on same piece $19.00." In January 1842, a Mrs. Wiswall asked for a painting of her living and deceased sons together on one canvas. Wetherby seems to have felt that the image of the dead son was more challenging and charged $30 for the portrait, itemized as $20 for the deceased and $10 for the living son.

Wetherby was"on Cape Cod with pallett & brushes" in February 1841, and he noticeably reduced his prices perhaps to better suit the clients. The full-length portrait of a Mrs. Howe's daughter was $5,that of a Mr.Tryp's wife was

THE WISWALL SONS Roxbury, Massachusetts 1842 Oil on canvas 35/ 1 2/ 29" Private collection Inscription, verso: "Samuel Granwill Wiswall aged 2 years/ Romanro Norton Wiswall aged 4 yrs 8 mos died Jan 2d -42/Painted Jan 1842/ Isaac Augustus Wetherby."

Wetherby charged $30 for this painting, which "gave good satisfaction / the one after death $20.00 the other picture [of the living son] $10.00."

$8, and a family group on one canvas sold for $20. He also boarded less expensively.

In July 1842, he "finished portrait of Mr. Howland . . . very good picture. . . . The picture was eseibeted at the Anthneum Gallery." In addition to

Wetherby always had a close relationship with his parents and often shared with them the bartered goods he received. However, his father's debts were a problem. Several portrait commissions were "settled by old note of father's, the old sore." In 1842, his aunt Mrs. Hunter Hapgood asked to be repaid the huge sum of $1,000 on the promissory note that his father had Wetherby sign in 1836 or 1837.

Because he was a minor when he signed the note, Wetherby was not legally liable for the debt. He was used a second time in a similar manner by his father to escape repaying a $216.18 loan.

In August 1843, Wetherby painted a portrait of Johnson Mason, who then offered the artist $75 to create portraits of his family members in Louisville, Kentucky.

As this was equal to the traveling expenses, Wetherby decided to take his first trip outside of New England. He arrived in Louisville on January 2, 1844, and, in order to generate publicity for his business, painted the portrait of a prominent clergyman at a reduced fee:"my $30.00 size painted it as a specimen picture Sc. charged but $15.00." Two newspaper testimonials were published in the Louisville Dime, which Wetherby pasted into his daybook.

In the first, the artist was praised at length: "Mr. Wetherby is an artist of no ordinary merit and we hope our friends will evince their appreciation of his talents by liberally patronizing him and thus secure his permanent location here. He is every inch a gentleman, portraits, Wetherby was often called upon to do a wide and a visit to his rooms he will render both pleasant and variety of painting jobs, such as signs, sleds, carriages, agreeable." The second was no less glowing: "[H]e has and lettering. He routinely recorded extra income from just finished likenesses of several of our fellow-citizens hanging wallpaper. Some unusual commissions included and for true reflections of the original, we confi"painting two fire boards ...$6.00 ... painted toy do11.50." dently pronounce them unsurpassed." Yet, few portrait

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commissions followed, and he "painted carpet at one dollar per yard ... painted two Indians on each side of a sign board." He was asked to paint several transparencies for nighttime illuminated parades and political banners, recording that he painted "Transparency for the ... one side emblems ofagriculWhigs ...finished banner. ture the other side a commick design 6 feet by 4 $13.00."

The return trip to Boston became a major sightseeing tour "by traveling to Saint Louis [and up the Mississippi River] & Rock Island [Illinois] & across by stage to Chicago, Ill. & down the lakes by steamboats to Buffalo & Rail to Boston." By August 15,1844, he was back in Boston.

Two years later, Wetherby married Catherine Thayer (1828-1912). The daybook entry for February 19, 1846, simply reads "Married to Kathy Thayer." The newlyweds took a three-month honeymoon and painting trip back to Louisville "over the mountains via Cumberland Road by stage coach & to Wheeling, VA and down the Ohio River by Steamboat."The year 1846 was "an unusually dull season in my business as well as all other business [due to] the effects of the Mexican War and other causes."' Their first child, Charles, was born in 1847. Wetherby's ardent abolitionist views caused him to be increasingly involved in politics around this time, as he did "electioneering for free soil" party.' On May 13, 1848,the family moved to Milton, near Boston.

The California gold rush era also proved to be difficult, and Wetherby complained that everyone in Boston had left for the West."The California gold excitement has carried off thousands & they have taken great quantities of specie & business of all kinds is very dull. .. impossible to collect money of people who owe you. ... One dollar will buy more than two [in] ordinary times," he wrote.

One painting commission at this time was for "a canvas signe w[ith] California gold mining excitement for Mr. I think his price is $6.00 [crossed out] I lost this Smidt he had a saloon."

Wetherby then discovered an additional way to earn income from painting. On March 20, 1849, he copied for "Wesley P. Balch, Jr. flour dealer, City Warf a full length Picture of Washington from the one in Fanual Hall, by [Gilbert] Stuart, Equestrian sold frame & all $9.00."

On May 21, he sold another copy for $8 in barter at a hat store. As these replicas rapidly sold, Wetherby began producing them in large quantities, with prices ranging from $4.25 to $12.25. He would continue to create Washington replicas for the rest of his painting career.

As he did in Louisville, Wetherby routinely painted prominent citizens, such as political and religious leaders, at reduced prices or even without charge in order to publicize his portrait business. When he "painted for Mr. Kimball, Clergyman . . . his three children on one piece ... Painted them to interseed for me," no price was entered in the daybook, and when he "painted & presented to Rev. J.R. Barnes a portrait of himself," he entered 30.00" into the daybook.

In 1851 and 1852, Wetherby worked "in the state election rallying voters. Published a handbill address to Working Men had 25,000 printed." He drew a satirical cartoon ofthe Democratic Party's positions on a lithography

64

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stone he rented for $2. Six hundred copies at an average price of 74 were sold through agents in several cities and while he attended the August 1852 Free Soil national convention in Pittsburgh.' After the convention, he traveled west to Rockford, Illinois, as his wife's parents were farming in nearby Monroe, Wisconsin, but within two months he had returned home to Massachusetts. After living in Milton for six years, the family moved to neighboring Dorchester.

Wetherby noted the growing use of daguerreotypes in his portrait painting business in 1852. The artist was commissioned to create a portrait of his old schoolteacher, but "Mr. Dodge was then quite old & Feble & could not go out to a Daguerian Gallery to have a daguerreotype taken for me to paint part of the time, as it was beginning to be the custom." On August 20, 1853, twelve years after his previous attempt, Wetherby acquired another daguerreotype apparatus, for $33.81. This time, he received lessons, which he paid for through barter:"Mr. Walter Eastman Dr. for painting his portrait to be paid

by Daguerreotype instruction in his rooms." He then began using the daguerreotypes he made of his subjects to finish their portraits and to minimize the lengthy posing time. Daybook entries for painting commissions at this time often carry a notation that 2.5<t had been paid for a daguerreotype or that one was included in the price of the portrait. Wetherby apparently also painted entirely from daguerreotypes; one entry reads, "took Dag. of Mr. William Fergerson to paint him." For the rest of Wetherby's career, both photography and painting would be sources ofincome.

At age 35,Wetherby decided to move his family to the Midwest. He purchased land in Illinois and 40 acres in Tama County, Iowa, near the town of"Richland on Eureka Grove." On May 15, 1854, the family, which now included a daughter named Ida, left Massachusetts for Monroe, Wisconsin. Their household furnishings were sent by freight while they traveled in a covered buggy packed with bedding. Wetherby rented a store 40 miles away in the larger town of Rockford, Illinois, which was "used as Dageren Gallery & kept the back room to paint & slept there." He also traveled to see his land in Iowa and maintained a daguerreotype studio in nearby Iowa City for several months." He was quite successful there, and in September 1854, he recorded the creation offorty-two daguerreotypes, with prices ranging from 7.5.t to $3 for a lady and child together or for framing in a fancy case. By November,he had returned to Rockford.

In June 1855, Wetherby entered into a business arrangement that was a huge financial success: a franchise for the rights to manufacture and sell Moore's Patent Clasp

CHILD IN STRIPED DRESS WITH PUPPY Boston 1844 Oil on canvas 28 x 24" Location unknown Inscription, verso: "Painted by Wetherby Oct 1844 Boston,"

The identity of this sitter is unclear. Three portraits of children were recorded in the daybook in October 1844.

MARY ELIZA JENKINS Boston 1843 Oil on canvas 401/2 x 32" Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, Massachusetts Inscription, verso: "painted April 1843 by LA. Wetherby"

Wetherby wrote that on this date he "finished picture of Mr. Isaac Jenkins boy full length a good picture 15.00."

Apparently the artist made an error In the gender of this child. In October 1844, he "painted after death a portrait of his Isaac Jenkins child."

At this time, he "altered the portrait of boy to girl."

Broom in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. He "drawed up papers between Mr. Fenn and me to sell patent rights for Broom," and the documents were signed "Charles A. Fenn

by Isaac Wetherby his attorney."' The patented brooms were sold for the premium price of 754 to $1 each, and Wetherby retained half of the franchise fees. The sale of

two Illinois territories resulted in a $100 profit. Additional income from the broom enterprise included 80 acres in Johnson County, Iowa,"a fine English cow," and "1 white mare about 8 yrs. old that turned out was diseased in the throat." The profits from the broom were the major part of his substantially increased income for the year.' Several

interesting painting commissions were also recorded, including "a large signe on wide sheeting for Dr. Yielding, horse surgeon, 11 feet long 8 feet high a picture of a horse &two men one man mothering the horse $15.00."

As the number of portrait commissions Wetherby was receiving began to decline, he started painting illustrations for itinerant lecturers on phrenology, medical cures, and temperance. This soon became the focus of his painting activity:4 For a Dr. Gaunt's phrenology lectures, he painted portraits of famous people, the 1856 presidential candidates ("Fremont & Dayton and Buccanan & Fillemore"), four heads to distinguish the human races, and a "large head of the Phrenological Organs in Pictures." In October 1856, Wetherby adopted the new method of ambrotype photography:5 Between 1857 and 1858,Wetherby made several trips, slowly moving his household furnishings to his property in Tama County, Iowa. The daybook entry for October 1857 reads, "Mr. Hobart Dr. for giving instructions in portrait painting to his son at Rockford $25.00." This is the only student recorded in the daybook.

March 1858 was spent "at work this month on Dr. Kimball's heads of public characters for his Phrenological Lectures. 68 heads delined and Washington full length Military Costume." However, he recorded with disappointment that he and his family went "to my Farm Lands expecting to live there, but could not make it go....The bluest of times I ever saw, no money, no roads [due to heavy rains], no money to pay taxes great distress." Beside the poor weather defeating his various farming efforts, he was unsuccessful trying to grow semitropical sugar cane in Iowa.

At this time, Wetherby painted "for [Dr.] Dio Lewis . .. 5 diagrams for his phrenology lectures, Greek Slave & contrast ... & 2 anatomical views of female internal organs."'He started traveling with Dr.Lewis to cities in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan and recorded painting a "large panorama to illustrate his lectures ... 120 feet of the large painting at $1.00 per running foot $120.00.... Considering the very dull times I have done very well in going with Dr. Lewis."" On May 17, 1859, after a public auction of the Iowa farm's animals and goods,Wetherby and his family moved to Iowa City.

Paintings for itinerant lecturers continued to dominate his work. Dr. Kimball provided more commissions,

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART 65

including a "large symbolical head to lecture on Phrenology $12.00 ... also four views of human stomach to illustrate his temperance lecture $6.00." Dr. U.E. Traer, of West Liberty, Iowa, commissioned him "to illustrate his lectures on phrenology ... the 16 heads was agreed at $1.00 each 43 heads at $2.00 each one large symbolical head $10.00."

He was also "at work on the 50 heads of distinguished persons to add to Dr. Kimball's cabinet of diagrams for Public Lectures," while Dr.Traer ordered paintings of"the unhealthy female system with thorax & lungs ... the healthy stomach vs the Drunkard ... a figure of female laced tight 5 feet high." The copies of wellknown Washington paintings were still in demand, as he "painted 22 Washingtons" and "painted & presented to the Ladies Universalist Church for their fair, half length of Washington at the time of Braddock's defeat by old Peale." He also tried to replicate his financial success with the broom enterprise by purchasing the rights to a patented farm gate, but not a single sale was entered into the daybook.'

The year 1860 provided the opportunity to paint "Banners for our Grand Illumination ofthe Election of the first Republican President Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. . . . I charge nothing for my painting went in for the Glory." Pasted into the daybook is a newspaper article that reads, in part,"We saw a very fine life size portrait of our next president, Mr. Lincoln, painted by Mr. I. Wetherby, of Iowa City, and said to be an excellent likeness. An axe, maul, wedges, and the stars and stripes surround the portrait. .. ." With the start of the Civil War, which Wetherby called the "commencement of the Great Slaveholders Rebellion," he eagerly enlisted at age 42 in the Union Army and was chosen First Lieutenant of his company. However, he was "left out" when the company was re-formed, and the army instructed him to recruit his own troops. "It was the busiest time in farming the company broke up I last about 3 weeks time." He recorded that on "Nov. 9th [1861] went to Camp McCelland Davenport [Iowa]. . . to letter knapsacks, drums & haversacks for the 11th Reg. Iowa Infantry" Wetherby traveled with the regiment to St. Louis and recorded painting 335 "knapsacks & haversacks" at 100:t each.

As there was a rush of soldiers wanting photographs, in August 1862 he "hired rooms over Mr. Fleishman's Tobacco Store Clinton St. $4.00 per month" in Iowa City, and he found himself very busy: "They were quite thick today in my room could not take all that came." When the soldiers left, however, he complained that there was no longer any business, but he maintained a combination photography and painting studio in Iowa City for another twelve years.

The 1870 Federal Iowa census listed Isaac Wetherby, age 51, with his wife and four children, as having $5,000 in real estate and $2,500 in personal assets. By 1874,"my health gave out & I had to go to the land for health. . . . Have been moving about, painting for

66

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Lectures &on my farm from 1874 to this date Dec. 1882."

