We devote a great deal of time to finding the best in 19th C. American folk art. We avoid
what was created expressly to be folk art and focus on pieces fashioned as part of daily
life in the 1800s. Weathervanes, hooked rugs, toleware and gameboards were made as functional objects for the home. Family portraits, small watercolors, theorem and samplers decorated the walls. Trade signs, architectural carvings and decorated stoneware were intended to serve commercial purposes. We offer fine examples of each on this site.
Early New England Applique Table Rug
Table rugs turn up with some frequency. Appliqued table rugs very seldom. This is a remarkable example of the adaptation of mid-19th C. quilt motifs to the table rug form, rendered with energy and originality. Dating certainly from the second half of the 19th C., probably ca. 1850, and now mounted on an acid-free backing for display, this rug is cotton and wool on a wool ground, with a burlap backing. The heart-and-leaf wreath was a favorite of Pennsylvania quilters, and despite the fact that this rug was found in Massachusetts, it was probably made further south. Wear from use, corner fraying, period repairs. Colors are vivid and true. Rug is 33” x 22”. Mounted size is 36” x 25”. See Folk Art Underfoot, Joel and Kate Kopp, p. 229 for a later but related rug. $1,200
19th C. Primitive NE Landscape
Oil-on-canvas of a New England hillside farmstead by the shore of a lake. Quirky birdseye perspective in the manner of Caleb Fitzsimmons and Ferdinand Brader. Probably commissioned by the farm owner, paintings like this of private residences were popular in the last half of the 19th C. Outbuildings, like the small house by the shore, livestock, crops and neatly fenced pastures were all included to show affluence. That may be the proud farmer taking his ease against the fence. Found in New Hampshire, the painting is unsigned, unlined and in a period gilt frame. Very minor in-painting in the water. Sight size 17¾” x 26”. $1,550
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19th C. Ethan Allen Weathervane
Arguably, Ethan Allen was the greatest of the 19th C. Morgan race horses. He was the son of the almost equally famous Blackhawk, and probably more Ethan Allen weathervanes were made than of any other horse. But this Ethan Allen rises from that crowd to stand apart. At 25”L x 15”H he’s not the biggest, but his beautifully trim form may be the best. And his verdigris surface is certainly the best. Hammered sheet copper body, mane and tail; cast zinc head, with just vestiges of the original sizing and gilt. No breaks or repairs or bullet holes. Found in western New York State. Possibly by J.W. Fiske and Co., New York. $2,900
Fat Folky Ruddy Decoy
Extremely folky solid body Ruddy Decoy from the St. Lawrence River region. Great attitude, with a bright eye and alert position. Wing flashes may have been freshened, but otherwise all original. Lightly hit by shot. 12¾”L. Ca. 1910. Purchased from Dick McIntyre in 1981. This is a great bird.
$395
19th/20th C. Painted Barber Pole
44” tall floor-standing barber pole in crusty red, white and blue paint. Strong turnings, strong graphics, great surface. On a 20th C. base, possibly to replace one that deteriorated from moisture and exposure. Ex-John Schnall collection.
$2,650
Early 19th C. Reverse Painted Portrait
Extremely fine early 19th C. portrait of a young woman reverse painted on glass. Ca. 1815-1850. Wood-pinned lap jointed pine frame in original red paint with a mustard stripe on the inner edge to simulate a gilt liner. Original wooden backboard. Nice bubbly glass and virtually no deterioration in the paint. 7” x 9½” sight size. While many, perhaps most, of the 19th C. reverse-painted portraits are continental, this one is American, probably by the same artist who painted the portrait now in the Museum of American Folk Art, which is attributed to New England. See pages 58-59 in American Folk Art by William Ketchum.
$785
Maine Merganser Decoy
Ca. 1900 Maine Merganser with great form and surface. Early red breasted Merganser drake decoy. Interesting construction with the head attached to an upright neck and the neck inlet into the body Strong original paint in a striking pattern with areas of crazing. Old repair to the bill with retouch at that spot. 18”L. Maine, ca. 1900. From a New England collection. “American Sheldrake” written in
pencil on the bottom.
$1,850
Ca. 1880 Yellow Painted Gameboard
Ca. 1880 pine checkerboard in goldenrod yellow and alligatored black on a single span of wood. The back is chamfered down to a reeded applied rim secured with a combination of square nails and very early drawn wire nails. 20” x 17½” Probably New York State. This is a really good board.
