American Folk Art - part 1

1800s Shadow Box Depicting a Bearded Man Reading
13.3 x 13.3 x 4.4 cm

This is a beginning major series on American Folk Art featuring 21 postings. Folk Art encompasses art produced by artists and ordinary folk with little or no training in the arts, and is traditionally utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic.

The period I’m covering is the C18th and C19th and includes a lot of paintings (much of the painted folk art was commissioned portraits of family members from rural artists), Scrimshaw (the sailors’ art of engraving on ivory from whales’ teeth etc.), Samplers, Quilts and Coverlets, Memorials, and the decorative works on paper by Scriveners (Rural Certificates and Frakturs).

Given the dates, this means that a number of the artists were not born in America but were immigrants from Europe coming to the New World in search of a fresh start and a better life.

I do believe that this may be the biggest collection of Folk Art to be found in one place online (over 1100 objects) – my research has come a great variety of sources.

1890s c Late Advertising Sign
wood with white, blue and black paint 118.1 x 51.4 cm

I’m beginning with a bit of an overview of Folk Art, looking at a variety of objects and techniques, many from un-named artists. Well-known Folk painters like Ammi Phillips (1788-1865) and Erastus Salisbury Field (1805-1900) will feature in their own posts later in the series.

This is part 1 of a 21-part post on American Folk Art:

1720-30c ( Unknown artist ) New London, Connecticut

1720-30c ( Unknown artist ) New London, Connecticut

1800c ( unknown artist ) inscribed "A Mother at the Grave of her Child."
watercolour and ink on paper 22.9 x 17.8 cm

1800s A Theorem of Flowers, Fruit, and a Moth
paint on velvet 45.9 x 65.4 cm

1800s early Silhouette of a Gentleman in a Masonic Reverse-painted Glass Mat
14.9 x 12.7 cm

late-1800s Sheet Iron Silhouette Rooster Weathervane
marked "LWSM 1771"
39.7 x 52.4 cm

mid-1800s Wisconsin Folk Art Painting
27.9 x 36.8 cm

1800s Portrait of Man at a Table with a Quill Pen and Letter
watercolour on paper 9.5 x 8.2 cm

1800s Still Life
watercolour 44.4 x 53.3 cm

1800s Theorem of Fruit in Glass Bowl
paint on velvet 53.3 x 42.5 cm

1800s Theorem of Seashells and Seaweed
paint on velvet 17.8 x 27.9 cm

1804 Birth Record "Anna B. Cochran Born July 6, 1804"
watercolour and ink on paper 21.6 x 15.9 cm

1810c Needlework Picture of a Family Outing
appliqued, solid, and printed cotton and silk shaped fabric segments stitched to a linen foundation with silk embroidered details 61.6 x 63.5 cm

1810c "Liberty" attributed to Sarah Wheeler
silk, watercolour and spangles on silk 48.3 x 41.9 cm

1810c Moses in the Bulrushes and Pharaoh's Daughter
by Misses Patten's School, Hartford, CT
silk, metallic thread, paint and sequins on silk 49.8 x 41.3 cm 

1816 Portrait of Mary Allen "Born January 1. 1765, Aged 51 Years."
 watercolour and ink on paperboard 25.4 x 20.3 cm

1818-22c Aurora
watercolour on silk, applied gold foil and paper label 63.2 x 71.1 cm
American Folk Art Museum, New York City

1820-30c ( Unknown artist ) Double Portrait of Two Children Wearing Red and Green Dresses Holding Grapes
oil on panel 107.9 x 96.5 cm

1820-40 Inscription: "Delia M. Francis"
pen and ink 21.6 x 26.7 cm

1820-40c ( Unknown artist ) Portrait of a Girl with a Hoop
oil on canvas mounted on board 77.2 x 64.1 cm

1820c The Angel Gabriel by R. Ryner
silk on silk 37.8 x 30.6 cm

1820c Portrait of a Young Lady
watercolour on heart-shaped board

1823c Miniature Family Record and Cut Paper Doll Composition
cut-out paper figure and ink on paper 14 x 12.1 cm

1825-30 ( Unknown artist ) Portrait of Susannah Wadhams
oil on panel 52.1 x 40.6 cm

1825-30c ( Unknown artsist ) Portrait of a Woman
graphite, ink and watercolour 13.3 x 11.1 cm

1825c ( Unknown artist ) The Red Lady
painted on paper 76.2 x 63.5 cm

1826c ( Unknown artist ) Portrait of John McClellan as a West Point Cadet
oil on canvas 82.5 x 97.8 cm

1830 ( Unknown artist ) Miniature Portrait
watercolour on paper 8.5 x 3.8 cm

1830 ( Unknown artist ) Miniature Portrait 
watercolour on paper 8.5 x 3.8 cm

1830-45c ( Unknown artist ) Portrait of a Young Boy with His Dog
oil on panel 108.6 x 82.5 cm

1830-45c ( unknown artist ) Portrait of a Young Girl Holding a Bouquet of Flowers and a Cat
oil on canvas & original frame 71.1 x 61 cm
Private Collection

1830c ( Unknown artist ) Basket of Fruit

1830c ( Unknown artist ) Over-mantle painting of a House
oil on wood

1830c ( Unknown artist ) Family Portrait
pastel on paper in period frame 66.7 x 47.6 cm

1830c ( Unknown artist ) Portrait of a Woman
oil on canvas with period frame 85.7 x 75.6 cm
Private Collection

1832 A View of Skeneatless Village by Fanny A. Coney
watercolour on paper 35.9 x 45.1 cm
American Folk Art Museum, New York City

1834c ( Unknown artist) Portrait of a Woman with a Cat

1835c (Unknown artist) Boy on a Stencilled Carpet
oil on canvas 111.1 x 74.3 cm
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Centre, Williamsburg, VA

1840c ( Unknown artist) Still Life

1840c ( Unknown artist ) Young Girl Wearing a Pink Dress
oil on canvas 94.6 x 124.5 cm

1840c ( Unknown artist ) Portrait of a Gentleman
watercolour and gouache on paper45.7 x 32.4 cm

1845c ( Unknown artist ) Portrait of Sisters on Sofa with Puppy
 oil on canvas 68.6 x 91.4 cm

1850c ( Unknown artist ) Girl in a Red Dress
oil on canvas 123.8 x 92.7 cm

1851 Wooden Sign "Six Milehouse by J, Miller"

1854c Portrait of Anna Elizabeth Dickinson Aged 12 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
oil on canvas 113 x 93.3 cm

1862 Carved and painted document box
25.4 cm wide x 13.3 cm high x 15.2 cm deep
Inscribed "J.W.L. 1862"

1862 Carved and painted document box 
25.4 cm wide x 13.3 cm high x 15.2 cm deep 
Inscribed "J.W.L. 1862"

1870s Whirligig Tavern Sign (Stamford, CT)
carved laminated wood 73.7 cm high

1875 ( Unknown artist ) Apple Creek, Ohio

n.d. ( Unknown artist ) Boy with a Rattle
101.6 x 76.2 cm