VERNACULAR & OUTSIDER ART
ONLINE ONLY
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
ONLINE ONLY
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
Neal Auction is pleased to present its second annual dedicated Vernacular & Outsider Art Auction. This sale assembles a broad selection of international art by self-taught, outsider and visionary artists, many of them from the American South, who created or continue to create bodies of work beyond the boundaries of the traditional art world. These artists transcend genres through vernacular visual expressions uniquely tied to their state of mind, culture and environment. The items offered in this sale are each part of original bodies of work inspired by the artists’ personal and emotional experiences, and yet they also convey universal themes of life with universal appeal. This auction provides a superb opportunity for established and new collectors to explore and embrace this flourishing market.
featuring:
Notable Winfred Rembert from The Anthony and Davida Artis Collection of African-American Fine Art
Important Works from The Doug and Cathy Gitter Collection
Haitian Art from the Estate of Angela Gross Folk, Bernardsville, NJ
Significant Private Collection of Outsider Art Collected from 1978 to Present Day, Birmingham, AL
Vernacular Art from the Estate of Professor James A. Levernier (1949-2021), Little Rock, AR.
Outsider and Haitian Art from an Extensive Alabama Collection
All lots are available for preview in our New Orleans Magazine Street gallery beginning Wednesday, February 22.
The Vernacular & Outsider Art Auction begins at 1:00 PM CST on February 28, 2023 on all three bidding platforms.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall poor condition.
Condition: Overall
condition.
Note: Mary Proctor’s faith has been the main driving force of her life and work. Even as a small child, young Mary was frequently found preaching to everybody around her. Following the tragic loss of her grandmother, Proctor turned to God for help and realized she was being instructed to paint. Her works are rooted in spiritual discovery and healing with Proctor’s vibrant figures pictured alongside insightful phrases inscribed throughout.
The lot offered here depicts a lone woman, finely dressed in vibrant red, appearing to jump for joy with outstretched limbs framing the lettering “Power Sister.” Whether this phrase is instructive or meant to define the painting’s subject is unclear and the lack of facial expression lends itself to its ambiguity. Nonetheless, her enthusiastic body language shines through. Proctor frequently signs her work as “Missionary Mary L. Proctor,” stating “I’m going to get a message out to broken women’s, a message to help and glorify them…so men can search their hearts, learn to respect us and treat us the right way.”
Ref.: Proctor, Mary. “Mary Proctor.” Souls Grown Deep. www.soulsgrowndeep.org. Accessed Jan 27, 2023.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
11. Mose Tolliver (American/Alabama, 19202006), “Fierce Self Portrait”, oil on panel, signed lower left, 24 1/4 in. x 17 1/2 in., unframed. [$500/700]
Condition: Overall good condition.
12. Mose Tolliver (American/Alabama, 1920-2006), “Diana Bird”, oil on panel, signed lower left, 18 5/8 in. x 24 in., unframed. [$500/700]
Condition: Overall good condition.
13. Mose Tolliver (American/Alabama, 1920-2006), “Beige Dog”, oil on panel, signed lower right, 3 1/2 in. x 17 3/8 in., unframed. [$400/600]
Condition: Overall good condition.
14. Mose Tolliver (American/Alabama, 1920-2006), “George Washington”, oil on panel, signed lower left, 25 3/4 in. x 24 1/2 in., unframed. [$600/800]
Condition: Overall good condition.
15. Mose Tolliver (American/ Alabama, 1920-2006), “Mermaid”, oil on panel, signed lower center, 19 5/8 in. x 14 5/8 in., unframed. [$500/700]
Condition: Overall good condition.
16. Mose Tolliver (American/Alabama, 1920-2006), “Lady from North Africa Looking for Food to Feed Her Children”, oil on panel, signed lower right, 32 in. x 16 in., unframed. [$500/700]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Note: Robyn “The Beaver” Beverland was born with cerebral palsy, diabetes and a rare genetic neurodegenerative disorder called Wolfram syndrome, which caused him to go blind in one eye and partially blind in the other. Since it was difficult for him to live independently, he spent his life in the house neighboring his parents who cared for him.
One day, his father bought him some brushes and house paint to use as a means of art therapy. Beverland, having found an outlet for his creative expression, executed a body of work whose joyful lightness and clarity can be seen in museums and galleries across the country. His most popular subjects were angels and magical cats and dogs, but he often painted friends and family as well, as in the lot here entitled “Portrait Grid.”
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
21.
Meeting”,
signed lower center, titled upper left, “Davis Gallery, Huntington, WV” stamp on backing board, “Davis Gallery, Huntington, WV” stamp, typed label and handwritten label with artist and title on backing paper, 14 in. x 17 in., framed, overall 21 in. x 23 in. x 1 in. [$300/500]
Provenance: Collection of Ramona and Millard Lampell; Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
[$300/500]
Provenance: Collection of Ramona and Millard Lampell; Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
[$300/500]
Provenance: Collection of Ramona and Millard Lampell; Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
18 7/8 in. x 20 5/8 in. x 1 3/8 in. [$300/500]
Provenance: Collection of Ramona and Millard Lampell; Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
25.
20th c., “Wyatt Earp Lamp”, mixed media and painted wood, unsigned, pencil-inscribed on wood plaque on base, h. 34 in., w. 8 in., d. 12 5/8 in. [$400/600]
Condition: Overall good condition.