Wetherby lived for a little more than twenty-one years after this last entry into the daybook. He died on February 23, 1904, and would be remembered as a much beloved citizen of Iowa City. Today, one can visit Iowa City and sit at the Wetherby Tavern overlooking Wetherby Park, named in his honor, and remember the life of this remarkable American artist.'9*

Michael R.Payne,PhD,and Suzanne Rudnick Payne,PhD, are researchers ofearly Americanfolk painters and members ofthe American Folk Art Society. This is thefourth article they havepublished in Folk Art; their most recent essay, on Susanna Paine, appeared in the winter 2005/06 issue.

The authors would welcome correspondence concerning Isaac Wetherby; they can be reached by e-mail at mpayne@biodesignofny.com.

REVEREND JAMES SAY WARD SEATED IN HIS LIBRARY Mansfield, Massachusetts 1845 Oil on canvas 36 x 29" Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts Inscription, verso: "Rev. James Sayward taken from memory 2 yrs after death by LA. Wetherby June 1845."

The daybook reads: "finished portrait of Rev. James Sayward after he had bin dead two years, not having seen him for five years & then but once or twice, it is very good." Wetherby charged $40 for this portrait and one of Reverend Sayward's widow.

WASHINGTON AT DORCHESTER HEIGHTS Massachusetts 1849 Oil on canvas 27 x 19" Private collection

COURTESY CADDIGAN AUCTIONEERS INC.. HANOVER. MASS

Inscription, verso: "dark days for Liberty/Washington on Dorchester/Heights, March 17th 1776/British evacuating Boston /from Stuart

by LA. Wetherby ,. 1849."

According to the daybook, Wetherby sold ten replicas of Gilbert Stuart's 1806 painting in 1849. He continued to paint these replicas throughout his career.

Notes 1 All quotes are from the daybook.In 1940,Wetherby's daughter Carrie gave the two volumes to a relative, Dwight Thayer Shaw ofArlington, Virginia, who died in 1979. Our numerous attempts to locate the original daybook have been unsuccessful. Copies are with the authors; the Library of Congress,Washington, D.C.;the New-York Historical Society, New York; and the State Historical Society ofIowa,Iowa City. A copy is also available for purchase from the Photoduplication Service, Library of Congress(microfilm #MSS 6394B).The daybook is described in H.Maxson Holloway,"Isaac Augustus Wetherby(1819-1904)and His Account Books," New-York Historical Society Quarterly 25 (January 1941): 55-72.

2 The artist was not consistent in the spelling of his last name; both Wetherby and Wetherbee appear on portraits and advertisements.

3 The identity of Rice is unclear.

One possibility is Daniel Rice, who apparently had a short-lived partnership with the artist Asahel Powers in Springfield, Vermont; see Nina Fletcher Little, Asahel Powers:Painter ofVermont Faces (Williamsburg, Va.: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, 1973). Another possibility is William Rice, a tavern-sign painter in Connecticut, but during the 1830s he appears to have maintained a business in Hartford; see Susan P. Schoelwer, ed., Lions &Eagles &Bulls:Early American Tavern &Inn Signsfrom the Connecticut Historical Society, (Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press, 2000).

4 Occasionally,Wetherby added multiple years into the daybook at one time. For example,in January 1843,he entered accounts for the period dating back to April 1839,some ofwhich were noted as still unpaid.

5 Our statistical analysis ofthe nearly five-year period between April 1839 and the end of 1843 shows that Wetherby painted an average ofthirty-seven portraits per year, of which 27 percent

were children and 6 percent were miniatures. Multiple figures on one canvas,such as two children or the rare family group, represented 9 percent ofthe total portraits. During this period, 29 percent of his annual income was entered into the daybook as the value of bartered goods (varying from 44 percent in 1841 to 8 percent in 1843).

6 This is the only time Wetherby exhibited at the Boston Athenaeum; see Robert F. Perkins Jr. and William J. Gavin III, eds., The Boston Athenaeum ArtExhibition Index, 1827-1874 (Boston: Library ofthe Boston Athenaeum, 1980).

7 From January 1839 through 1848, Wetherby had an average annual income,including cash and bartered goods,of$523. His actual income ranged from $355.50 in 1842 to $744 in 1847.

There is no noticeable change in Wetherby's prices for portraits during these years.

8 Abolitionists formed the Free Soil Party, which,although never effectively fielding a national campaign,forced the discussion ofslavery onto national politics; see John Mayfield,Rehearsal for Republicanism:Free Soiland the Politics ofAntislavery(Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1980).

9 Washington at Dorchester Heights was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1806 and hung in Faneuil Hall,in Boston. Wetherby painted sixty-one canvases in 1849,of which ten are recorded as Washington replicas.

10 Wetherby drew and had printed cartoons ofthe political scene around him throughout his life. These are recognized as some ofthe earliest political cartoons produced in the United States.

A collection of this work is at the Putman Museum,Davenport, Iowa.

11 Wetherby was one of the earliest photographers in Iowa City, and large collections of his photographs of the city and its residents are extant.

12 The Pumam Museum preserves several Isaac Wetherby documents,including the patent assignment with Fenn for the broom.

13 In 1855,the $782.50 profit from the broom sales exceeded his income of$641.80 from painting and daguerreotypes. With $200 profit from land speculation, his income soared to $1,624.30, compared with earnings of$553.03 in 1854.

14 It is necessary to understand the importance of phrenology to Wetherby. By the 1830s, phrenology was no longer a novel import from Europe but was fully integrated into everyday American life; see Charles Colbert,A Measure ofPerfection:Phrenology and the Fine Arts in America(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997).

15 The ambrotype process, using a colloid-covered glass plate, was simpler and more stable than that of daguerreotypes.

16 Beginning in 1847, the sculptor Hiram Powers sent his "Greek Slave" statue, considered to be a representation ofthe perfect female body,on a celebrated national tour.This was the first time in America that the female nude was considered morally acceptable art; see E.McShery Fowble,"Without a Blush:The Movement Toward Acceptance ofthe Nude as an Art Form in America," Winterthur Porffblio 9(1974): 103-121.

17 Although Wetherby describes visiting Chicago only briefly in the daybook, he is listed as a resident "Fresco Painter" in the 1859 Chicago Directory; see Smith and DuMoulin's Chicago,IL City Directory(Chicago, 1859).

18 Documents concerning the farm-gate effort are in the Putman Museum.

19 On March 8,2006,the Iowa City Park and Recreation Commission voted to erect a weathervane depicting Wetherby photographing the park named in his honor.

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART 67

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Gregory Blackstock and I are looking at one of his drawings, a work in progress titled The Notorious Harmful to Man Plants. Blackstock points to the stinging nettle."Do you like this one? How'd you like to touch it? Would you like that?" He plucks at my sleeve. "It stings! It stings! Careful, it stings!" Blackstock's experience of the plant's poison is so real and immediate that the skin on my arm starts to tingle. He grins."It sure stings, doesn't it?"

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Spend time with Blackstock, and you begin to feel that the volume for all sensory information is dialed up to ten. First, there's his voice, something between a bark and a boom, punctuated with explosive sound effects like those found in a comic book.

Blackstock doesn't say the word "car," for example, without the "vroo-oooom" of a revving engine. That might lead to his impression of a hydroplane on its final lap, heading toward the finish line, or the sound of cockroaches scuttling into hiding. Because he doesn't enjoy playing the organ in his apartment softly, Blackstock has reached an agreement with his neighbors to play it only at certain times of day. Similar limits exist for the television, which often blares in the background when you reach Blackstock on the phone. Even the titles and labels on his drawings, in bold lettering, often seem to shout at you.

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Still, his art can be quite calming. I first encountered Blackstock's drawings on a quiet afternoon in Seattle's Garde Rail Gallery in 2004.

The gallery specializes in the works of contemporary self-taught artists.

A friend and I stood fascinated in the silent rooms hung with pieces Blackstock had completed over many years, gathered for their first public viewing. The drawings seemed like displays in a cabinet of curiosities, or like someone's private, visual card catalog. Here were The Knots, next to The Historic Roman Temples, across from The Stringed MusicalInstruments, beside The Shoes. The order of it all felt reassuring, restful—as if the big, messy world had just been shaken up, neatened, and brought into focus. I imagined myself in a church with a voice intoning from the pulpit, "And on the eighth day, God created the Balls, the Bees, the Bombers, and the

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Buoys." Here, I thought, was a book already made, and over the next year I worked with Karen Light-Pifia, coowner of Garde Rail, the artist, and his cousin Dorothy Frisch to produce Blackstock's Collections: The Drawings of an Artistic Savant for Princeton Architectural Press.

On first meeting Blackstock, I was surprised by the decibel levels in his world. At the time I shared a commonly held notion of autism (and savantism) based on the depiction in Rain Man;with little more exposure to the disorder than through this film,one assumes that excessive sensory stimulation will cause an autistic person to retreat or shut down. Yet Blackstock would subject himself happily to a battery of clanging Vegas slot machines.

One of his fondest pastimes is traveling around the country to championship hydroplane races, state fairs, and amusement parks. He enjoys sharing

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the voluminous albums he has compiled, providing a soundtrack for each roller coaster. Autism is a complex developmental disorder that takes many forms;in Blackstock's case,commotion and clamor both seem to ground him and to fuel his enthusiasm for life.

Interestingly, according to relatives, it was Blackstock's lack of response to sound as an infant that first gave his family the idea that he was different. An aunt suggested that he might be deaf because he failed to react to his mother's voice or to keys jangled in front of him. Born in 1946, Blackstock grew up at a time when little was known about autism. His parents, now both deceased, accepted the family doctor's initial diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Thus, despite his high level of function, Blackstock was educated at special schools among students with a range of serious developmental and mental problems, and

PETOSA (The Accordion) 1986 Pencil and ink on pieced paper 20 - 18" Collection of Greg Kucera and Larry Yocom

for some years he boarded away from home. His parents divorced when Blackstock was a teenager.

It is easy to marvel at Blackstock's talents and abilities. This is a man who, at any given moment, can tell you what time it is in St. Petersburg or Sevastopol(he has even produced a time chart of the world to help others do the same). He can hold a conversation in German, Russian,Tagalog,and nine other languages he has learned from records and from talking with foreign coworkers. He does perfect imitations of any number of actors; his impersonation of Jimmy Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me raises the hair on the back of your neck. Ask him what his favorite films are, and he will break into dialogue from It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World or Pinocchio or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He has taught himself hundreds of songs on his accordion by listening to records

of movie soundtracks. His repertoire also includes polkas, Broadway hits, ballads, and classical pieces. At work, relaxing during breaks, he often wrote out the music of songs in new keys on staves he drew by hand.

Blackstock's self-sufficiency is noteworthy, too. He has worked steadily since age 18. In 2001, he retired from a job he had held for just over twentyfive years, that of dishwasher for the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle. He was absent from work only once in that time, for a medical emergency. Scrubbing pots and dishes was backbreaking work, and he was vastly grateful to retire despite the friendships he formed there.

In 1998, with the encouragement of a church friendship circle, he began playing "for the enormous outdoor public" before sports events at Seattle stadiums and opera, symphony, and ballet performances at concert halls.

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

71

He has become a familiar figure in the Ask Blackstock when he began city, his muscular arms heaving the ac- drawing and he cites a Batman piece cordion with vigor. that was published in the Seattle Times Blackstock manages his own fi- in 1966. "Yes, but were you drawing nances, paying his bills and adhering to for yourself before then?" "No," he a budgetfor expenses such as apartment says, "I couldn't think of anything." maintenance, transportation, entertain- While working at the Athletic Club, ment, and travel. He is an inventive he began to make drawings to be pubcook, and he writes out recipes for fa- lished, as a courtesy to him, in the vorite dishes. On the inside covers of bimonthly employee newsletter. He his book, we induded the instructions planned his subjects as much as a year for making several of Greg's Special in advance and often took suggesExotic Hot Soups, such as Cream of tions from coworkers, always giving Mustard, Cream of Pickle, and Cream them credit at the top or bottom of of Coleslaw. The instructions are won- the piece; print-shop manager John derfully specific. The recipe for Cream Ashby proposed The Nuts, for inof Dandelion Soup begins with the stance, while The Garden Pest Control enticing directive to "Pick from green Beetles was the idea of executive chef grass-filled fields, lawns, roadsides, Willard McNamara. playgrounds, or meadows, etc., 5 cups Blackstock researches topics at of young tender dandelion weed leaves the library or, in some cases, goes out anytime in the spring thru fall—&wash "into the field"; for a recent drawthoroughly through large strainer until ing of knives, for example, he used sparkling clean." his own dictionary for preliminary

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research, then went to the library to read the World Book Encyclopedia and to Excalibur Cutlery & Gifts at Northgate Mall and a hardware store near his home to make sketches. By the time he begins a drawing, it is completely arranged in his mind, and he culls his observations and sketches to commit the images to paper. For many years, he used only pencils, a Sharpie, and a gray crayon because the newsletter could only reproduce his drawings in black and white. After he retired and began selling pieces through Garde Rail, Blackstock easily began filling his black outlines with colors. (The Art Supplies conveys a particularly colorful exuberance.) He can create an exact replica of an earlier black-and-white piece, in color, from memory. Blackstock once offered to make copies of pieces that sold through the gallery since they were obviously popular with his

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

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"customers"; now, after learning that copies are not as valuable as original drawings, he has little interest in doing so.

Blackstock begins by sketching in pencil, then goes over the sketch using a Sharpie. He occasionally uses an eraser but rarely a straightedge. He renders all of the text in his various printing styles without any baselines, and he draws perfect freehand lines in his architectural drawings. Early on, he used whatever paper he had at hand, but since he began working with the gallery, at the owners' suggestion he has used higher-quality paper. He often glues or tapes patches of paper onto an original sheet, either to edit out an item or to extend the piece's size as he thinks of other items to include. All the pieces are punctured with thumbtacks, and lettering or illustration can extend to the very edges ofthe paper. His worktable used

to be the tiny pass-through counter in his kitchen, but he has lately begun drawing on a rickety card table, which takes up the little remaining floor space in his studio apartment.