$1,550
19th C. White Mountain Landscape
Beautifully done White Mountain school oil-on-canvas primitive landscape. With a horse and cows and sheep in the foreground and mountains distant in the background, this canvas has a serenity not unlike an Edward Hicks. Clearly part of the luminist tradition, a subtlety of technique that gives North Conway’s Intervale a striking velvety glow separates this landscape from the work of Cole, Champney and Kensett. Its use of color, if not perhaps so extravagant, suggests instead a kinship with Thomas Chambers’ later work. Although the canvas is unsigned, the “M.J. Whipple” stencil on the verso makes it likely that the painter was from the Boston area, and certain that the painting was done not later than 1870. In 1869 White Mountain artist Francis Seth Frost purchased the artist’s supply firm from M.J. Whipple and renamed it Frost and Adams. Unlined and in its original gilt frame, this small canvas has unusual impact. Sight size: 12” x 17”. Outside dimensions: 17½” x 22¼”. Ca. 1850-1870.
$3,250
19th C. Portrait of A Boy
Holding A Whip
Superb early 19th oil on canvas portrait of a young auburn haired boy holding a coach whip. The painting is unretouched and unrestored, on its original stretchers in a period gilt frame. In the early 19th C. the Pinckney family moved North from Charleston, SC and settled in Boston where they established connections with the Hilton family through marriage. The boy in this painting is said to be a member of that extended family and the ancestor of the man from whom this painting was obtained. A painting probably by the same hand and possibly of a sibling, was sold in New England in 2004. The subject was identified as Maria Augusta Richardson of Attleboro, MA.
$10,800
Newly Discovered
Joseph Hidley Landscape
Unique graphite landscape of the town of Saugerties, NY taken from across the Hudson River. Signed and dated in the lower right: “drawn by Joseph Hidley 1841 age 11.” Joseph Henry Hidley went on to become a major 19th C. folk artist whose works are part of the permanent collections of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Museum at Williamsburg, the Smithsonian and the Fenimore Museum. All of Hidley’s recorded work dates between 1850 and 1872 when he died. At 1841, this recently discovered graphite becomes the earliest known example of Joseph Hidley’s work. Graphite on wove paper. Overall, 13¾” x 16”. Sight size 10” x 12”.
$1,550
Missouri Folk Art Painted Panel
Painted one-piece wooden panel with breadboard framing in original polychrome paint. By an unknown mid-20th C. self-taught folk artist who obsessively and privately created a stunning variety of geometric paintings on found materials until her death in 2002. She never sold her work and a large cache of paintings was found in her small house in Scott County, MO by the company hired to dispose of her property. 20½” x 29”.
$875
Bronze Violin Trade Sign
Remarkable late 19th/early 20th C. trade sign in bronze. Probably for a violin maker in Boston, New York or Philadelphia, the three distinctly different schools of violin-making in 19th C. America. A perfectly cast replica of a violin and bow with bridge, pegs, f-holes and scrolled head. Heavily oxidized on all surfaces save the arched back, which would have faced the wall. Almost certainly had strings originally. Probably made between 1880 and 1910 during the resurgence of bronze’s popularity in America, this is the only bronze trade sign I’ve ever seen. 21½” L x 7½” W. Including the bow, 29”L. For a practicing violinist, this is would be Nirvana.
$3,675
Diminutive Painted Gameboard
Very cool 11” x 11” American gameboard in thin stock maple with original cream and black paint in a good gently crackled surface. Square nails. Professionally done repair to a section of one rim. Ca 1850-1880. Early gameboards in small sizes are very hard to find.
$1,295
Rare Early Pawnbroker’s Trade Sign
Wooden globes, amazingly without cracks or splits, suspended from a forged iron mount with the remains of black paint and topped by a ram’s horn flourish. Superb surface of gold gilt overlaid with age-crazed varnish that preserved the gilding. Height is 26”; width is 38”. Purchased from a New England dealer’s personal collection.
Ca. 1850-1865.
$4,550
Ca. 1860-1880 Brass-Mounted
Coconut Dipper
Interesting mid-19th C. sailor-made coconut dipper with riveted brass rim and unusual, although eminently logical, system of hammered brass strapping supports. Curved wooden handle, probably flame grain mahogany, cross-hatched carving on the handle and a hanger hole bored in the knob terminal. No breaks or repairs. Water tight.
$395
Early Two-Egg Buttocks Basket
Good miniature splint baskets are uncommon.
Good painted splint baskets are scarce. But good,
painted, miniature, splint baskets are genuinely rare—especially in a fully developed buttocks form. Probably made between 1880 and 1920, this is one of the best miniature baskets I’ve ever seen. Black ash splint, with one miniscule break, soft dry green paint, 22 ribs, very tightly woven. 2¾” to the rim, 4½” to the top of the handle, 4¼” wide and 5” long. The handle shows finger wear, each of the buttocks shows high point wear, and inside the basket an ancient stain at one end suggests that unlike most miniatures this basket saw practical use. It doesn’t get much better than this.
