The Clarion (Spring/summer 1983)

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AMERICA'S FOLK ART MAGAZINE The Museum of American Folk Art"' , New York City R 1983

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CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY AND FOLK ART OBJECTS...

ALSO PRIMITIVE COUNTRY FURNITURE. PROPRIETOR:MARY E.EMMERLING

We are always interested in buying new craft and country folk items.

969 Lexington Avenue (at 70th Street) New York, N.Y. 10021 • Tel 212 -744 6705 Monday thru Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

79 Jobes Lane,Southampton Long Island, N.Y. 11968 • Tel: 516 • 283 • 2061 April thru December

A TOUR HE FORCE

By Frank W. Morgan, Bakersfield, Vermont. 1877-1967.

CA.1920.58" high. Pine.

Ref 'American Folk Sculpture"; Bishop, page 120.

'Always in Season:' Vermont Council on The Arts, pages 42-44.

"Frank Morgan, Woodcarver:' Reese; N.Y. Historical Society, 1975.

STEVE MILLER American Folk Art 17East 96th Street, New York, New York 10028 212-348-5219 By Appointment Only Dealing in Investment Quality American Folk Art

Specializing in American Antiques of the 18th & 19th Centuries Canterbury, N.1-1. Shaker Apple Sorting Chair bearing the signature "Blanche" under the seat, probably that of Blanche L Gardner, (1873-1945) one of the Shakers who may have used this rare form.

The chair is shown next to a pair of oval storage boxes, 12" and 13", for scale.

JOHN licgM1 4ISSELL AIVIQUES, spRENG sTREET, sourm SALEM,V.10590 Open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00 - 5:30

914-763-8144 Located 55 min. from N.Y.C.

kynedy The gallery with a point of view

SEVER1N ROESEN (c. 1815-c. 1872) Still Life: Strawberries and Other Fruit, c. 1871; oil on canvas;25 x 35 inches; signed lower right

kynedy Galleries 40 West57 Street(Fifth Floor)New York 10019 - 212/541-9600 -Tuesday-Saturday 9:30-5:30

rio.WOoN BLANCHE GREENSTEIN,

MERICAN' c_ANTIQUES G&QUILTS

THOS. K. WOODARD

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BALTIMORE, 1850 Baltimore Album Quilt. Signed and dated 1850. 104 x 107 inches. Inscribed "Baltimore, The Album, E Pluribus Unum" with calligraphic signatures of the family and friends of Miss Mary E. Updegraph, to whom the quilt was presented in Hagerstown, Maryland.

We are always interested in purchasing exceptional quilts, collections or individual pieces.

Mail or telephone inquiries invited. Photos returned promptly.

835 MADISON AVENUE,NEW YORK, N.Y. 10021(BETWEEN 69TH & 70TH STREETS) (212)988-2906

THE CLARION

Cover: Patternsfor "Bird ofParadise" bride's quilt top.

Artist unknown. New York State. 1858-63. Cut and pinned newspaper and paper. Bride: 101/8 x T'; Bridegroom: 10/ 1 4 x 8"; Elephant: 73/8 x Gift of the Trustees of the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art. 1979.7.2 a-k.

The Clarion is published three times a year by the Museum of American Folk Art, 49 West 53rd St., New York, NY 10019;(212) 581-2474. Annual subscription rate for MAFA members is included in membership dues. Copies are mailed to all members. Single copy $4.50.

The Clarion. America's Folk Art Magazine.

SPRING/SUMMER, 1983 Published and copyright 1983 by the Museum of American Folk Art, 49 West 53rd Street, New York, New York 10019.

The cover and contents of The Clarion are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Museum of American Folk Art. Unsolicited manuscripts or photographs should be accompanied by return postage. The Clarion assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage of such material.

Contents

SPRING/SUMMER 1983

IRON SPIRITS by Patrice Avon Marvin and Nicholas Curchin Vroomin Decorative Crosses on the North Dakota Plains

24

BLACK FOLK ART by Ellen D. Smith

32

A Unique Blending of Cultures

KANBAN by Lea Sneider and Alexandra K. Munroe

36

Shop Signs in Japan

BILL TRAYLOR by Diane Finore

42

MINIATURES BY JOHN BREWSTER, JR. by Joyce Hill

49

Change of Address.

Please send both old and new addresses and allow five weeks for change.

Advertising.

The Clarion accepts advertisements only from advertisers whose reputation is recognized in the trade, but despite the care with which the advertising department screens photographs and texts submitted by its advertisers, it cannot guarantee the unquestionable authenticity of objects of quality or services advertised in its pages or offered for sale by its advertisers, nor can it accept responsibility for misunderstandings that may arise from the purchase or sale of objects or services advertised in its pages.