1928-2010),
1999, acrylic and marker on canvas board, signed and dated lower right, inscribed en verso, 16 in. x 20 in., unframed. [$250/350]
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL. Condition: Overall fair condition.
signed lower right with “sun, moon, star”, 7 1/2 in. x 5 7/8 in., framed, overall 10 1/8 in. x 8 1/8 in. x 1/2 in. [$100/200]
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL. Condition: Overall fair condition.
28.
paint on paper, signed and dated on both sides, 26 in. x 16 1/4 in., double-sided frame, overall 32 3/4 in. x 23 1/4 in. x 3/4 in. [$700/1000]
Pink)”, 1993,
Provenance: Gilley’s Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA; Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL. Condition: Overall fair condition.
29. Henry Speller (American/Tennessee, 1900-1996), “Mrs. Street”, graphite, crayon and marker on paper, signed and titled en verso, 23 7/8 in. x 17 7/8 in., unframed. [$1500/2500]
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Provenance: Collection of Ramona and Millard Lampell; Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL. Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL. Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider
Birmingham, AL. Condition: Overall fair condition.
Note: Charley Kinney was born in Lewis County, Kentucky, and before 1912, his family had moved less than a mile to where he would spend the remainder of his life. He showed artistic interest at an early age, preferring to draw rather than study during his three or four years of schooling. Spending his entire life virtually in the same spot and living off the land, Kinney developed an intimate knowledge of the surrounding landscape and a keen connection to the natural environment of rural Appalachia. His work features the animals that inhabited the area alongside him, both real and imagined. Supernatural beasts or “haints” were often the subjects of Kinney’s art, fueled by his extraordinary imagination. Kinney’s painting flourished from the 1970s until his death, and his local critters, such as the owl offered here, are among his most resonating works. Ref.: “Charley Kinney (1906-1991).” Roots Up Gallery www.rootsupgallery.com. Accessed Jan. 31, 2023.
Provenance: Judith
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance:
36. Purvis Young (American/Florida, 1943-2010), “Figures and Horses”, oil on found sign, signed mid-left, 28 1/4 in. x 45 1/2 in., framed, overall 30 1/4 in. x 47 5/8 in. x 2 3/4 in. [$1200/1800]
Note: “Some folks don’t take me serious. They come to my place and want to talk about the bikes I got… If you don’t talk about my paintings, I don’t want to talk. God put me here to be an artist.” ~Purvis Young
Miami-born Purvis Young followed an untraditional path to discovering his creative talent. After a tumultuous childhood, Young landed in prison serving a sentence for armed robbery. It was there, when a guard handed him a sheet of paper and a pencil, that he discovered he enjoyed drawing. Inspired by a book illustrating the Chicago mural, “Wall of Respect,” which featured portraits of African American leaders, Young started piecing together his own mural in “Good Bread Alley” in Miami in the 1960s. It would be the first of several murals Young painted, many of which have since been disassembled or destroyed.
Young’s work centered around the struggles and hardships of his community - hardships which he himself experienced as a young boy. Young recognized that art could be an effective way of documenting and processing the injustices he witnessed in his daily life. Over time, he “developed his own vocabulary of recurring images. Locks spoke to the lifelong struggles of many poor people. Sharks symbolized barriers to the achievement of the American dream, especially for immigrants. Wild horses ‘running free’ equaled freedom finally realized.”
Wild horses in blended colors are featured in the lot offered here, where Young superimposed them on an undisturbed white background. The figures are composed in a jumble, but their recurring shapes construct a kind of harmony within the composition, yielding a painting which is as visually pleasing as it is meaningful.
Ref.: Turner, Elisa. “Purvis Young: ‘God Put Me Here to be An Artist.’” The Jitney. February 7, 2022. www.jitneybooks.com. Accessed Jan. 30, 2023. “Purvis Young.” Main Street Gallery www.mainstreetgallery.com. Accessed Jan. 30, 2023.
Provenance:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: Originally from Natchez, MS, Willie White eventually moved to New Orleans where he worked as a waiter then janitor and sign painter. In the early 1950s, inspired by the artists he saw in the French Quarter, he decided to try his hand at painting. White eventually developed his own iconography featuring a combination of organic forms like animals and plants as well as technology such as rocket ships and skyscrapers. By the early 1960s, White settled on his preferred medium of felt tip marker on poster board, only rarely using canvas when it was provided to him, as in the lot on offer here. This work is remarkable in its size, color and clarity. The composition is almost symmetrically laid out, with three trees vertically splitting the upper half of the canvas while the bottom half features the artist’s characteristic dinosaurs, plants and watermelons all rendered in vibrant technicolor hues.
Ref.: Yelen, Alice Rae. “Willie White.” 64 Parishes. Sept. 12, 2012. www.64parishes.org. Accessed Jan. 30, 2023.
40. Bernice Sims (American/Alabama, 1926-2014), “Sharecroppers...”, oil on canvas, signed lower left, handwritten label with title on stretcher, 15 in. x 30 in., framed, overall 16 1/4 in. x 31 1/4 in. x 1 1/2 in. [$1000/1500]
Provenance: The Doug and Cathy Gitter Collection.
41. Raymond Coins (American/North Carolina, 1904-1998), “Alligator”, carved stone, signed on underside, h. 5 1/2 in., w. 24 in., d. 3 1/2 in. [$3000/5000]
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance:
47. Clementine Hunter (American/Louisiana, 1886-1988), “Early Zinnias”, oil on paper, monogrammed lower center, inscribed “Clemence” lower right, 14 1/2 in. x 11 1/4 in., framed, overall 22 3/8 in. x 18 3/8 in. x 1 in.