$2,200
19th C. Vinegar-Grained Bowl
Elegant footed poplar bowl with vinegar-grained seaweed paint. Dates from the second quarter of the 19th C. Crisp, clearly defined decoration. Old stable crack. It may have had a lid at one time, but probably not in this century. Great color and clarity.
$950
19th C. Paint-Decorated rocking Horse
Early painted rocking horse in excellent original surface. The decoration is freehand and the colors remain vivid.Square-nailed construction with a horsehair mane. Where most 19th C. rocking horses have a vertical aspect, at only 12"w x 14"h this less common form is lower to the ground (perhaps to make unhorsings less serious). Found in New England. Ca. 1860-1875. Would look great on a hearth or under a dropleaf table.
$1,275
Turned & Paint-Decorated Treen Bowl
Seldom-seen 19th C. turned and grained bowl in two-color paint. One of the few vinegar-grained pieces highlighted with a second color—in this case a soft delft blue. 3¼”H x 6”D with no cracks or splits, and the color is exceptionally vivid.
$1,250
Small, Endearing, and Charming
A Federal shelf of dovetail construction in bright yellow paint. The center section is flanked by downswept sides with scrolls. The edges feature a black painted pinstripe. Old repairs, but all original. 15½” high x 15¾” wide x 5 3/4 deep. Ex. Susan and Raymond Egan Collection (Northeast Auctions August 2006), America Hurrah, David Schorsch, the Barry Cohen Collection.
$2,450
Paint-Decorated Slide Lid Box
Remarkable early 19th C. slide lid razor box with vivid paint decoration on all sides—blue-green serpentine swaths on a barn red ground bordered with trails of raised salmon dots. Beautifully made with fine federal-type dovetails and what may be the original leather razor strop tacked to the top of the lid. 11½”L x 2½”H. Probably Pennsylvania, possibly Lancaster County. However a small pine textiles chest, currently in a New England collection, has almost identical paint decoration and a strong Maine history. Stunning alone, but it also makes a great display stacked with other boxes.
$2,675
Carved Mortar & Pestle
Trade Stimulator
Early 20th C. trade stimulator in the shape of a 6½” mortar and pestle turned from a single block of wood, with the pestle probably carved separately and tenoned into the top. Gilt surface. Most likely used on the countertop of a turn-of-the-century apothecary’s shop. Fine shrinkage cracks, but no breaks or repairs.
$695
Two 19th C. Rag Dolls
Both were made as toys for children, not as intentional folk art. The black doll, who probably dates from between 1880 and 1900, has a painted face, hair of twisted yarn beneath a red bandana and what appears to be her original floor length dress, lace-trimmed petticoat and pantalettes. She is 18” tall. The white doll is slightly shorter at 16” and has stitched features with wide open blue eyes with long lashes. Her hand-sewn bonnet retains its hanging tapes, and beneath her cream-colored apron she has a full-length dress of blue and white homespun. I suspect she was made about the same time as her friend. Both have the wear and tear expected from dolls played with daily.
Black Doll $450 White Doll $325
Diploid Duck Decoy
How often do you see a duck so clearly in two minds about what he wants? Terrific piece of New England folk carving by John Violette of the Bangor ME family of decoy makers. Solid body with old shrinkage crack. Never rigged, never shot over. Probably mid-20th C. and signed on the underside. Find another one!
$625
Pair of Ca. 1840 Cast Iron Gate Finials
A near pair of early 19th C. cast iron acorn finials with molded diaper banding, probably from fence gate posts. 6½” tall, with the remains of old white paint. Good environmental wear.
$650/Pr.
Early 19th C. Signed Southern Watercolor Portrait
Ca. 1825-1850 watercolor portrait of a wealthy young man beneath overarching red drapery with tassels. Areas of craquelure where the artist shaded the drapery folds with gum arabic. Unusual but very effective technique that leads attention to the sitter, whose face is particularly well rendered. The signature of the artist, J.C. or H. Bates, is embedded in the area of blue rick-rack that conceals the artist’s difficulty with drawing hands. I can’t pinpoint exactly why but Kentucky and Tennessee come strongly to mind when I look at this portrait. Minor flea bites: small water stain at shoulder height on the right hand drapery and two sable hairs left by the artist in the impasto of the gum Arabic shading. Actually, kind of charming. 4½” x 6¼” sight size in a neat black-painted beveled frame that appears original to the portrait. 8¼” x 10” overall. Ex-Jim and Susan Widder collection.
SOLD
Carved Fence Post Owl
Silhouette-carved Great horned Owl with a relief-carved face, painted in a fanciful suit of evening clothes. Iron tack eyes and a bib stud that looks very like a shot shell primer. Carved owls were used to protect farm crops from birds and rodents, their natural prey. Pine. 17” tall. Probably 1930-1950.
$750
SOLD