Dorothy Frisch, Blackstock's cousin, sent copies of his drawings to Garde Rail in 2003, and the next year, at the age of 58, Blackstock attended the first exhibition of his artwork, a solo show there. He played his accordion at the opening, hopping up to greet friends mid-song. He had sent invitations to hundreds of acquaintancesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;former coworkers, fellow buskers, teachers, doctors, and neighbors of decades before as well as favorite TV and movie personalities. He couldn't wait for the big event, counting down the days and the hours until he could show everyone his drawings.

Blackstock likes nothing better than to bask in the praise he receives from admirers of his artwork, and he is

THE BARNS 2003 Pencil and ink on pieced paper 60 x 28" Collection of Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington

overjoyed every time a piece sells. He is keenly aware that "forty-six of my drawings have been sold totally now," and when there is a slow period in sales, he says, "Those customers of mine are slacking."

People often ask if Blackstock would have been an artist if he were not autistic. Both Frisch and LightPiĂąa have little doubt ofit. His mother was a talented portrait artist, and Blackstock's natural ability argues for an innate artistic bent. Who knows?

Perhaps his photographic memory is an autistic gift that enhances his ability to communicate graphically, giving him another form of expression with which to reach out to the world. Certainly, the autism may have determined the form his drawings have taken. Through his artwork, Blackstock imposes order on a chaotic world. He may be giving himself a way to make sense of overwhelming

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WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

73

abundance—that multiplicity of creatures, vehicles, buildings, and things that threaten to engulf us all. Or, perhaps, by putting things onto paper he is able to free some room in his mind. Although it is tempting to project that onto his artwork, we can't really know.

It is hard to imagine what it would be like to have no filters for the commotion of everyday twenty-firstcentury life. Imagine noticing everything, all that you see and hear has equal informational value and is calling for your attention. People you have met once and lifelong friends are equally recognizable—and perhaps equally meaningful—to you. It would require powerful adaptive tools to cope with this profusion of data and ongoing efforts to attach significance to one person or incident over another. Add to this a prodigious memory for all you have experienced, for each encounter, whether pleasant, humiliating, or mundane. In this light, it is easier to understand why Blackstock might employ an artistic talent to impose order on data in the form of visual lists, and why he might crave the affirmation he receives for his artistic efforts and other achievements as a happy alternative to being misunderstood.

For the book, Frisch and I asked Blacicstock to write out a brief autobiography listing important dates and events in his life. The notion was baffling to him, so we suggested some categories to get him started: date of birth, schools attended, jobs held, vacation travels, best bowling score, and so on. He provided exactly what we suggested, no more and no less. For the bowling entry, he wrote: BEST INDIVIDUAL BOWLING SCORE is 300 which was for open play practice only at the University Village Bowling Lanes. But most important of all—compared to my antique immediate California Devereux School's main hall track-&-field event of Mayday 1959 with my overall championship—was absolutely Channel 11's Pin Busters Bowling Television Program at Sunset over in Ballard where I also won the victory over a high school individual named Tony Lewis on Saint Patrick's Day Saturday of 1962 during my first year at Pacific Prevocational School that I represented.

Among my schoolteachers and overall authorities, the real praise from schoolmates I had were by Eddie Coester of Mr. Terry's boys gymnasium class, ukelele&-guitar individual John Neff and Afro-American rock music piano player Frank Morris, Jr. of Mr. Affleck's jazz instrumental boys class, and Mr. Harley Yates of Miss Brehman's-&-Mr. Chapel, Senior's academics I've known originally from Mr. Fine's auto shop boys class, especially after I won the Pin Busters Bowling Trophy towards the end ofthe school year.

Also among the others, I showed it to visiting-&departing girls' dub officers Sandra Hughes and Donna Klatt while attending Mrs. Lough's art class right at that time before school was out.I also presented my trophy to Kevin Connors, David Sattler, Bill Leishman's younger brother Michael, David Smith's twin brother Steven, David Haugen and Sally Gray's fellow fiancee Edward Holmes at 4th Avenue and Union Street downtown—on my way home from school, altogether to their great amazement on that Graduation Day ofJune 5th,1962.

74

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

COLORFUL EGG PATTERN FAVORITES TO GO FOR 2005 Pencil and ink on pieced paper 1 2 " 83 x 46/ Courtesy Garde Rail Gallery, Seattle

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I would like to say, ladies&-gentlemen, that bowling on "Pin Busters" TV show was undoubtedly the very finest athletic history I've ever had in which I will absolutely never forget as long as I live—even in the future.

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has drawn various patterns or national flags, and he filled two drawings, by far his largest, with a total of 221 designs. He says he thought of the idea "in my own head—it was just my dream-up." I ask him if he thinks someone could reproduce his "Belarus Diamond Checkerboard" pattern, say, on a real Easter egg, and he replies, Blackstock is thoroughly grounded "I'm sure they could. It takes a lot of in the real world—he does anything careful planning,though." but retreat into a fantasy world. The Blackstock offers us a visualization invitations he sends to friendship of knowledge. His collected drawings circles organized by church friends, are a splendidly original and captivatthe music he plays, the mimicking ing taxonomy, and they provide a rare of dialogue from films, and his abil- look inside the mind of an autistic ity to converse in foreign languages man making art. Not least, they fuel are all means of connecting with oth- an artist's pride that is life-affirming. ers, but it is perhaps through his art You can hear Blackstock's grin when that he succeeds most readily. Like he concludes his phone messages with most autistics, Blackstock has diffi- "Sure love my artwork, can't get over culty understanding social nuances, it, thank you!" but he succeeds in engaging others through his drawings, and he is im- Katharine Harmon is a book producer mensely proud of this achievement. bared in Seattle. She is the author and Lately he has been visiting bookstores editor ofseveralart books, including in Seattle, signing copies of his book You Are Here: Personal Geographies and wearing one of a number of shirts and Other Maps ofthe Imagination on which he has written in Sharpie in (New York Princeton ArchitecturalPress, his loud block lettering, "Gregory L. 2004)and The Pacific Northwest Blackstock, Seattle Artist."

Landscape: A Painted History (Seattle: The most interesting drawings, for Sasquatch Books, 2001). me, are those in which Blackstock seems to be playing with the bound- Blackstock's Collections: The aries of the category he is present- Drawings of an Artistic Savant, by ing. The Balls (page 73) contains not Gregory L. Blackstock, with a just a soccer ball, a bowling ball, and foreword by Darold A. Treffert, MD, a korfball (used in a Dutch form of and an introduction by Karen coed basketball, you might be inter- Light-Piña(New York: Princeton ested to know), but also Christmas Architectural ornament balls, a ball of yarn, and the Press, LAILeila globe of a ceiling light. Is Blackstock 2006), in having fun? More likely, this is the paperback way his brain categorizes spherical with 140 objects, under the label "ball." In The Illustrations, Noisemakers (left), Blackstock includes is availa party popper, car horns, a Roman able at the candle, a thunderstorm, a chainsaw, a American smoke alarm, and the face of an angry Folk Art man—a "loud filthy-mouth offender, Museum the overemotional dirtbag!" His se- Book and lection of items for each visual list Gift Shop and some of the off-kilter phrasing of for $19.95. titles and captions point to the place Gregory Blackstock will sign where perception and language meld books on January 28 at noon in his mind. at the museum.

Where did Blackstock come up with the concept of Colorful Egg Museum members receive a Pattern Favorites to Go For (opposite)? 10 percent discount on all shop items.

These are ovals onto which Blackstock

WINTER 2007

FOLK ART

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Michael Banks: An Outsider's Insight January 24— February 4, 2007 Open Tuesday — Sunday 11 am — 6 pm Artist's reception Saturday January 27,6 —10 pm The Broome Street Gallery 498 Broome Street, Soho, NYC 212 226 6085 during exhibition

Marcia Weber / Art Objects 1050 Woodley Road Montgomery, Alabama 36106 334 262 5349 weberart@mindspring.com www.marciaweberartobjects.com

76

WINTER 2007

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view the complete exhibition at: www.whonelson.com

Uncle Will & Nibs

Anne Bourassa www.homeportfolio.corn www.annebourassa.com e-mail: abourassa@prexar.com (207) 872-5236 (215) 842-2168

QUILT

CONNECTION:

MIDWESTERN

AMISH

QUILTS

BY ELIZABETH V. WARREN AND STACY C. HOLLANDER

he vivid explosion of color in Amish quilts often comes as a surprise to those who know the Amish people only by the dark cloaks and covered buggies they present to the outside world. Yetjust as one is likely to find a brightly hued dress, shirt, or knitted stocking beneath a black coat,so,too,can a peek inside an Amish doorway reveal a home punctuated by a variety offurnishings colored in a wide array ofshades,ranging from muted earth tones to brilliant neons.

In 1980,the museum received a major gift of Amish quilts from

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collector David Pottinger, who had acquired them over time directly from Amish families.

The majority ofthese quilts come from Amish communities in the Midwest. Along with the widespread use ofcotton rather than wool, perhaps the biggest difference between Amish quilts made in the Midwest and those made in Pennsylvania is the greater number of patterns found in Midwestern quilts.This may be a by-product ofthe fact that the Amish in Ohio,Indiana,Illinois, Kansas, and elsewhere in the Midwest generally do not live in such concentrated communities as their counterparts in Pennsylvania

_ SAILBOATS QUILT / Amanda Lehman (dates unknown)/ Topeka, Indiana / 1955-1965 / cotton / 86Y4 x 72" / American Folk Art Museum, gift of David Pottinger, 1980.37.26

80 WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

and consequently have more opportunities to be exposed to the outside world and its influences.

Also, because ofthe slightly less restrictive nature oflife in some Midwestern communities,there may have been greater freedom to experiment with quilt patterns.

Midwestern Amish quilts are typically block designs surrounded,like most Amish quilts, by a narrow inner border and a wide outer border. While cotton is the preferred fabric, a variety of different weaves,such as wool, may be used (sometimes in a single quilt). Although there are exceptions, the quilting on Midwestern Amish quilts is generally

"Midwestern Amish Quilts," a selection of 12 quilts from the American Folk Art Museum's permanent collection, is an ongoing installation at the museum's branch location, 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, New York. For more information, please call 212/595-9533. not as elaborate as that on the Pennsylvania examples.*

Elizabeth V Warren is the museum's consulting curator. Stacy C. Hollander is the museum's senior curator and director ofexhibitions.

BROKEN STAR QUILT / Clara Bontrager (dates unknown)/ Haven, Kansas /1926/ cotton / 4"/ American Folk Art Museum, gift of David Pottinger, 1980.37.47 1 2x 67/ 1 73/

ROLLING STONE QUILT! artist unidentified; initialed LM/ Indiana /1925/ cotton / 821 / 4 x 69"/ American Folk Art Museum, gift of David Pottinger, 1980.37.24

WINTER 2007

FOLK ART

81

NINE PATCH CRIB QUILT / artist unidentified / Ohio / 1910-1920 / cotton /391/2 x 341/2"/ American Folk Art Museum, gift of David Pottinger, 19130.37.12

82 WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

BOW TIE QUILT / Clara Bontrager (dates unknown)/ Haven, Kansas /1926 / cotton / 83/ 3 4 x 731/2"/ American Folk Art Museum, gift of David Pottinger, 1980.37.56

QUILT

OCEAN WAVES VARIATION QUILT / artist unidentified / Midwestern United States / 1915-1925 / cotton / 84/ 3 45 721/4"/ American Folk Art Museum, gift of David Pottinger, 1980.37.65

CONNECTION

Quilt and Textile Exhibitions COMPILED BY ELEANOR BERMAN Sacramento, Calif.

The California Museum for History,Women &the Arts Treasures from a Trunk California Pioneers'Quilts and Textiles Through May 2007 916/653-7524 www.californiamuseum.org Golden,Colo.

Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum Gingham Dogs and Calico Cats Jan. 23—Apri128,2007 303/277-0377; www.rmqm.org Washington,D.C. The Textile Museum Mantles ofMerit:Chin Textiles from Mandalay to Chittagong Through Feb. 25,2007 202/667-0441 www.textilemuseum.org

Wilmington, Del. Winterthur Museum Quilts in the Material World:Selections from the Winterthur Collection March 10—Sept. 16,2007 302/888-4907 www.winterthur.org Orlando,Fla. Orlando Museum of Art Gee's Bend:The Architecture ofthe Quilt Jan. 27—May 13,2007 407/896-4231; www.omart.org Tallahassee, Fla. Museum of Florida History African American Quilts Feb. 22—May 20,2007 850/245-6400 dhr.dos.state.fl.us/museum

New Albany,Ind. Carnegie Center for Art & History Form Not Function: Quilt Art at the Carnegie Center Jan. 12—March 8,2007 812/944-7336 www.carnegiecenter.org Davenport,Iowa Figge Art Museum Accidentally on Purpose: Improvisation in African Textiles and African American Quilts Through Feb. 11,2007 563/326-7804 vvww.figgeartmuseum.org Paducah,Ky. Museum of the American 0.1tilters Society New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Rose ofSharon Feb. 7—May 13,2007 270/442-8856 www.quiltmuseum.org

Boston, Mass.

Museum of Fine Arts Designing the Modern Utopia: SovietTextiles from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection Through Jan. 21,2007 617/267-9300; www.mfa.org Lowell, Mass.

New England Quilt Museum Contemporary MASSters Jan. 13—March 24,2007 978/452-4207 www.nequiltmuseum.org Lincoln, Nebr.