The Museum is dedicated to the exhibition and interpretation of folk art and feels it is a violation of its principles to be involved in or to appear to be involved in the sale of works of art. For this reason,the Museum will not knowingly accept advertisements for The Clarion which illustrate or describe objects that have been exhibited at the Museum within one year of the placing of the advertisement.

Current Major Donors

8

Letter from the Director

13

Calendar

51

Museum News

52

Book Reviews

54

Membership

57

Index to Advertisers

72

5

American Folk Art at Sotheby's.

This American 19th Century carved and painted wood whirligig sold at our New York Galleries in January, 1983 for $18,700, the highest price ever paid for an American whirligig at auction.

Sotheby's, the only international art auction firm with 100 years of experience in America, offers the most expertise and the finest auction facilities in the world.

For information about buying and selling fine American Folk Art at auction, please contact Nancy Druckman at(212) 472-3511. Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., 1334 York Avenue at 72nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10021.

SOTHEBY'S Founded 1744

6

Superb pair of engraved brass andirons, with collared snake legs ending in large "penny"feet, willow tree engraving on the plinths, columnar shafts, and rare detailed acorn tops.

Philadelphia, circa 1800.

211 / 2inches high

Thomas G.Schwenke Fine Authenticated American Antiques 956 Madison Avenue(75th Street) New York, NY 10021 Telephone:(212) 772-7222 Tiles. thru Sat. 11 a.m.-6 pm.

Please note: After many years I have moved to my new galleries in New York City and welcome your visit.

7

Museum of American Folk Art Board of Trustees

Executive Committee Ralph Esmerian President Frances S. Martinson Executive Vice President Alice M. Kaplan Senior vice President Lucy Danziger Vice President Karen S. Schuster Vice President George E Shaskan Treasurer Susan Klein Secretary Catherine G. Cahill Judith A. Jedlicka Margery G. Kahn

Members Adele Earnest Barbara Johnson Jana Klauer William I. Leffler Ira Howard Levy Cyril I. Nelson Kenneth R. Page Cynthia V.A. Schaffner David Walentas Andy Warhol Robert N. Wilson William E. Wiltshire III

Trustees Emeritus Mary Allis Cordelia Hamilton Herbert W. Hemphill, Jr. Marian W Johnson Louis C. Jones Jean Lipman

Development Advisory Committee

Virginia W. Brieant, Director, Contributions to the Arts, Warner Communications, Inc. Theodore L. Kesselman,Executive Vice President, Bankers Trust Company

Richard S. Locke, Executive Vice President, The E.F. Hutton Group Robert M. Meltzer, Vice Chairman ofthe Board, Triangle Pacific Corporation

Richard G. Mund,Secretary and Executive Director, Mobil Foundation

Current Major Donors

The Museum of American Folk Art thanks its curent major donors for their generous support:

Over $20,000 Mr. and Mrs. Frederick M. Danziger Mrs. Eva Feld Estate of Morris Feld Margery G. Kahn Fondation Krikor Fondation Tarex Institute for Museum Services 8

Japan-United States Friendship Commission Jean and Howard Lipman *Manufacturers Hanover Trust Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts *Shearson/American Express Inc. *United Technologies Corporation

$10,000—$19,999 Margery & Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund J. M. Kaplan Fund, Inc.

Henry R. Kravis Rockefeller Brothers Fund Estate of Jeanette Virgin

$4,000—$9,999 *Bankers Trust Company Bernhill Fund *Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. Mr. & Mrs. Edgar Cullmann Adele Earnest Howard A. Feldman Mr. & Mrs. Austin Fine

Current Major Donors

*International Paper Company Foundation Barbara Johnson Mrs. Ruth Kapnek Mr. & Mrs. Robert Klein Ira Howard Levy *Mobil Corporation Swedish Council of America *Shiseido Cosmetics(America) Ltd. *Time Incorporated Norman & Rosita Winston Foundation

$2,000—$3,999 Amicus Foundation *Bristol-Myers Fund *Caterpillar Foundation *Chemical Bank *Exxon Corporation *Grace Foundation *E.E Hutton Foundation Patricia & Richard Locke *Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. *Metropolitan Life Foundation *Morgan Guaranty Trust Company *Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. *Philip Morris, Inc. *Rockefeller Center, Inc. *Schlumberger Horizons, Inc. *Seamen's Bank for Savings Alfred Tananbaum Foundation, Inc. *Warner Communications, Inc. William Wiltshire III Robert N. Wilson *Xerox Corporation