[$5000/8000]
Provenance: The Doug and Cathy Gitter Collection. Note: This lot has been authenticated by renowned Clementine Hunter expert Tom Whitehead.
48. Clementine Hunter (American/Louisiana, 1886-1988), “Jesus, Joseph and Mary”, oil on board, monogrammed lower right, 10 in. x 12 1/4 in., framed, overall, 12 in. x 14 1/2 in. x 7/8 in.
[$2500/3500]
Provenance: The Doug and Cathy Gitter Collection. Note: This lot has been authenticated by renowned Clementine Hunter expert Tom Whitehead.
49. Clementine Hunter (American/ Louisiana, 1886-1988), “Big Chicken Pulling a Wagon with Flowers”, oil on canvas board, monogrammed lower right, 14 in. x 18 in., framed, overall 18 in. x 22 in. x 1 1/4 in. [$3000/5000]
Note: This lot has been authenticated by renowned Clementine Hunter expert Tom Whitehead.
50. Winfred Rembert (American/Georgia, 1945-2021), “Cuthbert Memory”, 1997, carved and hand-tooled leather mounted to board, unsigned, “Adelson Galleries” label with artist, title, date and inventory number “AGB4080” on backing board, 6 1/4 in. x 9 3/4 in., framed, overall 10 5/8 in. x 14 5/8 in. x 1 in.; accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Adelson Galleries. [$30000/50000]
Provenance: Collection of Lillian Rembert; Adelson Galleries, New York, NY; The Anthony and Davida Artis Collection of African-American Fine Art.
Note: Winfred Rembert’s deeply personal and visually striking art emerges from his experience growing up in the American South during the Jim Crow era and often celebrates his birthplace of Cuthbert, Georgia. Rembert survived a near-lynching and seven years in the Georgia prison system—experiences that he documented in his memoir, Chasing Me to My Grave, which was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 2022. After his release from prison and with encouragement from his wife, Rembert utilized leatherworking techniques that he learned from a fellow prisoner to create autobiographical artwork from cut, tooled and dyed leather. While some of his powerful pieces recall the harsh and tragic elements of his past in the South, Rembert’s art also depicts the joyous aspects of Black life in the 1950s— “the strong family and community bonds, the cultural vibrancy, and the many colorful characters that lifted the spirits of those who had little choice but to labor in the region’s cotton and peanut fields.” The work offered here, titled “Cuthbert Memory,” portrays those happier times in Cuthbert, as with a few simple, yet expertly rendered, lines and marks Rembert provides a feeling of community, dialogue and nostalgia—a memory and a story now forever captured on leather. Through Rembert’s conscious decision to leave the piece in its natural color, his ease with his craft shines, and his touch is clearly seen and intimately felt. One can viscerally grasp the toiling and hours needed to render and manipulate the leather and imagine the work in progress in the artist’s capable hands.
Ref.: “Acquisition: Winfred Rembert.” National Gallery of Art. July 8, 2022. www.nga.gov. Accessed Jan. 29, 2023. “Winfred Rembert.” Adelson Galleries. www. adelsongalleries.com. Accessed Jan. 29, 2023.
Note: Art world darling, Andrew LaMar Hopkins, has experienced a well-deserved explosion of interest in his work in the past few years with profiles in The Magazine Antiques, Artforum, Architectural Digest, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He currently has a solo exhibition, Creole New Orleans, Honey!, on view at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans.
Hopkins’ works combine historical figures and backdrops with his signature bold palette and eye for exquisite detail. For the painting offered here, Hopkins utilized antique carte-de-visites of Free Woman of Color Louise Arsene Vitry Courcelle (1811-1867) and her granddaughter, Celine Claiborne (1859-1950), who is shown with her hoop and stick, as his inspiration. The sitters are placed within the parlor of the Maison Vitry, which was built in 1855 by Louise Vitry’s white lover Achille Barthelmy Courcelle with whom she lived, though they could not marry at the time due to miscegenation laws. After the dissolution of their arrangement, Achille sued to secure the rights to the property which he had put in Vitry’s name. Ultimately, he lost, and Louise retained ownership of the house, which remains standing today. Hopkins showcases the luxurious details of the parlor from the gilt cornices above the windows which match the monumental gilt frame of the mirror above the hearth to the red velvet armchair and settee which anchor the foreground. In his eyes and through his skilled hands, these historical figures are brought to life once more and their stories shared with future generations.
Ref.: “Maison Vitry History.” Maison Vitry. www.maisonvitry.com. Accessed Jan. 30, 2023.
Condition:
and initialed lower left, both signed and inscribed en verso, each 8 in. x 10 in., unframed. (2 pcs.) [$500/700]
Condition: Overall good condition.
[$500/700]
Condition: Overall good condition.
verso, 12 in. x 9 in., unframed. (3 pcs.) [$700/1000]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance:
Provenance:
Condition:
Provenance:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance:
Provenance:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance:
Provenance:
Provenance:
Condition:
Provenance:
Provenance: Private Collection of
Birmingham, AL. Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance:
Provenance: The
and Cathy
Collection. Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance:
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Note: Merle Locke is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and grew up in the Pine Ridge Reservation in the southwestern part of South Dakota. He uses traditional imagery to tell the tale of his ancestors and continue the storytelling customs of his community. He typically works in Ledger Art, which emerged in the 1860s in the Great Plains region. Originally, painted buffalo hides were the preferred media, but as more occupiers settled into the surrounding territories, they brought ledger books filled with paper. These books became the popular vehicle of communal drawing with each one containing the shared works of several different artists and authors. The drawings often featured images from battle exploits and daily minutia within the tribe.