International Quilt Study Center, Great Plains Art Museum,University of Nebraska—Lincoln Reading,Writing and a Rhythmic Stick Doll Quilts from the Mary Ghormley Collection Through March 18,2007 402/472-6549 www.quiltstudy.org

Doylestown,Pa. James A.Michener Art Museum Wild by Design:200Years of Innovation and Artistry in American Quilts Feb. 16—June 3,2007 215/340-9800 www.michenermuseum.org Cleveland,Tenn.

Museum Center at Five Points Stitches-in-Time Jan. 12—March 10,2007 423/339-5745 www.museumcenter.org Harrisonburg, Va. Virginia Quilt Museum New Contemporary Quilts by Julia Pfaff Through Jan.29,2007 540/433-3818 www.vaquiltmuseum.org Eleanor Berman is a volunteer at the American Folk Art Museum.

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART

83

Representing Fritz Cass

Marc Fasanella, Gallery Director

Mark Diaz, Finance Director

coastal fon< culture

84

WINTER 2007

FOLK ART

The Hamptons, New York (631) 728-8040

www.ArtisanStudios.com

THE HOOKED RUG

ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIORS BY SCOTT CORNELIUS ARCHITECT RC.

Stephen T. Anderson offers the finest heirloom-quality hand-hooked rugs made in America today. Since 1985 Stephen has taken hand-hooked rug making â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one of America's only indigenous folk arts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and moved it into the forefront of modern design.

Clients are offered the highest level of customization.

Each rug is designed for the individual buyer. Patterns may be chosen from Stephen's extensive repertoire of designs or clients may create their own unique rug design.

Each rug is prepared from wool fabrics hand-hooked into a linen base in Stephen's NYC studio. Offering the advantages of custom sizing, from the quite small to the renowned "man-

sion size," each rug possesses the nuances of coloration and textural subtleties usually found only in antiques.

Self-taught as a restorer of hooked rugs, Stephen gained his first critical acclaim in 1983, when his expert craftsmanship garnered him the title of"the most respected hooked rug restorer in New York" by The New York Times.

Leading designers, architects and collectors from around the world have commissioned Stephen's work. In addition to being featured in some of the worlds finest homes, his work has appeared in the pages ofArchitectural Digest, House Beautifid, House and Garden, Town and Country, Forbes FYI, The New York Times and on CNN.

BOOK

S

OF

INTEREST

BY EVELYN R. GURNEY

he following titles are available at the American Folk Art Museum's Book and Gift Shop at 45 West 53rd Street, New York City.

To order, please call 212/265-1040. Museum members receive a 10 percent discount.

T

Martin Ramirez

By Brooke Davis Anderson, with essays by Victor M. Espinosa and Kristin E. Espinosa, Daniel Baumann, and Victor Zamudio-Taylor, a foreword by Maria Ann Conelli, and an introduction by Robert Starr.

Published

by Marquand Books, Inc., Seattle, in association with the American Folk Art Museum, 2007,192 pages, 137 full-color illustrations, 6 black-and-white illustrations, hardcover, $45.

This seminal catalog is available exclusively at the American Folk Art Museum Book and Gift Shop or through the publisher at ,v1/.111dIqudildbook.,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Loitlif dinsiez.

African American Vernacular Photography: Selections from the Daniel Cowin Collection, essays by Brian Wallis and Deborah Willis,International Center of Photography/Steidl, 2005,120 pages,$25

86

WINTER 2007

FOLK ART

American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum, Stacy C. Hollander, Brooke Davis Anderson,and Gerard C. Werticin,American Folk Art Museum/Harry N.Abrams,2001, 432 pages,$65

American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian

Darger: The Henry Darger Collection at the American

Gift to the American Folk Art Museum,

Folk Art Museum,

Stacy C. Hollander, American Folk Art Museum/Harry N.Abrams,2001, 572 pages, $75

Brooke Davis Anderson, American Folk Art Museum/ Harry N.Abrams,2001, 128 pages, $29.95

Art Brut: The Origins of Outsider Art

Designs on the Heart: The Homemade Art of Grandma Moses,

(revised edition), Lucienne Peiry and James Frank, Flammarion,2006, 320 pages, $24.95

Karal Ann Marling, Harvard University Press, 2006,290 pages, $35 Donald Mitchell: Right Here, Right Now, Cheryl Rivers,ed., Creative Growth Arts Center, 2005,92 pages, $24.95

Blackstock's Collections: The Drawings of an Artistic Savant, Gregory L. Blackstock,Princeton Architectural Press, â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 2006, 144 pages, $19.95

Everyday Genius: Self-Taught Art and the Culture of Authenticity, Gary

Clementine Hunter: The African House Murals, Art

Shiver and Tom Whitehead, eds., Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches,2005,75 pages, $29.95 Collecting American Folk Art, Helaine Fendelman

I

and Susan Kleckner, House of Collectibles, 2004, 196 pages,$12.95 Create and Be Recognized: Photography on the Edge,John

Turner and Deborah Klochko, Chronicle Books,2004, 156 pages,$40

Alan Fine, University of Chicago Press, 2004,342 pages,$30 Forms of Tradition in Contemporary Spain,

Jo Farb Hernandez, University Press of Mississippi,2005, 256 pages,$35 Home-Made: Contemporary Russian Folk Artifacts,

Vladimir Arkhipov, Fuel Publishing,2006, 304 pages,$32 How to Look at Outsider Art, Lyle

Rexer, Harry N. Abrams,2005, 176 pages,$22.95

everyday

genius

El

BOOKS

OF

INTEREST

In Flagrante Collecto (Caught in the Act of Collecting), Marilynn

The Life and Art of Jimmy Lee Sudduth,

Susan Mitchell Crawley, Montgomery Museum ofFine Arts in association with River City Publishing,2005,96 pages, $29.95

Gelfman Karp, Harry N.Abrams,2006, 368 pages, $60 Internal Guidance Systems,Anne

Grgich, with Colin Rhodes,Jenifer P. Borum,and Tom Patterson,selfpublished,2006,96 pages,$25 James Castle/ Walker Evans: Wordplay, Signs and Symbols, Stephen

;TKBYV EX HKRE ' :EEE N E A IL NE JE DE DE

S 0239111B1 Wastfall, Knoedler & ie mon Company,2006, 60 pages,$20 Just Above the Water: Florida Folk Art, Kristin G.

Congdon and Tina Bucuvalas, University Press of Mississippi, 2006,368 pages, $65 Just How I Picture It in My Mind: Contemporary African American Quilts from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts,Joey

Lonnie Holley: Do We Think Too Much?

I Don't Think We Can Ever Stop,

David Moos and Michael Stanley, eds., Holzwarth Publications,2004, 78 pages,$20 Miracles of the Spirit: Folk, Art, and Stories of Wisconsin,

Sound and Fury: The Art of Henry Darger,

and Nancy Sweezy, University ofNorth Carolina Press,2005, 336 pages,$39.95

Edward M. GOmez,Andrew Edlin Gallery,2006,74 pages, $50

Real Photo Postcards: Unbelievable Images from the Collection of Harvey Tulcensky,

Thornton Dial in the 21st Century,

Laetitia Wolff, ed., Princeton Architectural Press, 2005,192 pages,$19.95 Sailors' Valentines: Their Journey Through Time,

Grace L. Madeira et al., Schiffer,2006, 158 pages,$45

Don Krug and Ann Parker, University Press of Mississippi, 2005, 336 pages,$65

Scottie Wilson: Peddler Turned Painter, Anthony J.

Petullo and Katherine M.Murrell,Petullo Publishing LLC,2004, 78 pages,$25

Monika's Story: A Personal History of the Musgrave Kinley Outsider Collection,

Monika Kinley, Musgrave Kinley Outsider Trust, 2005,240 pages,$32 The Perfect Game: America Looks at Baseball, Elizabeth V.

The Potter's Eye: Art and Tradition in North Carolina, Mark Hewitt

. fri valt

The Shipcarvers' Art: Figureheads and Cigar-Store Indians in Nineteenth-Century America, Ralph

Sessions,Princeton University Press,2005,240 pages,$75

Brackner and Mark M.Johnson, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts/River City Publishing,2006, 109 pages, $29.95

Warren, American Folk Art Museum/ I. Harry N.Abrams,2003, 150 pages, $29.95

LaPorte, Indiana, Jason

A Place in Time: The Shakers at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, Stephen

Laverty,McGill Qieen's University Press, 2005,192 pages,$44.95

Guion Williams and Gerard C.Werticin, David R. Godine,2006, 96 pages,$18.95

Snapshot Chronicles: Inventing the American Photo Album, Barbara Levine,Princeton

Bitner, Princeton Architectural Press, 2006,192 pages, $19.95

Silk Stocking Mats: Hooked Rugs of the Grenfell Mission,Paula

DARGER

Paul Arnett et al., Tinwood Books/ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,2005,324 pages, $65 Threading the Generations: A Mississippi Family's Quilt Legacy, Mary

Elizabeth Johnson et al., University Press of Mississippi, 2005, 119 pages,$28 Tools of Her Ministry: The Art of Sister Gertrude Morgan,

William A.Fagaly, American Folk Art Museum/Rizzoli,2004, 120 pages,$35 Windsor-Chair Making in America: From Craft Shop to Consumer, Nancy

Goyne Evans, University Press of New England, 2006,508 pages,$65 w Wos Up Man? Selections from the Joseph D. and Janet M. Shein Collection of Self-Taught Art,Joyce Henri

Robinson,Penn State University Press,2005,139 pages,$34.95

Architectural Press,2006, 200 pages,$40 WINTER 2007

FOLK ART

87

MUSEUM

REPRODUCTIONS

PROGRAM

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*Sunham Home Fashions America's Stars, Stripes ... and Squares! Geometric patterns have flourished in American quilts as a testament to the elegant symmetry ofnature. Sunham,inspired by this theme,chose several exquisite and expertly crafted quilts from the museum's collection and adapted them to create a fresh look for today's lifestyle. Coordinating pillow shams are available for each design. Quilts and pillow shams are 100 percent cotton and are machine washable. You can find the entire collection at Macy's. * Fotofolio Ramirez to Keep or Share!To coincide with the museum's Martin Ramirez exhibition, Fotofolio has produced a new line of boxed note cards featuring five Ramirez drawings. Each set contains 20 cards and 20 envelopes, and is housed in a decorative case.

Dear Customer Your purchase of museumlicensed products inspired by objects in the museum's collection directly benefits the exhibition and educational activities ofthe museum.

Thank you for participating in the museum's continuing efforts to celebrate the style, craft, and tradition of American folk art. If you have any questions or comments regarding the museum reproductions program, please call 212/977-7170.

WINTER 2007

FOLK ART

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Representing more than 300years of American design,from the late 1600s to the present, the American Folk Art Museum CollectionTM brings within reach ofthepublic the very best ofthepast to be enjoyedforgenerations to come.

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k Inspiration for Blue Traditional Star quilt by Sunham Home Fashions: STAR OF BETHLEHEM WITH STAR BORDER QUILT / artist unidentified / United States / 1840-1860 / cotton / 3 4 x 90/ 1 2"/ American Folk Art Museum, gift of Cyril 90/ Irwin Nelson in honor of Robert Bishop, director (1977-1991), American Folk Art Museum, 1990.17.3

Family of Licensees Andover Fabrics (800/223-5678) printed fabric by the yard and prepackaged fabric craft kits. Bespoke Books (212/228-2772) needlepoint pattern book. Chronicle Books(800/722-6657) note cards.* Fotofolio (212/226-0923) art postcard books and boxed note cards? FUNQuilts(708/445-1817) limited-edition quilt collection.* Galison (212/354-8840) portfolio and boxed note cards.* Impact Photographics (916/939-9333) Magic Cubes.* Liberty Umbrella(212/244-6067) umbrellas, rain totes, and rain hats. MANI-G 'Raps(800/510-7277) decorative gift wrap and coordinating accessories.* Mary Myers Studio (757/481-1760) wooden nutcrackers, tree ornaments,and table toppers.* Museum Store Products (800/966-7040) magnets? Sunham Home Fashions(212/695-1218) quilts, comforters, duvets, and sheet sets.

Talcashimaya Company,Ltd.(212/3500550)home furnishings and decorative

• **owns "

Martin Ramirez notecards by Fotofolio

accessories (available only in Japan).

Waterford Wedgwood USA(800/2235678) holiday decor.* *Available in the American Folk Art Museum Book and Gift Shop. Members receive a 10 percent discount on all shop items. Visit the museum's website and online store at www.folkartmuseum.org.

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The American Folk Art Museum celebrates the art of quiltmaking, with an assortment of limited and Collector's Edition quilts exclusively at select Macy's stores and Macys.com.

Adverttsed ,thms may nolliivHil,thle

may vary by storo.

THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM PRESENTS

THE AMERICAN ANTIQUES SHOW JANUARY 18-21, 2007 A BENEFIT FOR THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

BEST OF AMERICA

GALA BENEFIT PREVIEW Wednesday evening, January 17 Chair, Interior Designers' Committee, Albert Hadley LOCATION The Metropolitan Pavilion 125 West 18th Street, NYC (between 6th and 7th Avenues)

SHOW HOURS Thursday I Noon-8 PM Friday I Noon-8 PM Saturday I Noon-8 PM Sunday I Noon-5 PM

WWW.THEAMERICANANTIQUESSHOW.ORG

2007 EXHIBITOR LIST FEATURING 45 OF THE COUNTRY'S FINEST AMERICANA AND FOLK ART DEALERS Mark & Marjorie Allen

M. Finkel & Daughter

Hill Gallery

Philadelphia Print Shop

American Primitive Gallery

Fleisher-011man Gallery

Wayne & Phyllis Hilt

S. Scott Powers Antiques

Diana H. Bittel

Pat & Rich Garthoeffner Antiques

Jewett-Berdan Allan Katz Americana

Raccoon Creek Antiques at Oley Forge, LLC

Gemini Antiques Ltd.