$1,000—$1,999 *American Stock Exchange *American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Babtkis Foundation *B.E.A. Associates Mr. & Mrs. Joseph A. Bena, Jr. *Bloomingdale's *CBS,Inc. *Citibank, N.A. *Chesebrough-Pond's, Inc. *Coach Leatherware Mr. & Mrs. Peter Cohen The Compton Foundation *Con Edison Joyce & Daniel Cowin *Culbro Corporation Joseph E. Cullman III *Echo Scarfs Susan Zises Green *Gulf + Western Foundation Sumner Gerard Foundation Justus Heijmans Foundation *IBM Corporation *Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies *Macy's New York Helen R. & Harold C. Mayer Foundation

Meryl and Robert Meltzer *Morgan Stanley & Company New York State Council for the Humanities *New York Telephone Company Richard Ravitch Foundation *Reader's Digest Association Marguerite Riordan Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III Jon and Sue Rotenstreich Foundation Loma Saleh Mr.& Mrs. Samuel Schwartz Rev. & Mrs. Alfred R. Shands III Arman & Louise Simone Foundation The Stitchery, Inc. Barbara & Thomas W. Strauss Issac H. Mittle Fund H. van Ameringen Foundation David Walentas

$500—$999 Louis Bachmann Foundation Bank of New York Edward J. Brown Catherine D. Callegar Colgate Palmolive Corp.

Cowen & Company Mr. & Mrs. R. W Danunann John K. Davenport Mr. & Mrs. James DeSilva, Jr. E. M. Donahue, Ltd. Doyle Dane Bernbach Richard C.& Susan B. Ernst Foundation Dr. & Mrs. Joseph French Mr. & Mrs. Edward Gardner Joyce & Stephen Hill Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert Kaplan Susan C. Kudlow Mainzer Minton Co. Enid Michelman Eleanor & Louis Newman Milton Petrie Reliance Group, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Moe Rosenman Mrs. Robert Steinberg Betty Sterling Jeannemarie Volk

The Museum is grateful to the Co-Chairwomen of its Special Events Committee for the significant support received through the Museum's major fund raising events chaired by them.

Cynthia V. A. Schaffner Karen S. Schuster

The Museum also thanks the following donors for their recent gifts to the Permanent Collection and Library: Amicus Foundation, Inc. Marion S. Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Francis Andrews Anonymous donors(2) Mary Black Peter Blos Mary Borkowski Dr. Stanley B. Burns Antonio Esteves and Steven Gemberling Minnie Evans Eva and Morris Feld Folk Art Acquisition Fund Jacqueline L. Fowler Dr. & Mrs. Robert Freedman Estate of Col. Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch Elias Getz Gail Dane Gomberg Lillian and Jerry Grossman Phyllis Haders Pamela and Timothy Hill Mr. & Mrs. Philip M.Isaacson Margery & Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund Margery G. Kahn Kate and Joel Kopp Mary Kerney Levenstein, in memory of Albert E. McVitty, Jr. Jean and Howard Lipman Patricia and Richard Locke Janyce E. and Thomas J. McMenamin Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund, Frances and Paul Martinson Cyril I. Nelson New York City Department ofParks Dr. & Mrs. Andrew Nyce, in memory of Helene von Strecker Nyce Estate of Lillian Malcove Ormos Pennsylvania German Society Dorothy and Leo Rabkin Paige Rense Mr. & Mrs. Charles Rosenak *Smith Galleries, Ltd. Pearl G. Stone Estate of Jeanette Virgin Margaret Zeigler

*Corporate Member

A portion of the Museum's general operating funds for this fiscal year was provided by a General Operating Support grant from the Institute of Museum Services, a Federal agency that administers to the nation's museums.

9

Double Your Dollars

A growing number of companies will match the contributions their employees make to the Musuem of American Folk Art. Below is a partial listing. If you are employed by one of these corporations or a subsidiary, you may double or even triple the amount of your membership or other donations through these corporate matching gifts programs.

Contact your company's personnel or community relations office for more information.

Allied Corporation American Brands, Inc. American Express Co. American National Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago AMF Inc. ARA Services, Inc. Armco Foundation The Andersons Atlantic Richfield The J.E. Baker Company Bank of America Barrett Treaty Corp.

BEA Associates Beatrice Foods Co. Bemd Brecher & Assoc.

The Boeing Company Brown Group Brunswick Corp.

Bunge Corp.

Burroughs Wellcome Co. Butler Manufacturing Carter Hawley Hale Stores, Inc. Caterpillar Tractor Co. Celanese Corp.

Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. Chemical Bank Citicorp & Citibank Cities Service Co. Citizens & Southern Nat'l Bank The Coca-Cola Co. Consolidated Foods Corp.

Continental Group Inc. Continental Illinois Nat'l Bank & Trust Co. Frederick W. Cook & Co.,Inc. Cooper Industries, Inc. Corning Glass Works CPC International Corp.

Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States Ethicon Inc. Exxon Corporation Federated Department Stores, Inc. Field Enterprises, Inc. Fireman's Fund American Insurance Co. Freeport McMoRan Inc. Gary Energy Corp./Samuel Gary Oil Producer/The Piton Foundation GenRad, Inc. Gilman Paper Great Northern Nekoosa Corp.

Gulf + Western Industries Gulf Oil Corp.

Harris Corp.

Harris Trust & Savings Bank Hartford Steamboiler Inspection & Insurance Co. H.J. Heinz Co. HNG Foundation Houston Natural Gas Corp.

Ideal Mutual Insurance Co. Illinois Bell Telephone Illinois Tool Works Inc. International Business Machines International Minerals & Chemical Corp.

International Paper Co. IU International Corp.

Johnson & Higgins Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc. Kennametal, Inc. Kimberly-Clark Corp.

Koppers Company, Inc. Kirkpatrick Oil Corp.

Lear Siegler, Inc. Lever Brothers Levi Strauss Foundation

Dart & Kraft, Inc. Deluxe Check Printers, Inc. Digital Equipment Corp.

Martin Marietta Corp.

McCormick & Co.,Inc. McDonald's Corp.

Merit Gasoline Corp.

Midwest Radio-TV MITE Company Mobil Corporation Monsanto Co. Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. of New York Morton-Norwich Products MTS Systems Corp.

Murphy Oil Corp.

Emhard Corp.

Ensign-Bickford Foundation

NCR Corporation Newsweek, Inc.

10

New York Community Trust NL Industries, Inc. Norton Co. Pennzoil Co. Petro-Lewis Corp.

PepsiCo,Inc. Pogo Producing Co. Pfizei, Inc. Phelps Dodge Corp.

Philip Morris Playboy Enterprises, Inc. Polaroid Corp.

PPG Industries, Inc. PQ Corp.

Quaker Chemical Corp.

Quaker Oats Company Arthur D. Raybin Assoc. Inc. Reliable Life Insurance Co. Rexnord Inc. R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. Ross, Johnson & Kersting Ryco The St. Paul Cos.,Inc. Santa Fe Industries, Inc. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. Security Pacific Corp.

Shaklee Corp.

Signal Companies Signode Corp.

SPS Technologies, Inc. Standard Oil Company(Ohio) Sun Company, Inc. Tandy Corp.

Texas Eastern Corp.

Textron, Inc. Time Incorporated Transamerica Corp.

The Travelers Insurance Cos. TRW,Inc. Trust Co. of Georgia Union Pacific Corp.

Unilever United States, Inc. United Bank of Denver United Parcel Service United Technologies Corp.

Universal Leaf Tobacco Foundation The Washington Post Waste Management, Inc. Wellington Management Company Westinghouse Electric Corp.

Xerox Corp.

Yarway Corp.

Yankelovitch Skelly & White,Inc.

RICCO• JOHNSON GALLERY 'BROOME

ST

uesda:‘ -Saturday 11-6

A superbly preserved, sensitively carved example of carrousel art. This figure of a young black man is one of a small group known to have turned a calliope on a carrousel that was made in Tonawanda, New York in the third quarter of the nineteenth century.

Data:50" high. Original paint & clothing. Other examples from this group of figures are in the collections of the Henry Ford Museum, Michigan and the Museum of American Folk Art in New York.

MADE IN AMERICA COUNTRY ANTIQUES & QUILTS

EVEN OUR PRICES ARE OLD FASHIONED.

SUPERB QUALITY QUILTS FROM $300.

MADE IN AMERICA 1234 Madison Ave.(bet. 88th & 89th Street) New York, NY 10028- (212) 289-1113 Open Mon. - Fri. 10:30 - 6:00, Sat. 11:00 - 5:30

Letter from the Director Dr. Robert Bishop

During the last few years the Museum of American Folk Art has strengthened its community involvement in numerous ways. Both outreach exhibitions and educational programs developed by the institution have brought to a large segment of the population a new awareness of America's rich cultural heritage in the folk arts.