Locke’s body of work builds on the traditions of Ledger Art, and in the work offered here, Locke overlays an image of a warrior galloping on a horse on a piece of antique ledger paper. Surrounding him are two dragonflies whose skewed scale lend a mystical quality to the composition. For Locke, dragonflies signify hope and prosperity. “Historically, when warriors went into battle they were surrounded by dragonflies. The warriors would try to move like the dragonfly, so that they would be impossible to shoot.”
Ref.: “Merle Locke, Oglala Lakota Artist.” Seven Council Fires Native Art. www.severfiresart.com. Accessed Jan. 30, 2023.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
[$700/1000]
Provenance:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance: Brunk Auctions, Asheville, NC, July 15, 2022, lot 826.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance: Brunk Auctions, Asheville, NC, July 15, 2022,
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance: Brunk Auctions,
15,
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance:
Provenance:
Provenance:
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider
Overall good condition.
Provenance:
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: Joe Wrenn was raised and continues to work in Tallahatchie County outside of Charleston, Mississippi. His first solo exhibition was hosted by the Charleston Arts and Realization Effort and followed by numerous sold out and highly attended shows throughout the state. His paintings are colorful illustrations of his life and rural
surroundings. In the work offered here, Wrenn depicts a landscape of Oxford, Mississippi in 1945 in a vibrant palette and with a strong attention to detail. The layered composition merges the historical past with current day while the added gravel in the surface of the roadway and widely varying styles of mark-making provide textural and dynamic components. The artist’s characteristic painted frame identifies and contains the scene which serves as a particularly strong example of
Condition: Overall good condition.
105.
Condition:
106. Helen Pickle (American/Mississippi, 1914-2002), “Late, Late Christmas Eve Shopping”, 1989 and “My Grandson’s First Christmas”, 1988, 2 acrylics on canvas board, one signed and dated lower right, one signed lower right, both signed, titled, dated and inscribed en verso, each 8 in. x 10 in., both unframed. (2 pcs.) [$400/600] Condition: Overall fair condition.
Note: Helen Pickle was a self-taught artist from Aberdeen, Mississippi who began painting around the age of sixty after surviving a stroke that left her partially paralyzed. Following her illness, Helen and her husband Reuban Pickle faced a difficult transition, not only having to adapt to her new disability but also the death of their only son a few years prior. They closed their old dry-cleaning business and retreated in isolation.
One day a friend encouraged Helen to paint with a set of acrylic paints, and within a couple of years Pickle developed her own aesthetic which garnered local interest. She became known for her “odd little scenes,” depicting open spaces dotted with small figures and furniture in disjointed perspectives. The interior Christmas scene in the lot here exemplifies her distinct style, with its crooked windows and mantle and tiny children in chairs scattered on the floor and unevenly crowded around the dinner table. The quiet sentimentality of her work is present in this piece, a bittersweet consideration of family and celebration.
Ref.: Fleming, Anne. “Aberdeen’s Helen Pickle to show her happy paintings at Lyon.” The Clarksdale Press Register. Sept 04, 1975. www.newspapers.com. Accessed Jan. 30, 2023.
Condition: Overall fair to poor condition.
108. Elayne Goodman (American/Mississippi, b. 1940), “Flower Button Tree”, painted buttons sewn on felt form, signed on base, h. 15 1/4 in., dia. 7 1/4 in., wood base, overall h. 18 1/4 in. [$200/300] Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: Elayne Goodman was in her forties when she found herself depleted from working as a nurse and took a leave of absence which ended up being permanent. Growing up on a generations-old family farm, Goodman had access to a plethora of found materials to work with.
She approaches her work with intuition and playfulness, buying items at flea markets that resonate with her and only working on pieces that speak to her in the moment. The lot offered here is an emblematic example of her multimedia sculptures, and it delightfully highlights the usage of one of her favorite materials: buttons. Here they serve as the ornaments of a Christmas tree, each one carefully painted in Goodman’s signature dot work.
Ref.: Swoope, Jan. “Elayne, going strong: The ‘doctor of dots’ is at it again.” The Dispatch. June 4, 2020. www.cdispatch.com. Accessed Jan 31, 2023.
10 1/2 in., d. 8 1/2 in. [$200/300]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham,
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: Saul Haymond, Sr. has been documenting life in the community of Pickens, Mississippi in Holmes County for over forty years. Born in 1947 on a plantation near Ebenezer, Haymond’s first exposure to painting and the art world came through a mail order book featuring the paintings of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. He began copying the Old Masters, tracing them on the ground in the dirt and later progressing to watercolors and oils. Much of Haymond’s work depicts scenes from his own life and those of his neighbors and friends. Some of his favorite topics
include former homes, local stores, workers picking cotton and landscapes of the places where he used to live and work. Using memories, photographs and stories of the past, he creates paintings that depict scenes in the history of the community or within local families. In the work offered here, Haymond presents an interior panorama of a farm cabin with hints of a sweeping landscape and rising sun in the distance through the doorway. On a skewed perspective and cropped as though through the lens of a camera, the composition draws the viewer into the room alongside the figures engaged in various labors. The details of the domestic scene are presented with care and show a pride of place even within the humble surroundings. Haymond began receiving greater recognition in the 1990s, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Mississippi Arts Commission. His work has been exhibited outside of the state, including an exhibition at the Atelier A/E Gallery in New York, and he was featured in the Mississippi Museum of Art’s 1999 Mississippi Invitational. Ref.: “Saul Haymond (b. 1947).” The Mississippi Encyclopedia. www.mississippiencyclopedia.org. Accessed Jan. 29, 2023.