Kelly Kinzie

Jackie Radwin

Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques

Russ and Karen Goldberger/ RJG Antiques

Greg Kramer

Ricco/Maresca Gallery

Joan R. Brownstein

Leah Gordon Antiques

Nathan Liverant and Son Antiques

Stella Rubin John Keith Russell Antiques, Inc.

Marcy Burns American Indian Arts

Carl Hammer Gallery

Robert Lloyd

Stephen Score Inc.

Harvey Art & Antiques

Brant Mackley Gallery

Elliott & Grace Snyder

Heller Washam

Judith & James Milne

Trotta-Bono

The Herrs

Stephen B. O'Brien Jr.

Clifford A. Wallach

Samuel Herrup Antiques

Odd Fellows Art and Antiques

Woodard & Greenstein American Antiques

Charlton Bradsher American Antiques

Cherry Gallery David Cook Fine American Art Peter H. Eaton

EDUCATIONAL SERIES ALL EDUCATIONAL EVENTS INCLUDE PROGRAM, ADMISSION TO TAAS 2007, AND SHOW CATALOG THURSDAY A PREVIEW WALKING TOUR OF TAAS WITH CURATOR STACY C. HOLLANDER Thursday, January 18 10:30 Am-noon at TAAS $75 general, $60 members, seniors, and students, includes a light breakfast >> See TAAS before it opens to the public.

Tour TAAS highlights with the museum's senior curator.

FRIDAY INSIDER'S DAY OF ART AND ANTIQUES: EXCLUSIVE TOURS AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Friday, January 19 9:30 AM $115 museum members only >> This daylong excursion will include a private home collection visit, a curatorial museum tour, an insider's view of TAAS with curator Lee Kogan, and more. Lunch not included in ticket price, and itinerary subject to change. To register or for more information, please call 212. 977. 7170, ext. 328, or e-mail ccorcoran@folkartmuseum.org.

Daily admission $18, includes show catalog and two-for-one admission to the museum.

Group rates available. A cafĂŠ will be open during show hours.

For more show information or to reserve tickets, please visit www.theamericanantiquesshow.org or call 212.977.7170, ext. 319.

A DIALOGUE AND TOUR OF TAAS WITH CURATOR LEE KOGAN Friday, January 19 10:30 Am-noon at TAAS $50 general, $45 members, seniors, and students, includes a light breakfast >> A discussion and tour of TAAS with the museum's curator of special exhibitions.

YOUNG COLLECTORS EVENING Friday, January 19 6-8 PM at TAAS $35 general, $25 Americus Group members >> A party for new collectors featuring lectures by Mary Emmerling, creative director for Country Home, and Matthew Mead, style editor at large for Country Home, about starting and showcasing your own collection.

Sponsored by CountrvHOMe SATURDAY APPRAISAL DAY: DISCOVER A TREASURE Saturday, January 20 10:30 Am-noon at TAAS $45 general, $40 members, seniors, and students, includes a light breakfast >> An opportunity for show visitors to learn what their objects are worth, featuring renowned experts Helaine Fendelman, David Gallager, and Jane Willis.

FAME WEATHERVANE (detail)/ attributed PLILPICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

to E.G Washburne & Company / New York / C. 1890 / copper and zinc with gold leaf / 39.35 3/4.231/2" / American Folk Art Museum,gift of Ralph Esmerian, 2005.8.62 / photo by Gavin Ashworth TAAS is managed by Karen DiSaia

THE AMERICAN ANTIQUES SHOW

outsider art fair 2oo7 15th annual

january 26 - 28 friday noon - 8pm saturday llam - 8pm sunday llam - 7pm opening night preview january 25 6:30 - 9pm to benefit american folk art museum information: 212.977.7170 x 308

outsider art week

outsider

presented by american folk art museum information: 212.265.1040 x 102

visionary intuitive self-taught

the puck building lafayette & houston streets soho, new york city

art brut sanford I. smith & associates 212.777.5218 www.sanfordsmith.com

Joseph wittlich, courtesy wasserwerk.galerie lange shinki, courtesy phyllis kind gallery

THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM PRESENTS

OUTSIDER ART FAIR BENEFIT PREVIEW THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2007 6:30-9 PM / EARLY ADMISSION 5:30 PM & 6 PM THE PUCK BUILDING LAFAYETTE & HOUSTON STREETS, NEW YORK CITY Support the museum and enjoy cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, lively music, and the chance to make purchases before the fair opens to the public Information and tickets: 212. 977. 7170, ext. 308

OUTSIDER ART WEEK CELEBRATING SELF-TAUGHT ARTISTS AT THE MUSEUM TUESDAY-SUNDAY, JANUARY 23-28, 2007 "MARTIN RAMiREZ" Exhibition opens to the public Tuesday, January 23(on view through April 29) CONVERSING WITH CONTEMPORARY ART Exhibition Tours Tuesday-Sunday, January 23-28; 3 PM FILM SCREENING Purvis of Overtown Wednesday, January 24; 6:30 PM reception, 7 PM film UNCOMMON ARTISTS XV A Series of Cameo Talks Saturday, January 27;10 AM VERNACULAR PHOTOGRAPHY Talks and Dialogue Sunday, January 28;10 AM Information: 212. 265.1040, ext. 105

MUSEUM BOOTH AT THE OUTSIDER ART FAIR Featuring exhibition highlights and select publications Friday-Sunday, January 26-28 UNTITLED (Paper Bag Scroll)(detail) / Martin Ramirez (1895-1963)! Auburn, California /1953 / crayon and pencil on pieced paper /102 24"! private collection! photo by James Hart

AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

AMERICAN

45 WEST 53RD STREET NEW YORK CITY 212. 265.1040 WWW.FOLKARTMUSEUM.ORG

__J 0 LL MUSEUM

MUSEUM

NEWS

BY CARA ZIMMERMAN

BREWSTER OPENING RECEPTION from Antiques magazine,the useum members celebrated Fenimore Art Museum,and the the opening ofthe seminal Metropolitan Museum ofArt traveling exhibition "A were also in attendance.

DeafArtist in Early America: A highlight ofthe exhibition is The Worlds ofJohn Brewster Jr." the pairing ofthe portraits Mother in October at a festive reception featuring a New Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;inspired with Son (Lucy Knapp Mygattand Son, George)and Comfort Starr autumnal theme and live classical Mygatt and Daughter, Lucy, which, music,performed by the AE Chamber Players.Paul S. SARAH PRINCE /John Brewster Jr. (1766-1854)/ Newburyport, D'Ambrosio,who organized the Massachusetts /1801 / oil on canvas / exhibition with Harlan Lane 521/o <40"! Alice M. Kaplan Collection for the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y., and senior curator Stacy C.Hollander were both on hand to discuss the portraits.

Seven paintings were added to the exhibition for the New York City portion ofthe tour,including Woman in Gray Dress,which is a promised gift to the museum's

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Nancy Adams McCord (left) and Joanne Adams wit portraits of their ancestors

Deputy director Linda Dunne and Tom Reynolds

Michael R. Payne (left), Suzanne Rudnick Payne, and Ralph Sessions

Director Maria Ann Conelli (left) and Joan Davidson

Stacy C. Hollander (left) and Vivian B. Mann

collection, and the magnificent Sarah Prince,on loan from the Alice M.Kaplan Collection.

Lenders Joan Davidson, Jane Katcher, Dave and Barbara 'Crashes, Bill Samaha,and Jane Supino,among others,celebrated the opening,and staff members

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prior to this show, had not been displayed together for many years.

This "family reunion" proved especially exciting, as two descendants ofthe portrait sitters, sisters-in-law Nancy Adams McCord and Joanne Adams,came to the reception to view the pictures oftheir ancestors.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT FLYNN

6

Jeff Pressman, Nancy Kollisch, and director Maria Ann Conelli (right)

Mary Bartow (left), Paul S. D'Ambroslo, and Courtney Booth

Marjorie Hirschhorn (left) and trustees Robert L. Hirschhorn and Joyce B. Cowls

Mareike Paessler

(From left) Shirley Lindenbaum, Wendy Lehman Lash, and trustee Lucy Cullman Danziger

Jane Katcher

Nicole Whelan (left), Michael Ross, and Marjorie Nezin

OCTOBER PATRONS RECEPTION he museum paid tribute to its patron members with an exclusive reception in October for the exhibition "A Deaf Artist in Early America:The Worlds of John Brewster Jr." Exhibition cocurator Paul S. D'Ambrosio and senior curator Stacy C.Hollander led an intimate tour of this stunning show.To add to the evening's festivities, Sharpe Hill Vineyard, whose award-winning wine Ballet of Angels features Brewster's Francis 0. Watts with Bird on the label, provided wine for the reception.

The entire museum family wishes to extend special thanks to its patron members, who provide the annual support vital to the museum's daily operations. Patrons receive enhanced membership privileges, including curator-led exhibition tours and visits to private collections. For more information about the benefits ofpatron membership and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Christine Corcoran, manager ofindividual giving, at 212/977-7170,ext. 328,or ccorcoran@folkartmuseum.org.

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BEAUGRAND

Ray and Linda Simon and Christine Corcoran (right)

Phyllis Kossoff

Patron members Susan Sieqelbaum (left) and Susan Lawrence

RAWVISION #57 Winter 2006

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MUSEUM

NEWS

CULTUREFEST nce again, members of the museum's staffjoined other New York City museums and cultural institutions last October at CultureFest, held annually in Battery Park, on the lower tip of Manhattan. Families from all over the Tristate Area

0

came to the museum's booth, which featured a box-decorating craft activity for kids, a raffle, flatscreen monitors displaying images from the museum's collection, and information about exhibitions, public programs, and museum membership.

Museum volunteers Jonathan Rousse and Jessica Whyne assisting creative young artists at the museum's CultureFest booth

AMERICUS CONTEMPORARIES EVENTS he museum's Americus Contemporaries group continues to bring together folk art enthusiasts under age 45 for special tours, events, and opportunities to socialize. Last August,the group met at Ricco/Maresca Gallery,in Chelsea,to celebrate the end of summer with wine,chocolatecovered strawberries, and a talk on the exhibition on view, "Dreamland: Coney Island, 1905-1925," with gallery owners Frank Maresca and Roger Ricco.

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"Dreamland," a presentation of original drawings, blueprints, and vintage photographs of the Coney Island amusement park in its heyday, was culled from the extensive archive of historian Frederick Fried.

For information on the Americus Contemporaries and upcoming Americus events, please contact Dana Clair, membership manager,at 212/977-7170,ext. 346,or dclair@folkartmuseum.org.

CORRECTIONS n the fall issue (vol. 31, no. 3),Tom Collamore, vice president of public affairs at Altria Group,Inc., was misidentified as Steven C. Parrish in the Museum News report on the 2006 spring benefit (page 89),and one title was inadvertently dropped from the graffiti book list(page 67):Jack Stewart, Subway Graffiti:An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway System ofNewYork City, 1970-1978(Ann Arbor, Mich.: U.M.I., 1989). We regret the errors.

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Agaiit the Grain Minnie Adkins, Kentucky Folk Carver At the Kentucky Folk Art Center . February 22 - May 27, 2007 Touring Available. entu y Folk Art Center IS OM 0 Day in the Country Folk Art Show, held the first Saturday of June each in Morehead, Kentucky.

Kentucky Folk Art Center• 102 West First Street• Morehead, KY •606.783.2204•www.kyfolkart.ong The Kentucky Folk An Center is a cultural, educational, and economic development service of Morehead State University

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MUSEUM

NEWS

SUMMER TEACHER INSTITUTE Highlights of this year's wenty-one New York City Institute included a trip to two public-school teachers galleries in Chelsea, a ride on participated in the museum's the Central Park Carousel, an annual weeklong Summer art workshop using recycled Teacher Institute last July. In materials, and a session to create this course, taught by Jennifer original lesson plans based Kalter, the museum's coordinator on the collection for use in the for school partnerships and classroom. All teachers received programs,teachers explored the professional-development museum's permanent collection credit for their participation in installation "Folk Art Revealed" the course. and the exhibitions "White on To learn about future White (and a little gray)" and professional-development courses "Concrete Kingdom: Sculptures for educators, please contact

by Nek Chand." Participants also Sara Lasser, manager ofschool considered ways to integrate folk and docent programs, at art into their classroom curricula 212/265-1040,ext. 119, or and experimented with a variety slasser@folkartmuseum.org. ofengaging gallery activities.

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t Lisa-Marie Braxton leading a tour for campers

SUMMER TEEN DOCENTS 650 campers who visited the ive ofthe museum's museum. remarkable teen docents During the previous school completed an intensive year, the summer teen docents training course last July, enabling had completed rigorous trainthem to lead tours for day-camp ing through the museum's Teen groups over the summer.With a Docent Program.The group infocus on strategies for engaging cluded Aida Alfonzo, Lisa-Marie young viewers, the training Braxton,and Chastity Rivera of prepared the teens to facilitate Talent Unlimited High School; discussions in the galleries Iris Ayala of Vanguard High and artmaking workshops in School; and Natalie Jacob of the classroom.The teens led interactive tours for approximately LaGuardia Arts High School.

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APPLAUSE FOR NEK CHAND isitors to the museum's exhibition "Concrete Kingdom: Sculptures by Nek Chand," which was on view last summer,were encouraged to write notes to the artist in response to his work, and the museum sent the resulting 700 heartfelt messages to Nek Chand,who was unable to travel to New York from

If Jennifer Salter leading a discussion at the Summer Teacher Institute

OLD WESTBURY GETAWAY useum patrons spent a memorable day in September in historic Old Westbury, Long Island, N.Y.,for three exclusive events: a guided tour and tea at Old Westbury Gardens,a tour of an artist's charming restored 1760 Quaker farmhouse and studio (a converted icehouse), and a garden party and private preview of an auction ofa remarkable collection assembled by an emeritus trustee and former chairman of collections at Vermont's Shelburne Museum. Among

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the objects on display were many exciting examples of wood carvingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from maritime eagles to carousel and cigar-store figures in early finishesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;American and European furniture, ceramics, glass, paintings, and museumquality textiles. For more information about visits to private collections and other patron member privileges, please contact Christine Corcoran, manager of individual giving, at 212/9777170,ext. 328, or ccorcoran@ folkartmuseum.org.

his home in Chandigarh,India.