One of the many significant endeavors in this area has been our cooperative efforts with Vista International Hotels—first in New York City at The World Trade Center and more recently at the newly opened Vista International in Washington D.C. The Museum and the Hotel have an arrangement whereby we provide a series ofsmall,in-depth exhibits several times a year, displayed in special glass vitrines in the American Harvest Restaurant in each hotel.

Perhaps the most successful presentation in the New York hotel offered last fall and called "A Shaker Sampler" was under the direction of Sister Frances Carr, Kitchen Deaconess ofthe Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in Maine, who had been previously associated with the Museum of American Folk Art. Not only did she plan and select the menus for service during the Festival, but she was personally present for its duration to speak with visitors about Shaker traditions.

"Spirit and Substance," an exhibition curated by Gerard C. Wertkin, Assistant Director of the Museum of American Folk Art in conjunction with the Hotel's "Shaker Sampler" featured nests of Shaker oval boxes, baskets, small crafts associated with food preparation, children's rockers and other Shaker objects.

On view until September 1st at Washington D.C.'s American Harvest Restaurant of the Vista International Hotel is a selection of handcrafted dolls from around the world, part of an unusual collection assembled by

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Pictured from left to right at the opening of the "Shaker Sampler" at New York's Vista International Hotel's American Harvest Restaurant are Gerard C. Wertkin, Assistant Director of the Museum of American Folk Art, Sister Frances Carr ofthe Sabbathday Lake Shakers,andEddyJM. Florijn, General Manager of the hotel.

Catherine Wright Baxter, mother of film actress Anne Baxter who donated them to the Museum.

The dolls reflect the folk heritage of the ethnic groups they represent.

Crafted from local materials such as cornhusks, red hot peppers, papier mache and carved from wood, many are dressed in fancifully stitched, colorful costumes.

Also on view from the Museum's extensive collection is a group of decoys given to the institution by Alastair

B. Martin as well as intricately designed scissor cuttings by 20th century artist Helen von Streker Nyce.

The Washington exhibit wascurated by Henry Niemann,who is an intern enrolled in the Museum's Folk Art Masters Degree Program at New York University and was installed by Claire Hartman, Museum Registrar, Mr. Neimann and Charlotte Emans, who is an intern in the Registrar's Department and, also, a Master's degree candidate in the New York University Folk Art Studies Program.

13

Museum of American Folk Art

Administration Dr. Robert Bishop, Director Gerard C. Wertkin, Assistant Director Lillian Grossman, Director's Secretary Charles Salamey, Controller Anne Minich, Director ofDevelopment Robert Culicover, Development Assistant Susan Saidenberg, Curator ofEducation Claire Hartman, Registrar/Exhibition Coordinator Joan G. Lowenthal, Director ofPublications Joyce Hill, Curator Mary Black, Consulting Curator Jeff Waingrow, Curatorial Associate Susan Flamm, Public Relations Sheila Carlisle, Membership Administrator Marie DiManno, Museum Shop Manager Nancy Mead, Assistant Shop Manager Pat Locke, Assistant, Publications Rohini Coomara, Gallery Receptionist Richard Griffin, Clerk Jospeh Minus, Gallery Assistant Howard Lanser, Joseph D'Agostino, Exhibition Designers

Programs Irene Goodkind, Nancy Brown, Co-Chairwomen Friends Committee Dr. Marilynn Karp, Director, New York University Master's Program in Folk Art Studies Judith Reiter Weissman, New York University Program Coordinator Lucy Danziger, Susan Klein, Docent Program Consultants Eleanora Walker, Exhibitions Previews Coordinator Phyllis Tepper, Docent Scheduling Mary Buchan,Junior League Liaison Priscilla Brandt, Trips and Seminars

The Clarion Joan G. Lowenthal, Editor Faye Eng, Anthony Yee, Art Directors Ira Howard Levy, Design Consultant Topp Litho, Printers Ace Typographers, Typesetters

Museum Shop Staff Sheila Carlisle, Elizabeth Cassidy, Anne DeCamp, Rita Geake, Lisa Haber, Caroline Hohenrath, Helen Honig, Teresa Klimowicz, Annette Levande, Vincent Mantia, Robin McCoy, Isabel Mills, Sally O'Day, Phyllis Ostow, Pat Pancer, Rita Pollitt, Myra Shaskan, Caroline Smith

CARL HAMMER GALLERY AMERICAN FOLK ART 620 NORTH MICHIGAN •CHICAGO,ILLINOIS 60611 312/266-8512

14

COLLECTION OF

PHYLLIS HADERS 136 East 64th Street, New York, New York 10021

By Appointment(212)832-8181

SAWTOOTH STAR WITH FLYING GEESE,78" x 90'CIRCA 1860 PIECED AND APPLIQUED COTTON,KENTUCKY

15

London's outpostfor English non-academic art and Americana Paintings, Weathervanes, Decoys, Quilts, Pottery, Country Furniture

C

rane Gallery (3 mins. from Harrods)

171A SLOANE STREET,(First Floor), LONDON S.W.1. Tel: 01-235 2464 Daily 10-6 Sat 10-4 (Associated with Crane Kalman Gallery of 178 Bromp ton Road, London S. W3.