5/8 in. x 26 5/8 in. x 1 1/2 in. [$300/500]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: Chris Clark was a masonry worker until he started losing his sight due to diabetes and was no longer able to work. As a result, he began painting and learned how to quilt from his grandmother, incorporating this skill into his artistic practice. Clark worked in various media including quilted paintings, mixed media assemblages and painted furniture.
“Rocking Chair with Figures” offered here showcases Clark’s fervent imaginative visions, with saturated contrasting patterns framing a scene of joyful school children. This vibrant masterwork serves as a marvelous marriage between function and craft.
Ref.: “Chris Clark.” Mike’s Art Truck. www.mikesarttruck.com. Accessed Jan. 30, 2023.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance:
Overall poor condition, stabilized vertical
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition:
122.
signed lower right, signed, titled and dated en verso, 6 in. x 7 in., framed, overall 9 7/8 in. x 11 3/4 in. x 2 in.; and “Appearance of Opinion”, 1987, oil on canvas board, signed lower right, signed, titled and dated on backing paper, 3 in. x 15 in., framed, overall 4 1/2 in. x 16 1/2 in. x 1 in. (2 pcs.) [$400/600]
Condition: Overall good condition.
[$700/1000]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
[$500/700]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: “I enjoy preaching and I enjoy painting - That’s why I keep at it. All my works have a message. If art don’t tell me anything its not art.” ~ B.F. Perkins
Brother Benjamin Franklin Perkins, or “B.F.” Perkins, spent a large part of his life evangelizing through his artwork. With a penchant for traveling the world, the young Perkins joined the merchant marines and eventually became a U.S. Marine on a security detail guarding the White House. He had a mysterious career with the government, and while on a mission abroad, he converted to Christianity. He then dedicated himself to preaching at tent revivals throughout rural Virginia and established himself as a preacher. His wife divorced him in 1965, and shortly thereafter Perkins returned to Alabama, determining to build and curate his own church. It was through this construction that Perkins honed his artistic voice by melding Christianity and patriotism. His work frequently references the American flag, church, and the Statue of Liberty, which is the subject of the lot offered here. He depicts Lady Liberty in shades of gold, representing the original hue of the copper statue before she patinated. Perkins communicates his belief in the American dream by draping inscriptions down the form, referencing the pursuit of happiness and education as well as his affinity for military and politics.
Ref.: Weber, Marcia. “B.F. Perkins.” Marcia Weber Art Objects. www.marciaweberartobjects.com. Accessed Jan 31, 2023.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: Lifelong Ruston resident and restauranter Sarah Albritton was born in 1936 but started painting later in life when she was 57 years old. Her work reflects themes of poverty, hunger, religion and the racism which she experienced as a child. Often painting from a birds-eye perspective, Albritton frequently depicts a young girl in a blue skirt in interiors and landscapes with angels often watching from above. The artist developed a technique of building impasto with cigarette tobacco or modeling clay so that elements of her paintings appear to bubble off the canvas. The work offered here is a whimsical portrayal of the girl in a blue skirt perched on a crate and theatrically reaching with the help of a cane for a piece of fruit. The composition is delightfully reminiscent of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Ref.: Roach, Susan. “Sarah Albritton.” 64 Parishes. Sept. 11, 2012. www.64parishes.org. Accessed Jan. 27, 2023.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: Folk artist Woodie Long was born in Plant City, Florida. He was one of twelve children of a migrant farmer, and his childhood was spent helping in the fields in lieu of attending school. As an adult, he became a housepainter which was his occupation for twenty-five years until his doctor advised him to quit in 1987 due to health problems arising from his occupation. The urge to paint never left him, and one day he decided to try his hand at painting on paper using supplies from a community art class his wife had attended. Long’s desire was to capture the happier memories from his childhood to pass on to his children, and soon art became Long’s passion.
The work offered in this lot features a collage of layered memories. Painted wood blocks, each with a different scene, are affixed to a painted panel. Each memory is combined into one work creating a bright, sentimental and deeply personal piece.
Ref.: Weber, Marcia. “Woodie Long.” Marcia Weber Art Objects www.marciaweberartobjects.com. Accessed Jan. 27, 2023.
Condition: Overall good condition.
139. Shine and William “Leroy’s Boys” Sonnier (American/Louisiana, 20th c.), “We Are All Passing Through Eternity”, 2007, mixed media on metal, signed and dated lower right, inscribed and numerous sketches en verso, 12 in. x 36 in., unframed. [$200/300]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
140. Juanita Leonard (American/Louisiana, 20th c.), “Cotton Picking”, acrylic on masonite, signed mid-right, 16 1/8 in. x 48 1/8 in., unframed. [$300/500]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Note: “My painting is a gift from God, I can’t very well draw, so I don’t sketch anything out and try to stay in the lines. I just put gobs of paint on there. I never know what a painting is going to look like until after it’s done.” ~Juanita Leonard
Leonard began painting at the age of seventeen when she decorated her mother’s car. Rather than punishing the young artist, her mother noticed the quality of her work and allowed her to paint murals on the interior and exteior of their house, covering every available surface. Despite the early encouragement, Juanita opted not to pursue a career in the arts. Instead, after a calling from God, she became a preacher. She built her own church out of a mobile home and covered it in her murals. Eventually with the encouragement from her friends, she decided to recommit herself to her art and try to sell it professionally.