Children, adults, artists, designers, and visitors from all over the world shared their appreciation for the artist through these notes, many embellished with drawings, praising his vast Rock Garden environment and the sculptures he has created throughout his life.

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION FOR BREWSTER PROGRAMS ast fall, docents attended a special workshop led

by Francesca Rosenberg, the Museum of Modern Art's director of community and access programs,to learn about approaches to working with an American Sign Language (ASL)interpreter for tours of the exhibition "A Deaf Artist in Early America:The Worlds of John Brewster Jr." Docent-led, ASL-interpreted tours have been available for student and adult groups for the duration of the exhibition, and ASL

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interpretation was presented by Mara Zuckerman for all adult lectures, which included a talk on deaf world culture by noted scholar Harlan Lane.

ASL interpretation is available upon special request for many ofthe museum's lectures and tours. Please make your request one month in advance. For more information, contact Sara Lasser, manager ofschool and docent programs, at 212/265-1040, ext. 119, or slasser@folkart museum.org.

2007 LOAN EXHIBIT -gi r tZgrierlia/cm/tee BOLD BRASH & BEAUTIFUL

THE PHILADELPHIA ANTIQUES SHOW 46th \nnual Benefit for the t Tnive rs ty of Pennsylvania Health System

tSfridif-17, 2007

33rd Street Armory Philadelphia PHOTO ID REQUIRED TO ENTER ARMORY

56 of the nation's leading dealers in American antiques and decorative arts Daily guided show tours and special events Group rates and hotel packages available For information: Visit www.PhilaAntiques.com or call 215-387-3500

PRESENTING SPONSOR

HAVERFORD THE HAVERFORD TRUST COMPANY

• • Ofiqt..T,F,F,5,0,..±Ax4o1

MUSEUM

NEWS

HAVE YOU

REMEMBERED

Larry Gifford, of the Empire Quilters, enjoying Quilt Weekend

THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

IN YOUR WILL?

QUILT WEEKEND 0 Join the CLARION SOCIETY. Through a bequest, you can provide enduring support for the American Folk Art Museum. To make an unrestricted bequest to the museum, the following language is suggested: percentage or all of I give dollars/ the residue of my estate to the American Folk Art Museum, 45 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019, for its general purposes.

The bequest may be funded with cash, bonds, marketable securities, or property. The museum is a not-for-profit tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) entity.

The museum's CLARION SOCIETY recognizes individuals who have remembered the museum in their wills and through other planned gifts. For more information or to make a specific bequest, please contact Christine Corcoran, manager of individual giving, at 212. 977. 7170, ext. 328, or ccorcoran@folkartmuseum.org.

AMERICAN

0 MUSEUM ELEPHANT WEATHERVANE (detail) / artist unidentified / probably Bridgeport, Connecticut / late nineteenth century / paint on pine with iron /191/2 x 481/4 x r / American Folk Art Museum, gift of Ralph Esmerian, 2005.8.55 / photo Š2000 John Bigelow Taylor, New York

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uiltmaking as a vital, expressive art form was highlighted last October at the museum's 2006 Quilt Weekend. Exuberant displays of quilts by eight local quilt guilds filled the museum's atrium, and guild members demonstrated hand-appliquĂŠ techniques, piecing, quilting, and beading techniques for museum visitors.

Lee Kogan,curator of public programs and special exhibitions, gave a talk on the quilts of Gee's Bend, Ala., and docent John Hood discussed the Double Wedding Ring quilts installed in the

0

atrium and other textiles on view in the museum.

The museum thanks Empire Quilters; Huntington Quilt Guild; Long Island Quilters' Society; Northern Star Quilters Guild, Ltd.; Quilters' Guild of Brooklyn; Quilters of Color Network of New York, Inc.; Smithtown Stitchers Quilt Guild, Inc.; and the Women of Color Quilters Network for their participation.

For more information on future quilt-related events, please contact Lee Kogan at 212/2651040, ext. 105, or lkogan@ folkartmuseum.org.

MUSEUM SHOP AWARD he museum's Book and Gift Shop received national recognition when it was named the "Best Museum Store"

by Niche magazine and received its Top Retailer Award for 2006.The magazine's annual awards program recognizes craft retailers, galleries, nonprofit arts organizations, museums, and guilds for supporting and promoting the American craft community and its artists. The 2006 awards ceremony was held in July during the annual Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft.

"Showcasing handmade items and supporting the work of more

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than 200 craftspeople from around the country complements the mission of the museum," said Marie S. DiManno,director of museum shops."There's always a tempting selection of one-of-a-kind jewelry, handwoven scarves, pottery, unique quilts, painted floor cloths, rag rugs, vibrant game boards, decorated boxes, and idiosyncratic objects, as well as children's toys to give as gifts or to cherish as family heirlooms."

Niche polled more than 18,000 professional fine craftspeople throughout the United States and Canada, resulting in the nomination of nearly 700 organizations for the Top Retailer Awards.

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MUSEUM

NEWS

MUSEUM OBJECTS ON THE ROAD ew York City is not the only place to enjoy artworks from the museum's collection.

Objects from the museum's holdings are frequently on display at venues across the United States."Henry Darger: Highlights from the American Folk Art Museum" was on

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Bus advertisement promoting the museum's Henry Darger exhibition in Seattle view at the Frye Art Museum,in Seattle, through Oct.29,2006. Residents ofthe Pacific Northwest responded enthusiastically to the Chicago artist's epic narrative watercolors.

Dividing the Ways, a 1947 painting by Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses in the museum's collection, is included in the traveling exhibition "Grandma Moses: Grandmother to the Nation," which was organized by the Fenimore Art Museum (888/547-1450; www.fenimoreart museum.org),in Cooperstown, N.Y.The exhibition will be traveling through April 2008 to venues in Winston-Salem,N.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Sarasota, Fla. Glorious Lady Freedom Quilt(1985-1986)

by Moneca Calvert is on view in "American Visions of Liberty and Freedom."This traveling exhibition will remain at the Missouri Historical Society(314/746-4599; www.mohistory.org), in St. Louis,through March 2007.

Finally, seven pieces from the permanent collection by artists Felipe Benito Archuleta, Leroy Archuleta, Alonzo Jimenez, and M.Rothloff are on view in"Home and Beast," at the American Visionary Art Museum (410/244-1900; www. avam.org),in Baltimore,through Sept. 2,2007.

RECENT DONORS TO THE COLLECTION he museum is grateful to the following friends who donated objects to the permanent collection: Charlotte Adelman and Bernard L. Schwartz; Eugene Andolselq Aarne Anton/ American Primitive Gallery, New York; Charles Benefiel; Bliss Carnochan; Virginia Cave; Shari Cavin and Randall Morris/ Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York; Lucy and Mike Danziger; Hiroyuki Doi; Dorothy Trapper Goldman; Chris Hipkiss; Sue Hirsch; Donna and Carroll Janis; Louise and George Kaminow;Phyllis Kind/Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York;Jerry and Susan Lauren; Frances Martinson; Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand; Evelyn Meyer; Cyril I. Nelson (1927-2005); Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Nolan; Margaret Z. Robson; Heather Rodin; Stuart Shepherd; Martin Thompson; Don Walters and Mary Benisek; and Thomas Whitehead.

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PRIVATE EVENTS AT THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM Host a private event in the museum's awardwinning building at 45 West 53rd Street in midtown Manhattan.

Cocktail receptions for up to 250 guests Seated dinners for up to 100 guests Auditorium with full range of audio/visual technology for meetings and conferences AMERICAN

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For more information and to arrange a site visit, please contact Katie Hush, special events manager, at 212. 977. 7170, ext. 308, or khush@folkartmuseum.org.

FOLK ART

THERESA PROKOP new works on-line and at the gallery BEVERLY kAYE 15 LORRAINE DRIVE WOODBRIDGE, CT

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OBITUARIES

BY LEE KOGAN

HENRY RAY CLARK geometric com(1936-2006) positions depict enry Ray Clark, who created private universes densely patterned works on and supernatural paper,died on July 15,2006, figures, such as a • from gunshot wounds sustained in superwoman from another planet presented against a robbery.

Clark was born on Oct. 12, a dark cosmos."As long as my 1936,in Bartlett,Tex., and spent his mind can create something beautiyouth in Houston. He dropped out ful,I am a free man," he said. He ofschool after the sixth grade, and stopped drawing after his release over the years he occasionally found from prison, however,and only work in construction. But Clark, resumed his artmaking during subnicknamed"The Magnificent sequent periods ofincarceration.

Pretty Boy," was drawn to a street Clark won first prize in a Texas lifestyle, and crimes stemming from Department ofCorrections art his involvement with narcotics and exhibition in 1989,and his drawgambling led to several stints in ings were induded in "Spirited prison in the second halfof his life. Journeys: Self-Taught Texan Artists While incarcerated in 1977, ofthe Twentieth Century," at the Clark enrolled in an art class and Arthur M.Huntington Art Galbegan to draw prolifically, uslery,Austin (1997). An exhibition ing mostly red,green,and black ofClark's work is on view at the ballpoint pens and any available Galveston Arts Center,in Texas, scrap ofpaper he could find. His through Jan. 7.

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of the

Present

Self-Taught Artists of the South

February 3 - March 3, 2007 Thornton Dial Lonnie Holley Mary Proctor Mary T. Smith Mose Tolliver Purvis Young Jimmy Lee Sudduth

Ridgefield Guild of Artists 34 Halpin Lane • Ridgefield, CT 06877 203-438-8863 • www.rgoa.org For more information and directions contact: rgoaesbcglobal.nct

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ALBERT LEE WAGNER (1924-2006) ev. Albert Lee Wagner,a Pentecostal minister and a self-taught artist, died of heart failure on Sept. 11,2006,in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

Wagner was born in Bassett, Ark,where his parents worked as sharecroppers;the family migrated north to Cleveland when Wagner was 17 years old.In 1974,while painting the walls ofhis house in preparation for a party in celebration of his 50th birthday, Wagner found inspiration in the drips and splatters ofpaint that formed on the board supporting the paint cans."I saw figures. It was the power of God.He spoke to me through that board," he said.

Wagner turned his home into the People Love People House ofGod and the Reverend Albert Wagner Museum and Studio.

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Thousands of drawings,paintings, sculptures, and constructions were on display, and visitors were welcomed anytime to enjoy art and listen to Pentecostal messages.

While the subjects ofWagner's artworks were often religious,illustrating moral lessons from the Bible, his concerns also extended to broader social issues as well as narratives from his Southern childhood.

The artist was profiled in LVe magazine in 1988 and in the New York Times in 2001;in the latter article, he was referred to as "Moses of East Cleveland."

Wagner's work has been exhibited in several Ohio cities as well as in New York,and one of his earliest paintings is in the collection ofthe American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore.

COURTESY G. KANGAS

OtivCk'S

OBITUARIES

PURVIS YOUNG SEYMOUR ROSEN (1935-2006) eymour Rosen,a pioneer in the preservation offolk art environments, died ofliver failure on Sept.20,2006,in Los Angeles.

Originally from Chicago, Rosen moved to Los Angeles when he was 17. From an early age, he showed a passion for photography; after high school, he worked as a freelance photographer, and when he was drafted into the Army,in 1958,he served in the photographic unit at Fort Ord,Calif For more than half a century, Rosen photographed and chronicled unconventional spaces and places. He became intrigued with roadside attractions such as Possum Trot, Calvin and Ruby Black's rock shop with adjoining doll theater in the Mojave Desert, and environments such as Tressa Prisbrey's Bottle Village, in Simi Valley Calif In his words,he intended to document"a magical world

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NORMAN SCOTT "BUTCH" QUINN (1939-2006) ennsylvania artist Norman Scott"Butch" Quinn,who worked in both two- and three-dimensional formats, died on July 27,2006,in Oil City Although his initial interest in art was sparked by a mechanical drawing class in high schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;"It enabled me to set up a very specific order, control my lines. I couldn't wait for the next day's sessions"â&#x20AC;&#x201D;it was not until 1974 that he began to paint. He painted on a variety of found objects, such as wooden ironing boards, bottle caps,rubber bands,tin cans, chair-spring

p

created from what most other people would consider junk."

Among the most celebrated environments to inspire Rosen is Simon Rodia's Watts Towers in Los Angeles, which he first encountered in 1952. Rosen served tirelessly on the committee that saved the towers from demolition in the late 1950s.

Rosen's commitment to the preservation ofgrassroots environments led to his formation,in 1978, ofSaving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments(SPACES); he was the foundation's driving force for nearly 30 years. SPACES has documented more than 700 environments around the United States and maintains an archive of nearly 20,000 photographs and documents gathered over half a century Donations in Rosen's memory may be sent to Jo Farb Hernandez, director, SPACES,1804 N. Van Ness Ave.,Los Angeles, CA 90028.

coils, and old fan blades. His artwork,with animal, biblical, and farmscape subjects influenced by popular culture, was the subject of an exhibition at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg,Pa.(1984), and is in the collections ofthe Westmoreland Museum;the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Sandford Gallery, Clarion University Clarion, Pa. Lee Kogan is the museum's curator ofpublicprograms and special exhibitions.

DANIEL AU BRY GALLERY loo West 23rd Street, NY NY 10011 www.PurvisYoungNY.com

212.414.0014

By Appointment Only

Exclusive Representative of Major American Artist, Purvis Young in the New York / Tri-State Area Appraisal and Authentication Services Available in Collaboration With The Purvis Young Studio, Miami

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PUBLIC

PROGRAMS

Urban Visionaries An Exhibition of American and Dutch Contemporary Artists

nless 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. Admission fees vary; program tickets include museum admission. For more information, please call the education department at 212/265-1040,ext. 105,view the museum's website at wwvv.folkartmuseum.org,or pick up the museum's public programs brochure.To purchase tickets, call 212/265-1040,ext. 160.