Tel: 01-584 7566 & 01-584 3843)

16

Very Fine PASTEL PORTRAIT OF BOY, CA. 1850, 16/ 1 2"x Provenance: American Folk Art Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland

E.M.D.L. American Folk Art Frederick Taylor House Washington Crossing Historic State Park Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania by appointment(212)477-3442 (215) 493-8835

17

BILL TRAYLOR (1854-1947) Bruce Brice

Juanita Rogers

David Butler

Nellie Mae Rowe

Rev. Howard Finster

Mose Tolliver

Milton Fletcher

Inez Nathaniel Walker

Clementine Hunter

Chief Willey

Sr. Gertrude Morgan

Malcah Zeldis

GASPERI FOLK ART GALLERY 831 St. Peter Street New Orleans, Louisiana 70116 (504) 524-9373

Red Figure on Platform c.1940

-ExhibitionMarch 1 -31, 1983

SUPER STARS -.... _ CHARLIE CHAPLIN ,

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CUTTING THE MUSTARD The Autobiography of Miles B. Carpenter CUTTING THE MUSTARD large format, lengthy text, 80 pages, 140 photos, $13.50 plus $1.50 postage. For the book collector there are 600 signed and hand numbered , copies at $25.00 each inclusive of postage and tax.

IL 18

E.T.'S MAMA

MILES CARPENTER

& ELVIS PRESLEY

Send all inquiries and book orders to: Jeffery and Jane Camp American Folk Art Company 310 Duke Street Tappahannock, Virginia 22560 804/443-2655

CM .

IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS, PLEASE BE SURE TO...

FOLK ART GALLERY in:KIXWV,MK,Vrs3VM'EMM,B

•SEND US YOUR OLD AND NEW ADDRESS •INCLUDE ZIP CODES FOR BOTH •TRY TO GIVE US 5 WEEKS ADVANCE NOTICE

Mail to: Museum of American Folk Art 49 West 53rd Street New York, New York 10019 Attention: The Clarion

Address

Antique Grocery Store container Davis Baking Powder, Brilliant Colors Height 22" Diameter 161 / 2"

City

820 Madison Ave., at 68th St., N.Y.C. 10021

Name

Tues.-Sat. 12-5 P.M. State

212-628-5454

Zip 19

Ethnographic Arts Inc.

20th Century Folk Art

Photo of Juanita Rogers by Anton Haardt

Randall Morris/Shari Cavin-Morris 56 Crosby Street New York City, New York 10012 (212)781-7415

By Appointment

MID 19TH CENTURY PAINTED AMERICAN JELLY CUPBOARD

KENNETH J. BUTLER 73 WEST 82ND STREET NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10024 212-873-3616 ANTIQUES BROWNSTONE RESTORATION

RICHARD HOHENRATH Jr.

Hopes ofParenthood, 1982 Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches "Social Commentaries" an exhibition of the artist's work Viewing by appointment in New York City, please call 212-734-5885

.

1

SUZANNE FELDMAN

AMERICANA

.

ROUTE 112 WEST,LAKEVILLE,CONNECTICUT 06039 1

Iv, 10021 (212)249-8484 open wednesday through saturday, 11:00-6:00, and by appointment

Rare black hawk and sulky weathervane. Superb patina, 31" long.

Illustrated in American Weathervanes and Whirligigs, Bishop and Coblentz/Dutton 1981.

Early wood rocking horse Length 46 inches

AMERICAN PRIMITIVE GALLERY Aarne Anton (212) 239-1345 Mon.-Fri. 10-5:30, or by appt.

242 West 30th St., N.Y., N.Y. 10001

call째fits filkart ommoliwilmoiS wiwitiftlifts10 bettie mintz p.o. box 5943 bethesda, maryland 20014 near Washington, D.C. 301-652-4626 22

PATRICIA ADAMS Box959 Evanston, Illinois 60202 Phone:312-869-6296 By appointment 30 minutesfrom downtown Chicago

Specializing in 18th & 19th Century Americanfurniture, paintings andfolk art.