The painting offered here is one of many scenes focused on farm life, specifically cotton picking. The cotton picking scenes she paints are all in tribute to her mother who picked cotton her entire life to provide for her family. The memory of her mother’s hard work and the conditions in which the family grew up have been a continuing source of inspiration in Leornard’s work.
Ref.: Day, Margaret. “The Inspired Art of Juanita Leonard.” The Folk Art Society of America. www.folkart.org. Accessed Jan. 29, 2023. Scruton, Fred. “Juanita Leornard - Part 1.” Fred Scruton Photography. www.fredscruton.com. Accessed Jan. 29, 2023.
Condition: Overall good condition.
142.
(American/Louisiana, b. 1952), “Bird Clock”, pen and ink on paper folder, signed lower right, 18 3/8 in. x 11 3/4 in.; and “Fantasy Building”, mixed media on manila envelope, signed lower right, 15 1/2 in. x 12 in., unframed. (2 pcs.) [$200/300]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: When Welmon Sharlhorne was eighteen years old, he was sentenced to twenty-two years at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for non-violent crimes. While serving his sentence, Sharlhorne turned to creative outlets to pass the time and discovered a sense of purpose. “When I did my time, I had time to see how art could make me free.” He used tongue depressors to trace precise lines onto envelopes provided by prison guards to inmates for the purpose of contacting legal counsel. In creating these ingenious, surreal compositions solely with the materials available to him, Sharlhorne’s work serves as a reminder of the forgotten humanity of the imprisoned population. The mythical architecture and animals depicted in the works offered here each feature a clockface, a motif used to reference the lifetimes lost to the harsh prison system. Despite having found his gift in art, Sharlhorne was met with harder times upon his release from prison. He faced homelessness and narrowly survived the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In the subsequent years, Sharlhorne secured stable housing in New Orleans and to this day continues to produce new works.
Ref.: Weber, Marcia. “Welmon Sharlhorne.” Marcia Weber Art Objects www.marciaweberartobjects.com. Accessed Jan. 27, 2023.
Condition: Overall good condition.
c.), “Camp on the River (Back)” and “Camp on the River (Front)”, 1998, acrylic on bas relief cypress board, each scene signed and dated lower right and titled lower left, artist information label with signature and personalized note attached en verso, each scene 7 in. x 9 in., together on one board, framed, overall 20 1/4 in. x 13 5/8 in. x 1 1/2 in. [$200/300]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition:
Condition:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition:
Note: Born in the small unincorporated town of Rabbitville, Georgia, Reuben Aaron Miller didn’t begin his artistic journey until the age of 65. Due early hardships, namely the death of his father before his birth, Miller had to start working at the young age of twelve. He found employment at a local cotton mill and supplemented his income with side jobs and later became ordained as a Baptist minister. Miller remained at the mill for 40 years only retiring because of failing eyesight caused by glaucoma. With a newfound abundance of time on his hands, Miller decided that he needed something to fill his days so he began creating whirligigs—the toys he used to make in his youth—out of old gutters he flattened out, filling his property with the colorful spinning sculptures.
Condition: Overall fair to poor condition.
In 1984, rock band R.E.M. featured Miller’s property and artwork in their music video “Pretty Persuasion” and the short film “Left of Reckoning.” With the widespread exposure, his work was thrust into the spotlight of the art world, and while it was the whirligigs that caught the attention of R.E.M.’s lead singer, Michael Stipe, some of his most beloved works are the figural cutouts like those included in the group offered here. These pieces feature profiles of people and characters adorned in mostly primary colors. Included in this lot are “Elvis,” “Devil” and “Blow Oskar,” a depiction of his cousin who would wildly blow a horn every time Miller arrived on his property. Ref.: “R.A. Miller”. Roots Up Gallery. www.rootsupgallery.com. Accessed Jan. 29, 2023. Borum, Sheila and George. “R.A. Miller”. Possum County Folk Art. www. possumcounty.com. Accessed Jan. 29, 2023.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair to good condition.
Provenance: One from Gilley’s Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA; Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Exh.: “Outside the Mainstream: Folk Art in Our Time”, High
of Art, Atlanta, GA, 1988.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Note: Willie Jinks was born into a large sharecropper family in Locust Grove, Georgia. He eventually moved to Atlanta as a young man, where he began working for the department of sanitation. Jinks salvaged and collected objects and junk found on the job to later turn into art. In Jinks’ own words: “People throws this stuff out. I get in my van and go collect it and bring it back to the Hobby Shop.” The “Hobby Shop” was a small shed in his backyard that eventually overflowed to encompass his home and yard. His “Hoperman” (“Hobbyman”) character, who appears in much of his work and writing was most likely a reference to himself, “The Hobby Man.” After retiring in his early seventies, Jinks created many whirligigs for his front yard and also made a large number of paintings. His subjects included his memories of life growing up in rural Georgia, animals, fantastical creatures and recreations of jokes or stories he had heard. He painted on found doors, sheet metal, plywood, windows, paper and more. Jink’s fascination with animals, nature and mechanical things is clearly evident in his work, and he frequently added his own nearly cryptic writings on most of his creations, seen in the delightful “Jey Bird” offered here.