U

OUTSIDER ART WEEK Pure Vision Arts, Kunst & Vliegwerk, and Atelier Herenplaats Studios

FILM: PURVIS OF OVERTOWN

Opening Reception Wednesday, January 24th 6:00-8:00pm

Wednesday,Jan.24 6:30 PM reception; 7 PM film $10; $5 members,seniors, students New York premiere offeaturelength documentary about Purvis Young,followed by discussion

Exhibition January 24-31 by appointment t"..

1.0 tStOr• a rf

NY's premier studio for artists with developmental disibilities

IMMIGRATION: THEN AND NOW Thursday, Feb. 8; 6:30 PM $10; $5 members,seniors,

students Speaker: Christopher Sabatini POPULAR RELIGIOUS IMAGERY IN MEXICO

Thursday, March 22;6:30 PM $10; $5 members,seniors,

purevisionarts.org

114 West 17th Street N.Y,,N.Y. 10011

(212) 366-4263

Mary Michael Shelley 607-272-5700

UNCOMMON ARTISTS XV: A SERIES OF CAMEO TALKS

Saturday,Jan. 27; 10 Am $35; $30 members,seniors, students Presenters: Victor M.Espinosa on Martin Ramirez; Nina Katschnig on current residents of Art/Brut Center, Gugging, Austria;John 011man on Felipe Jesus Consalvos; and Adrian Swain on Charley, Noah, and Hazel Kinney VERNACULAR PHOTOGRAPHY

Sunday,Jan. 28; 10 AM $15; $10 members,seniors, students Speakers:John Foster, Frank Maresca, and Brian Wallis EXHIBITION PROGRAMS CURATORIAL TALK: MARTIN RAMIREZ

Visit my studio when you are in the beautiful Fingerlakes region of New York State.

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students Speaker: Marcus Burke SYMPOSIUM

Culture in Context:SelfTaught Artists in the TwentyFirst Century Friday—Saturday, April 27-28 $50; $40 members,seniors, students Session cochairs: Brooke Davis Anderson, Daniel Baumann, Roger Cardinal, Susan Mitchell Crawley, Kristin E. Espinosa, Victor M.Espinosa, Lee Kogan, Randall Morris, Colin Rhodes, Leslie Umberger, and Victor Zamudio-Taylor COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING

Wednesdays at 1:30 PM $3; free to members,seniors, students

Wednesday,Jan. 31;6:30 PM $10; $5 members, seniors,

COLLECTING VALENTINES AND EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE

students Speaker: Brooke Davis Anderson

Feb. 21 Speaker: Nancy Rosin

CONTEMPORARY ART FROM AFRICA AND TH E AFRICAN DIASPORA

COLLECTING AMISH QUILTS

March 14 Speaker: Elizabeth V. Warren COLLECTING SANTOS, RETABLOS, AND EX-VOTOS

April 25 Speaker: Deborah Dwyer RUG WEEKEND WORKSHOP: SILK-STOCKING

MATS Friday, March 9; 10 Am-4 PM $60;$50 members,seniors, students (includes materials) Instructor: Marilyn Bottjer RUG-HOOKING GUILDS DEMOS

Saturday, March 10 11 Am-4 PM Free with admission HOOKED MATS OF THE GRENFELL MISSION

Saturday, March 10; noon Free with admission Speaker: Paula Laverty TOUR OF TEXTILES ON VIEW IN THE MUSEUM

Saturday, March 10;2 Pm Free with admission FAMILY ART WORKSHOPS Sundays 2-4 Pm Jan. 28; Feb. 11,25; March 11,

25; April 15,22; May 6,20 $10 per family;$5 for member families (includes museum admission) Coordinator: Madelaine Gill EDUCATORS OPEN HOUSE

Thursday,Jan. 25;4-6 PM

SCHOOL AND ADULT TOUR GROUPS

For information, please call 212/265-1040,ext. 381,or e-mail grouptours@folk artmuseum.org.

Major supportfor education is provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundations and the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund.

Evening events at the museum are madepossible through the generous support ofNancy and Dana Mead.Free Friday evenings are madepossible through the generous support ofJerry and Susan Lauren. Family art workshops are sponsored by D'Arcy and Dana G. MeadJr. and Susan and Mark C. Mead. Camp Programs are made possible in part through the generous support ofDenise and Sam De Rosa-Farag. Afternoon Programs are madepossible in part through the generous support of Su-Ellyn Stern.

Additionalfundingfor education is provided by Ray Simon in honor ofLinda Simon, Citigroup, Consolidated Edison Company,and the New York Times Company Foundation.

The museum is grateful to thefollowing government agenciesfor their support ofthe museum's educational activities: New York City Department of CulturalAffairs, New York City Department ofEducation, New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, New York City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts.

Natural Women by Evarist Chikawe 22 X 33,acrylic on canvas

RIDGE ART 21 Harrison Street Oak Park,IL 60304 1-888-269-0693 or 708-848-4062 www.ridgeart.com ridgeart@comcastmet

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Berenberg Gallery Clarendon Street Boston, MA 02116

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www.berenberggallery.com

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DONOR

S

Robert Cargo

FOLK ART GALLERY Self-taught, visionary, and outsider artists of the South African-American quilts • Haitian spirit flags

Sybil Gibson Joseph Hardin Rev. B.F. Perkins Jimmy Lee Sudduth Mose Tolliver Fred Webster The gallery maintains an extensive inventory ofearly,quality works by these Alabama folk!outsider artists ofthe First Generation. Our collection also includes works by numerous other artists, primarily, but not exclusively,from the southeastern United States. Visit our website for a complete listing of artists.

www.cargofolkart.com Caroline Cargo • 110 Darby Road • Paoli, PA 19301 info@cargofolkart.com • 610-240-9528 Main Line Philadelphia - By Appointment Only

AMERICA'S OLDEST MAKERS OF COLONIAL AND EARLY AMERICAN LIGHTING FIXTURES

AUTHENTIC DESIGNS West Rupert, Vermont 05776 (802) 394-7713 • 800-844-9416 www.authenticdesigns.com Catalogues $4.00 each

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The American Folk Art Museum is grateful to the following friends who provided generous support for museum programs and operating activities during the year July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006: $50,000 & up Altria Group,Inc. Edward V. Blanchard Jr. Edith S.&Barry D.Brislcin Carnegie Corporation of New York Lucy & Mike Danziger Ralph 0.Esmerian The Estate of Kathryn R. Lewis Jacqueline Fowler Joan M.8c Victor L.Johnson JPMorgan Chase Leir Charitable Trusts Nancy &Dana G.Mead National Endowment for the Arts Laura 8c Richard Parsons The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation Robert Sterling Clark Foundation Margaret Robson Bonnie &Thomas W.Strauss Time Warner $20,000-$49,999 Didi & David Barrett Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund Joyce B. Cowin Louise & Edgar M.Cullman David L. Davies &John Weeden Deutsche Bank Vivian &Strachan Donnelley Betsey 8c Samuel Farber Susan and John H.Gutfreund Marjorie 8c Robert L. Hirschhom Michelle &Lawrence J. Lasser Latham &Watkins Jerry & Susan Lauren Taryn 8c Mark Leavitt Frances Sirota Martinson J. Randall Plummer David Rockefeller Angela 8c Selig Sacks Sidley Austin LLP Nathaniel J. Sutton TIAA-CREF Kathleen &John Ullmann Utendahl Capital Partners, LP Barbara &John Wilkerson $10,000-$19,999 Becky & Bob Alexander American Express Bloomberg The Brown Foundation,Inc., ofHouston Marc 8c Laurene Krasny Brown Cahill Gordon 8c Reindel The Carl &Lily Pforzheimer Foundation,Inc. Marcy Carsey Ken & Kathryn Chenault Citigroup Foundation Con Edison Cravath, Swaine &Moore LLP Debevoise & Plimpton Deloitte The Estee Lauder Companies,Inc. Freddie Mac Fred Leighton,Inc. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver &Jacobson LLP Audrey B. Heckler Johnson &Johnson Phyllis L. Kossoff Kx Systems Evelyn &Leonard A. Lauder LEF Foundation Lehman Brothers

Anne &Vincent Mai Merrill Lynch &Co.,Inc. Modemista!

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York State Council on the Arts Frank Petrilli Dorothea &Leo Rabkin Donna & Marvin Schwartz Nancy &William W.Stahl Kate Stettner & Carl Lobel] Tishman Speyer Properties U.S. Trust Company Foundation Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz Sue Ann &John L.Weinberg Anne & Robert N.Wilson One anonymous donor $5,000-$9,999 Judy &John Angela Molly F. Ashby and Gerald M.Lodge Kim 8c Stephen Bepler Barbara &James A.Block The Bloomingdale's Fund of the Federated Department Store Foundation Cotton,Inc. Susan R. Cullman &John Kirby Peggy & Richard Danziger Denise &Sam De Rosa-Farag Dyson Foundation Barbara L. Gordon &W.Stephen Cannon The Grace Jones Richardson Trust Agnes Gund Kelly &Webber Hudson John R.&Dorothy D.Caples Fund ICristina Johnson Penny & Allan Katz Karen & Kevin Kennedy Robert 8c Luise Kleinberg The ICoegel Group LLP Betty &John Levin William M.Lewis Linda & Christopher Mayer MetLife The New York Community Trust The New York Times Company Foundation The Overbrook Foundation Jeffrey Pressman & Nancy Kollisch Robert Lehman Foundation,Inc. Ann G.&Peter L. Sheldon Su-Ellyn Stern Sin von Reis Irwin H.& Elizabeth V. Warren Phyllis &Ira Wender Xerox Foundation $2,000-$4,999 Kristen Accola & Gary Snyder Albert Hadley,Inc. Peg Alston 8cWillis Burton Gayle Perkins Atkins & Charles N. Atkins The Atlantic Philanthropies Avenue of the Americas Association Susan Baerwald Diana H. Bittel Adele Block Bonnie Cashin Fund at New York Community Trust Jill & Sheldon Bonovitz Murray Bring 8c Kay Delaney Judy & Bernard Briskin Alvin H.Brown &Yolanda Ferrell-Brown Christie's Phyllis Collins Lorie Cowen Ellie & Edgar Cullman Jr. Kendra & Allan Daniel Deborah Davenport& Stewart Stender Valerie & Charles Diker Anthony Donn Robert&Joan Easton

DONOR

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LEAH GORDON SPECIALISTS IN ANTIQUE AND PERIOD JEWELRY, AMERICAN ART POTTERY AND OBJECTS OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY DESIGN. Gloria Einbender Margot &John L.Ernst Judith 8c Anthony Evnin Marilyn Friedman &Thomas Block Gail Furman Rebecca & Michael S. Gamzon Constance &Dudley Godfrey Kelly &Lou Gonda Susan &John H.Gutfreund Sunny &Michael Halperin Ann &James Harithas Catherine &Richard Herbst Stephen Hessler & Mary Ellen Vehlow Stephen M.Hill Katie Danziger Horowitz& Steven Horowitz Barbara &Thomas C.Israel Norman Jacobs Mr.& Mrs. William Mitchell Jennings Jr. Linda E.Johnson & Harold W.Pote Jaclyn & Gerald Kaminsky Kerrigan Campbell art .4. projects Mary Kettaneh Stephanie & Ron Kramer Land America Lindsey &Bruno LaRocca Petra & Stephen Levin Alfred Liggins Yvonne Liu Cynthia &Dan W.Lufkin Maxine &Stuart Frankel Foundation Barry &Wendy Meyer Kay & George H.Meyer Pamela &Michael Miles Anne W.Miller Nicholas M.Nelson Judy &Bud Newman Nancy & Morris Offit JoEllen &David Oskin Patterson Belknap Webb &Tyler LLP Rolando & Karin Eriksen Perez Christen &Duncan Pollock Jackie 8c Howard Radwin Ralph E.Ogden Foundation,Inc. Ricco/Maresca Gallery Marguerite &Arthur Riordan Paul Rubacha Semlitz Glaser Foundation Jane A.Shane Ray &Linda Simon Karen & David Sobotka Susan 8c Peter J. Solomon Ellen &David Stein Judy 8c Michael Steinhardt Geoffrey Stem Donald & Rachel Strauber Nonie &John Sullivan Kelvin Thompson Richard H.Walker Leslie &Peter S. Warwick Lynn &Samuel Waterston Amy &John S. Weinberg Phyllis and Ira Wender Mr.& Mrs. Gerard C. Wertkin Jan Whitlock Walter 8c Sandra Wilkie Janet H.VVinston Michelle & Robert Wyles Judy ZanIcel One anonymous donor $1,000-$1,999 Dana & A.Marshall Acuff Aman 8c Carson,Inc. Jody &John Amhold Arthur Ross Foundation James Asselstine 8c Bette J. Davis Kelia & Glenn Bailey Jeremy L.Banta Anne H. Bass Jill & Mickey Bates