Featured abore: Shaker Chest and Chalk Deer.

Portraits of co-workers by Tom Wilburn. Carved and painted wood.

The Ames Gallery features the work of contemporary California artists and American folk art & artifacts.

Concurrent with the changing exhibits, our extensive collection of tramp art, cookware, quilts, contemporary folk painting, and sculpture are always on view.

For current exhibit information, hours, or for an appointment, phone us or write to: Ames Gallery 2661 Cedar Street Berkeley, CA 94708 415 845-4949

AMES•GALLERY

23

IRON SPIRITS DECORATIVE CROSSES ON THE NORTH DAKOTA PLAINS

By Patrice Avon Marvin and Nicholas Curchin Vroomin

24

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

A survey sponsored by the North Dakota Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts Folk Arts program, was carried out within North Dakota boundaries to locate cemeteries where blacksmith-made iron grave crosses exist, to gather descriptive information on the crosses, and to identify the cross makers and their distinctive styles.

Four areas of concern developed which hopefully will aid in the protection of this valuable contribution to North Dakota's cultural heritage: to recognize and honor the cross makers and their work; to exhibit, through photographs, the dramatic and powerful visual statement the crosses make

on the landscape; to present a sense of community understanding through personal accounts;and to provide an academic folkloric perspective which places the crosses within their proper cultural context.

Seventy-eight iron cross sites have thus far been located and documented. Hundreds of people were interviewed in search of the few who could give confirmed information on the cross makers; forty-two of whom have been identified. The survey gives a sense of the breadth and depth of community knowledge concerning the crosses, and provides a photographic inventory of what can be seen in North Dakota graveyards.

OLD MT. CARMEL CEMETERY Six remaining wrought-iron crosses. Active 1905-1919.

Photogt,iph \Ae,t),11‘..(

Inn PAUL KELLER (1864-1923), CROSS MAKER 1 2"W. C.1910;forged iron, cut tin;69'H. x 42/

The wrought iron grave crosses of North Dakota and the blacksmiths who made them tell a story of hard work and an abiding faith. This prolific and inspiring funerary art was created by German-Russian immigrants who began settling in North Dakota in the late 19th century.

Blacksmithing was an occupation that was fundamental to the development of North Dakota's agricultural economy. Religion, which the crosses symbolize,is at the heart of all civilization. These two factors united on the northern plains to form a body of art that achieves a beautiful balance of the sacred and the secular—an accomplishment worthy of pride and praise.

History and Tradition The custom of blacksmith-made iron grave crosses is predominant among the Catholic Black Sea German-Russians, but also includes Catholic German Hungarians, Ukrainians, Poles and Bohemians, all of whom came to the steppes of the New World from the steppes of the Old, the Ukraine in Russia. These people settled throughout 26

the Great Plains of North America, as well as the pampas of Argentina. North Dakota became home for a very large group of Catholic German-Russian immigrants, and their folk art expression has both figuratively and literally become part of the state's landscape.

The majority of the German-RusANONYMOUS CROSS MAKER 1 2"W. C. 1910;forged iron and cut tin. 39"H. x 32/

; :t: -r • +:+1+:i X -I-

sians who live in North Dakota are descendants of families who migrated from Southern Germany to the Black Sea region of the Ukraine during the early 1800's. Europe was in upheaval, suffering at that time from the Napoleonic Wars. It was then that Alexander I of Russia opened up the steppes region for general settlement in 1804. There were certain guarantees given the German people in exchange for settling and farming the land; among these that they be allowed to maintain their own village governments, schools, language, churches, and be exempt from serving in the Russian army. By the 1870's major infringements were made on the guarantees,thus instigating the great migration to the New World.

Immigrants brought the cross-making tradition with them from the old country and began practicing it in North Dakota from their first arrival in the 1880's through the 1940's. From interviews with people who were born in the Black Sea area ofthe Ukraine and who came to North Dakota in their young adulthood, we know the crosses

IGNATZ BOBB(1876-1962), CROSS MAKER C. 1912;forged iron, cut tin; 72"H.x 56" W.

were traditional to the German people in south Russia prior to immigration. A further indication of how the tradition developed is given by a leading scholar of German-Russian culture, Timothy Kloberdanz, who writes: "The wrought-iron grave cross tradition was one that the Catholic German colonists were already familiar with when they first established their villages in the Black Sea region during the early 1800's. Elaborate wrought-iron grave crosses were produced by craftsmen in what is now southern Germany as far back as the Renaissance period, when ironwork was extremely popular.