Ref.: “Willie Jinks: Bio.” Shrine. www.shrine.nyc. Accessed Jan. 29, 2023.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
161. Willie Jinks
Kit Hie”, mixed media on loose leaf paper mounted to foamcore, signed lower center, 10 in. x 8 in., framed, overall 11 1/4 in. x 9 1/4 in. x 1 3/8 in.
[$150/250]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
162. Richard Burnside (American/ South Carolina, 1944-2020),
and “Turtle”, 2 mixed medias on particle board, signed lower left and center respectively, 10 5/8 in. x 16 1/4 in. and 9 in. x 12 1/4 in., both unframed. (2 pcs.) [$400/600]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Note: Richard Burnside was born in Baltimore, Maryland but spent most of his life in the South, particularly Pendleton, South Carolina where he could be found in the town square selling his paintings. He would paint queens, kings and fanciful animals on almost any material he could find. He claimed his works were inspired by dreams of ancient times, and he painted his figures in bright colors with heavy black outlines surrounded by dots of color sometimes using materials like pinecones for animal teeth and claws. “Dog” and “Turtle” offered in this lot typify Burnside’s fantastic characters that draw on his imaginative dreams of a primal world.
163.
monogrammed
signed, dated and artist biography en verso, copies of articles about artist attached en verso, titled on frame, 24 1/4 in. x 28 1/2 in., artist frame, overall 27 in. x 31 3/4 in. x 1 5/8 in. [$200/300]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
165.
Condition: Overall poor condition.
166. Chris Roberts-Antieau (American, b. 1950), “Stargazing Rabbits”, 1986, embroidered fabric appliques mounted to board, signed and dated lower right on mount, 25 in. x 23 in., framed, overall 25 1/4 in. x 23 1/4 in. x 1 1/4 in. [$300/400]
Condition: Overall good condition.
167. Ernest “Popeye” Reed (American, 1919-1985), “Owl with Two Owlets”, 1995, carved sandstone, signature, date and “OHA” incised on base, h. 8 1/2 in., w. 4 in., d. 6 1/2 in. [$1000/1500]
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
168. Mike Frolich (American/Louisiana, 1922-1997), “Bayou Landscape”, 1970, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, 20 in. x 36 in., framed, overall 25 1/4 in. x 41 1/4 in. x 2 1/4 in.
[$400/600]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Note: Mike Frolich is a New Orleans artist that locals have compared to the likes of Michelangelo and Hieronymus Bosch. Few details are confirmed about Frolich’s early life, but legend says that in his adulthood he was unable to continue working in his family’s marine salvage business due to injuries sustained in WWII and medical complications from deep sea diving. After befriending the owner of Saturn Bar, Frolich volunteered to decorate the bar in murals. He began with a celestial ceiling mural in hopes of
creating “the art museum for the kids of the 9th Ward.” Though he was most well-known for his public murals, Frolich also created easel-sized works on canvas, such as the rare lot offered here. This swamp scene is remarkably serene with a naturalistic color palette and only hints of Frolich’s signature exaggerative hues in the water’s reflections. Ref.: MacCash, Doug. “New Orleans Museum of Art Gives a Rare Glimpse at the Work of Michael Frolich.” Times-Picayune. Apr. 2, 2010. www.nola.com. Accessed Jan. 31, 2023; “Lake St. Catherine, Louisiana by Mike Frolich (1922-1997).” Intuitive Eye. www.intuitiveeye.org. Accessed Jan. 31, 2023.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance:
Provenance:
Provenance:
Condition:
Provenance: Private Collection of
Provenance: Private Collection of Outsider Art, Birmingham, AL.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
1/2 in. x 35 1/2 in. x 2 in. [$300/500]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
shaped
signed and titled lower center, 15 5/8 in. x 12 5/8 in.; together with “Snakes”, 4 oils on metal, each inscribed, 2 3/8 in. x 22 1/2 in. to 3 3/4 in. x 27 in. (5 pcs.) [$1200/1800]
Note: When suffering from depression after being laid off from his job at Halstead Metal Products, artist Benny Carter picked up a brush and began painting. He was heavily influenced by the September 11 attacks and often painted elaborate cityscapes of New York City, some diminutive in size. Carter filled his home and estate in Mayodan, North Carolina with his own paintings and assemblages which were heavily influenced by the work of fellow folk artist, R. A. Miller. The snakes and bust in the lot offered here are reminiscent of Miller’s cutouts but retain the characteristic flair of Carter’s own distinct style.
23 7/8 in., unframed. [$600/800]
Provenance: Brunk Auctions, Asheville, NC, July 15, 2022, lot 688.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
181.
1920-2006), “Self Portrait”, oil on panel, signed lower right, titled and inscribed en verso, 24 in. x 24 in., unframed. [$600/800]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
182. Mose Tolliver (American/Alabama, 1920-2006), “Watermelon”, oil on panel, signed lower left, 7 7/8 in. x 16 1/4 in., unframed. [$400/600]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition:
Condition:
Provenance:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance: Brunk Auctions, Asheville, NC, July 15, 2022,
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall poor condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall poor condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance:
condition.
5/8 in. x 16 in., unframed. (3 pcs.) [$250/350]
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance:
Overall fair condition.
Provenance:
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance: Estate of Angela Gross Folk, Bernardsville, NJ.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance: Estate
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance:
Condition:
Provenance: Estate of Angela Gross Folk,
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Provenance: Estate of Angela Gross
Condition: Overall fair condition.
NJ.
Provenance:
Provenance: Estate of
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Provenance:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition:
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition:
Condition: Overall poor condition.