Lawrence A.8c Claire B. Benenson Erin 8c Daniel Berman Virginia 8c William D.Birch Dena L. Bock Marilyn W.Bottjer Ronald Bourgeault Alessandra Branca Lois & Marvin Bender Meredith 8c Sylvia Brown Joan R. Brownstein &Peter H.Eaton Barbara BundyAnn & Larry Buttenwieser David 8c Virginia Butters Richard T. Button Dana &Paul Cams Edward Lee Cave Angela &James Clair Cullman &Kravis,Inc. Alex Daniels Judy & Aaron Daniels Gary Davenport Pat 8c Ed De Sear Mr.& Mrs. Charles P. Durkin The Echo Design Group,Inc. Andrew Edlin 8c Batia Zumwalt Elizabeth H.Eisen Judy & Lewis M.Eisenberg Janet &Carl Eskridge Ethel 8c Philip Adelman Charitable Foundation, Inc. Helaine 8c Burton Fendelman Lori &,Laurence Fink Robert Froelich Jill Gallagher Alice &Bruce Geismar Laura & Mark Goldman Barbara 8c Peter Goodman William R.Grant Susan Zises Green Myrna 8c Stephen Greenberg Jean 8c Lewis Greenblatt Gayle & Robert F. Greenhill Nancy &Tim Grumbacher David Guilmet Cordelia Hamilton Jeffrey Heckman Marian S. Heiskell Lisa W.Hess Stephen &Carol Huber Thomas Isenberg Sandra Jaffe Vera &JosefJelinek Kandell Fund Helen &Steven Kellogg Kelly Kinzie Susan 8c Mark Laracy Jo Carole Lauder Joyce 8c Edward Linde Stephen Loewentheil Margaret E. Mahoney Michael T. Martin Mrs. Myron L. Mayer John McGurk Med Assets Virginia B.Michel Virginia &Timothy Millhiser Barbara 8c Nik Mithmuse Marsha &Jeffrey H.Miro Randall Morris 8c Shari Cavin Barbara G.Mulu New York School ofInterior Design Katharine &Donal C.O'Brien Michael Ogle &Diana Douglas Stephanie & Robert Olmsted Mr.& Mrs. George D.O'Neill Barbara 8c Roy Ostrom Patricia Parsons Liz 8cJeffrey Peek Phyllis Kind Gallery A. Robert & Sharon Pietrzak Eugenie & Mortimer Propp

Edwardian pendant. Platinum topped gold with diamonds and natural baroque pearl. 18" long. C. 1905 • 1910

MANHATTAN ART & ANTIQUES CENTER • GALLERY 18 1050 SECOND AVENUE, AT 55TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10022 TEL: 212.872.1422 • WWW.LEAHGORDON.COM

ANTIQUE TEXTILES VINTAGE FASHIONS SHOW & SALE

2007 MONDAYS MAY 7 JULY 9 SEPT.3

125 BOOTHS • FABRICS QUILTS TRIMMINGS BUTTONS LINENS OLD JEWELRY LACES ANTIQUE CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

EARLY ADMISSION 9:30 AM $20 GENERAL ADMISSION 11:00 AM

$5 PSIIAA

ROST HOTEL - $11. RBRD;(71 ' Route 20, Sturbridge, MA Oct. Mass Pike & WM) LINDA /UK AS 207439.2334 I, ROWS*4444401A040ADOARWAWAAMAAUdmmWAiromowmAAMAWAMAM;MAMA064041/ArmwAhmAO

ONE DAY • INDOORS • BRIMFIELD WEEK vintagefashionandtextileshow.com

WINTER 2007 FOLK ART 109

DONOR

*FOLK* ART * FRAMES * MORE , -W3455911 0*--

64 Biltmore Ave. Asheville, NC 28801 828.281.2134 www.amerifolk.com

AINTUIT SHOVIL. rOLK OUTSIDER AR

IF Traylor, Black Bali,c 1939-4 1125" x 17.2

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Roberta &Jack Rabin Terry Lynn &John Rakolta Lisa & Gregg Rechler Paige Rense Barbara J. Riley Susan W.Robertson Alyce 8c Roger Rose Marshall Rose Michael Rosenfeld 8c Halley K. Harrisburg Helene &Jim Rosenthal Lois & Richard Rosenthal Amy 8c Howard J. Rubenstein Wolfe Rudman Nisha & Mohit Sabharwal Betty & Paul Schaffer Phyllis &Alfred Selnick Mary Ann & Arthur Siskind Smith Richardson Foundation Grace & Elliott Snyder Donna & Alan Stilhnan David Teiger Dorothy C.Treisman Jean &Raymond Troubh Two Trees Management Company Deborah Vander Heyden Hilary Vartanian George Wein Judith 8c Bennett Weinstock Phoebe Weseley The Wetsman Foundation Susan Yarnell $500-$999 Simon N. Abrahams Ed 8c Shari Adler Caralee Allsworth American Antiques &Art Anton Haardt Gallery Joseph &Susan W.Armbrust Deborah &James Ash Ray Azoulay Barn Star Productions James S. Barton Jr. Martina Baran Lee & Paul Belsky Helen L.Bing Mr.8c Mrs. Robert S. Birch Mrs. George P. Bissell Suzanne Bizzell Lenore &Stephen Blank Katharine & Robert E. Booth Linda &James H.Brandi Sally &Thatcher M.Brovm III Elli Buk Miriam Cahn Judith F. 8c Bill Campbell Sharon &Jeffrey Casdin Maggie Cohen Marina & George Colettis Conde Nast Stephen H.Cooper &Karen Gross Denise &Jamie Crystal Mr.& Mrs.John R.Curtis Terry L Dale &Richard Barry Sheena &David Danziger Abbey Darer Joan E DeCoste Donald Dell Joseph Del Valle Jr. Linda 8c Robert R. Douglass Nancy Druckman Drysdale Inc. John & Gail Duffy Deborah & Arnold Dunn Ray Egan Sharon 8cTheodore Eisenstat Tania &Thomas M.Evans Lyn & Peter Feldman Thomas K. Figge Gary A.Fine

Frances Frawley Margot& Norman Freedman Lawrence 8c Marilyn Friedland Daniel Sc Llama Gantt Judy &Jules Garel Barbara Gimbel Mildred &William L. Gladstone Susan 8c Arthur Goldstone Gomez Associates,Inc. Ellin &Baron J. Gordon Herb &Ann Granath Nicholas Gravante Jr. Richard Grubman & Caroline Mortimer Audrey & Martin D.Grass Carl Hammer.

Lynne & Harold Handler Marion Harris &Jerry Rosenfeld Mark Hayden John H.Healey & Paula J. Olsiewski Anne &John A.Herrmann Jr. Betty &Rodger Hess Peggy &Tom Hem Historical Society of Early American Decoration Arlene & Leonard Hochman Lesley &Joseph C. Hoopes Sandra &John C. Horvitz John D. Howard Elizabeth Howe Jill &Ken Iscol Ned Jalbert Robert D.Joffe Virginia Joffe Paige &Todd M.Johnson Cathy M.Kaplan Marcy & Michael Klein Barbara S. Klinger Elizabeth Kontulis Betty &Arthur Kowaloff Mary M.}Creaky Richard Thompson Lammert Elivshvth Larson Leigh Keno American Antiques Nadine 8c Peter Levy Robert A. Lewis Julie &Carl M.Lindberg Bruce Lisman Gloria Lonergan Monica Longworth Ninah & Michael Lynne Eric Maffei 8c Steven Trombetti Mario Buatta,Inc. Renwick Martin Mary Lowry Designs Chriss Mattsson William Mayer Patricia & Samuel D. McCullough Dianne &James Meltzer Lisa & Buxton S. Midyette Samuel C. Miller Theodore N. Miller Jean Mitchell Joel M.Mitnick & Marcia N.Hochman Donald R. Mullen Jr. David Nazarian Ronnie Newman Linda Norris Olde Hope Antiques Parachute Properties Judith K.Pames Elbert H.Parsons Jr. Margaret Parsons Geoffrey Paul Joan Pearlman Betty Pecore Ruth & Leonard Perfido George 8c Cynthia J. Petrow Janet S. Petry & Angie Mills Marianne & Robert Polak Jay Potter Jessica Prince

DONORS

Attention Owners of Works by Raccoon Creek Antiques Signa Read Irene Reichert Paull Reiferson &Julie E. Spivack Judson P Reis Richard Mishaan Design Betty Ring RJG Antiques Robert Couturier, Inc. Joanna &Daniel Rose Andrea Rutherford Samuel Herrup Antiques Sheri Sandler Nancy & Henry B. Schacht Linda & Donald Schapiro Donna & Herbert Schinderman Anne &Alan Schnitzer David Schorsch Sue Ann &Albert Schuck Tess &Thomas F. Schutte Cipora 0.& Philip C. Schwartz Anna Marie & Robert Shapiro Jean & Frederic Sharf Susan Sheehan Hardwick Simmons Susan &Joel Simon Norman & Helen Slonalcer Josephine Smart Dolores & Stephen Smith Helen & R. Scudder Smith

Matthew Patrick Smyth & Rachel Etc Jennifer &Jonathan Allan Soros The Splendid Peasant Nikki B. Springer Howard S. Stein Elizabeth A. Stern Maryann Sudo Barbara J. Tamerin Leonia Van den Heuvel Sue & George P. Viener Stephen Walrod Alan Wanzenberg Jane & Philip Waterman Jr. Wayne Pratt Antiques Jessica M.Weber &Alan Peckolick Pat& Donald Weeden Giulia &Marc Weisman Tracy &Marc Whitehead John &J. Evelyn Yoder Malcah Zeldis Susan & Donald Zuckert

PURVIS YOUNG The Purvis Young Catalogue Raisonne committee has started its research for the publication of the first catalogue of Young's work.

Owners of paintings, drawings, assemblages and watercolors are urged to submit their work for consideration. Upon review, Certificates of Authentication will be issued.

For further information please contact: The Purvis Young Catalogue Raisonne All correspondence: Purvis Young Studio P.O. Box 610755 N. Miami, FL 33261

Donations In Kind Joan & Darwin Bahm Barbara Lovenheim The Magazine Group

To Contact Purvis Young Personally: 1753 N.E. 2nd Ave. Miami, FL 33132 (305) 785-8833

Early 1980s Mose Tolliver

Extensive online gallery

Also announcing: Purvis Young Studio Show Dec. 1st, 2006 - Jan. 26,2007 Miami,FL

AMERICUS CONTEMPORARIES brings together young folk art enthusiasts for a variety of engaging activities and events. Info: 212. 977. 7170, ext. 32f) UNTITLED(Marie with Flowers in Hair, Cropped at Bust)/ Eugene Von Bruenchenhein (1910-1983)/ Milwaukee / n.d./ hand-colored gelatin silver print /7 x / American Folk Art Museum, gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 200123.5

AMERICAN

MUSEUM

YARD DOG FOLK ART 1510 S. CONGRESS AVE. AUSTIN, TX 78704 512.912.1613 GALLERY@YARDDOG.COM

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Cqale.rie Bonkeur ...Specializing in Self-taught, Outsider & International Folk Art since 1980

Outsider Art Fair Booth 29 10046 Conway Road St. Louis, MO,63124 gbonheur@aol.com

By Appointment only: Laurie Carmody Ahner (314) 993-9851

Mary Whitfield - Hot Biscuits -10" x 8" Watercolor and gouache on paper

INDEX

TO

ADVERTISERS

ACA Galleries Allan Katz Americana American Folk American Primitive Gallery The Ames Gallery Anne Bourassa Artisan Gallery Authentic Designs Berenberg Gallery Beverly Kaye Carl Hammer Gallery Christie's Daniel Aubry Gallery David Cook Galleries David Wheatcroft Antiques Fisher Heritage Fleisher/011man Gallery Galerie Bonheur The Gallery at HAI The Gallery on Greene Garde Rail Gallery Giampietro Gilley's Gallery GoggleWorks Center for the Arts Halliday House Antiques

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w.GalerieBonheur.com

41 11 110 21 33 79 84 108 107 103 24 22 105 27 2-3 45 14 112 42 101 77 8,25 34 34 35

Harvey Art &Antiques The Herrs Hill Gallery Historical Society of Early American Decoration Intuit:The Center for Intuitive and

19 26 17 101

110 Back Cover 16 7 23 29 78, 103 97 42 Kerr Gallery 109 Leah Gordon 4 Manko American Folk Art 76 Marcia Weber/Art Objects 84 Mark A.Perry 106 Mary Michael Shelley 18 M.Finkel & Daughter 13 Nathan Liverant and Son Antiques Inside Back Cover Northeast Auctions 1 Olde Hope Antiques,Inc. 104 Folk Art Oliver's Southern

Outsider Art Jackie Radwin Jan Whitlock Textiles &Interiors Jeffrey Tillou Antiques Joan R. Brownstein Art &Antiques John Michael Kohler Arts Center John Randall Nelson Kentucky Folk Art Center

76 Orange Hill 39 Outsider Folk Art Gallery 99 The Philadelphia Antiques Show 103 Princeton Architectural Press 106 Pure Vision Arts 43,111 Purvis Young Studio 5 Raccoon Creek Antiques,LLC 96 Vision Raw Inside Front Cover,25 Ricco/Maresca 107 Ridge Art 104 Ridgefield Guild of Artists 32 Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery 108 Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery Sanford L.Smith & Associates/ 92 Outsider Art Fair 45 Sidney Gecker American Folk Art 20 Skinner 37 Slotin Folk Art Auction 26 Stephen O'Brien Jr. Fine Arts,LLC 85 Stephen T Anderson Ltd. 89 Sunham Home Fashions 6 Trotta-Bono 109 Vintage Fashion and Textile Show 31 Yale University Press 111 Yard Dog Folk Art

NORTHEAST AUCTIONS

by RONALD BOURGEAULT, LLC

Steam Locomotive and Tender Weathervane.

Circa 1882.

Sold for $1,216,000.00 at the Egan Collection Auction in August 2006.

93 Pleasant Street Portsmouth, NH 03801 603.433.8400 www.northeastauctions.com NH license # 2109.

AWL

JACKIE RADWIN Specializing in American Painted Furniture and Folk Art â&#x20AC;&#x201D;rre.

RARE PICTORIAL EMBROIDERY. SILK AND PAINT ON SILK. Attributed to the Misses Martin school, Portland Maine, c.1817. (See GIRLHOOD EMBROIDERY by Betty Ring, fig 292).

111/2' x 14 3/4" site. 17" x 20" framed.

San Antonio, Texas Tel: 210.824.7711

By appointment

Fax: 210.930.5452 Web site: www.jackieradwin.com

E-mail: jr@onr.com