Condition:
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition:
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall poor condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
Condition: Overall fair condition.
4 1/4 in., d. 7 in. and h. 11 1/2 in., w. 5 1/2 in., d. 8 1/4 in. [$200/300]
Condition: Overall good condition.
Condition: Overall good condition.
H
Sarah Albritton, 131-134
Eulogio Alonso, 229
American Folk Art School, 25, 82
Charles Anatole, 209
Chris Roberts-Antieau, 166
B
W. Bazile, 223
Robyn “The Beaver” Beverland, 18-20
Minnie Black, 169
Jean Baptiste Blanchard, 219
Sisson Blanchard, 205
Jean-Baptiste Bottex, 204
Seymour Etienne Bottex, 206, 213
Richard Burnside, 162
Bourmond Byron, 203, 216
C
Benny Carter, 179
Laurent Casimir, 220
Etienne Chavannes, 215
Chris Clark, 113-115
Peti Clements, 121, 122
Raymond Coins, 41
Angelica Delfina Vasquez Cruz, 231
D
Paul “The Baltimore Glassman” Darmafall, 178
Bruce “Dapper Bruce Lafitte” Davenport, Jr., 55-57
William Dawson, 63-65
Caeleb Dodd, 190-192
The Duke of Marlow, 120
E
Georg Dionysius Ehret (aft), 58
Walker Evans, 528-530
F
Tiburcio Soteno Fernandez, 232
Howard Finster, 97-99, 144-146
Roy Finster, 100
Folk Art School, 165
Kesnel Franklin, 221
Mike Frolich, 168
G
Ghanaian School, 195, 196
Sybil Gibson, 28
Elayne Goodman, 108, 109
Haitian School, 197-201, 224
Dilmus Hall, 21-24
Alyne Harris, 34, 35
Saul Haymond, Sr., 111, 112
Lonnie B. Holley, 118, 119
Andrew LaMar Hopkins, 51-53
Clementine Hunter, 46-49
J.M. Hutson, 164
J
Eugene Jean, 218
James Harold Jennings, 27
Willie Jinks, 158-161
Shields Landon “S.L.” Jones, 30, 31
K
Charley Kinney, 32, 33
L
Fritz Lamothe, 212
Nilo Lanzas, 163
Joseph Lembo, 177
Juanita Leonard, 4-6, 140, 141
Adam Leontus, 202
Joe Light, 76
Merle Locke, 77-81
Woodie Long, 135, 136
Charlie Lucas, 74
Arthur “A.H.” Ludy, 3 M
Florence Martinez, 208
Justin McCarthy, 69-71
Mexican Folk Art School, 233
Reuben Aaron Miller, 152-157 O
Professor Justice Ofori, 193
Saul Orteg, 236
Samuel Otu, 194
P
Anibal Rafael Palma, 225
Panduro Family, 230
Brother Benjamin Franklin “B.F.” Perkins, 123-125, 127, 128, 130
Helen Pickle, 105-107
Andre Pierre, 210
Jerome Polycarpe, 222
Mary Louise Proctor, 7-10
Lamont Alfred “Old Ironsides” Pry, 72, 73
R
Ernest “Popeye” Reed, 167
Winfred Rembert, 50
Ruth Robinson, 1, 2, 116, 117
Alix Roy, 207
S Charles Esperance Saul, 214
Jack Savitsky, 75
Roberto de la Selva (mnr), 228
Robert Seven, 62
Welmon Sharlhorne, 142
Bernice Sims, 40
Isaac Smith, 170
Mary Tillman Smith, 44, 45
Shine and William “Leroy’s Boys” Sonnier, 137-139
Henry Speller, 29
Oscar L. Spencer, 94-96
Jimmy Lee Sudduth, 58-61, 171-175
T
K. Theobo, 211
Annie Tolliver, 180
Mose Tolliver, 11-17, 83-91, 181-189
V
Gerard Valcin, 217 V
Jan Frans Van Dael (attr), 56
Jean Joseph Vaudechamp, 391
Mario Villa, 550
W
Henry Watson, 143
Carrie Webb, 176
Annie Wellborn, 26
Della Wells, 66, 67
Myrtice West, 126, 129
Willie White, 42, 43, 101, 102
“Chief” Philip LeRoy Willey, 92, 93
Ford William, 54
Luster Willis, 110
Joe Wrenn, 103, 104
Y
Purvis Young, 36-39, 147-151
Z
Manuel Zardain, 235
Malcah Zeldis, 68
MARCH 23 - Through Her Eyes: Women in Art - Online Auction
MARCH 30 - UNRESERVED @ Neal - Online Auction
APRIL 21 & 22 - Premier Collections: Art & Interiors - Live Auction
MAY 25 - UNRESERVED @ Neal - Online Auction
JUNE 15 - Premier Collections: American & English - Live Auction
JUNE 16 - Premier Collections: Global Collecting - Live Auction
JULY 20 - UNRESERVED @ Neal - Online Auction
SEPTEMBER 7 & 8 - Premier Collections: Art & Interiors - Live Auction
OCTOBER 19 - UNRESERVED @ Neal - Online Auction
NOVEMBER 16,17 & 18 - Louisiana Purchase Auction™ - Live Auction
DECEMBER 7 - Mid-Century, Modern, Contemporary Art & Design - Online Auction
JAN 25 & 26 - Premier Collections: Art & Interiors - Live Auction
* Bold denotes Live Auction. Dates may be subject to change.
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