At the time of the Black Sea German migration in the early nineteenth century, wrought-iron grave markers could be found in Alsace,the Palatinate, Baden, Bavaria, and other provinces from which many Russian-bound colonists emigrated. Proof for the wrought-iron grave tradition in southern Germany is so widespread that German folklorists have been able to link certain iron cross designs and methods of construction to specific geographical areas!"

The Catholic Ukrainian, Polish and Bohemian populations were using the blacksmith-made iron crosses in North Dakota concurrently with the German people. These ethnic groups hold in common their Catholicism and their shared geographic proximity, both be-

fore and after immigration.

Structure, Design and Motifs Wrought-iron grave crosses are forged, pounded,twisted, bent, beveled,filed, tapered, rounded, cut—most anything that could be done to metal. They range from extremely simple single crossed bar structures with no added decorative work to double crossed bar constructions with elaborate layered scrollwork or cut metal decorations.

The designs are always symmetrical, whether the focus is at the three tips of the cross arms or at the intersection of the cross arms. The arm ends or tips of a marker show the same basic design theme, with somewhat more attention often given to the upper tip, as with the addition of an angel or cross motif.

Clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds, petals or balls are the most frequently seen shapes at arm ends.

A central focus in cross structures is sometimes created by curved iron bars forming either a circle or a diamond from which the cross arms extend. The addition of decorative ironwork on the cross arms also expands the basic "t"

formation into a circular or diamondlike design. Added parts are banded, riveted or bolted to the main structural bars along the edges.

Scrollwork,the most prevalent decorative addition, incorporates basic S,C and E curves along with a multitude of variations. Elongated S scrolls are regularly attached to the stem and base of the cross for their aesthetic quality as well as support.

Motifs of cut, bent or pounded metal are added with great frequency and are almost exclusively two-dimensional.

Only a few cross makers shaped metal to give a sculpted form to their work.

Images commonly used are: angels, carrying a flag or trumpet, or occasionally a cross, shield or sword; floral designs, including rosettes, leaf and petal formations, vines and fleur-de-lis; hearts; crosses; stars; birds; and flags.

Besides scrolls and cut metal motifs, crosses are also embellished with twisted metal coils, ball ornaments, radiating spikes and spear-like points, cast crucifixes and plastic flowers.

Scrap metal parts are incorporated freely into designs—ordinary objects (continued on page 30) 27

Transplanted to the New World: Three Smiths

income purposes.

When immigrant blacksmiths arrived in this territory, they had greater access to a wider variety of resources and materials than existed in the old country. It is the feeling of various community members and descendants of the blacksmiths that the conditions of plenty had an effect on the cross making. What can be seen in the cemeteries on the prairie of North Dakota may reflect a period when the iron crosses flourished as at no other time; when the

blacksmiths, unencumbered by material limitations, forged their designs with a new freedom of expression.

The three narrations that follow reveal a common thread: the emphasis placed on the maker's sense of pride and accomplishment in his craft, and how essential this factor was in contributing to the originality and beauty of each design. It becomes quite apparent how important an element this is in the creative process of the ordinary working man.

Louis Snider (Born 1901).

Third generation cross-maker; son of Deport Schneider.

I watched my dad when I was a kid. It gives you ideas. A blacksmith thinks a little different than anybody else. A blacksmith makes everything up himself. It's pretty much by guess.

I was awful powerful when I was young, so was my dad and so was my grandfather.

Nothing come in my shop that I couldn't fix or weld. Nothing was too hard. A cross wasn't any more than a plowshare. It's awful good to know the trade. There isn't a day when it couldn't be used.

You could finish one in a week easy if you was only a cross maker and nothing else.

But with me, some of them I worked two months on, not steady, maybe an hour a day.

Because I had too much other stuff to get out, you know. Very seldom you worked a whole day on a cross. In the wintertime I had the time to do more crosses.

Made the main cross part first, this was buggy tire. If you build one, you think of all kinds of designs. Lot of time you lay there

and think at night how you're gonna dress it up. That just comes to ya, you know, the looks.

I made the parts, put them together later.

Mine had about thirty pieces or more to them. I made everything smooth with a

hammer. Never used a hacksaw on one of them. The work, it looks a little similar, but the styles, you change the styles on every cross ya might say. I think of the ones my dad made. No two were alike, every one was a little different.

'graph:Jane Guth,

North Dakota remains very much an agriculturally determined state. It was even more so during the homestead era.

Blacksmithing was a vital skill to the success of any farm operation, to say nothing of basic community needs.

Generally, there were two kinds of blacksmith operators, farm smiths and trade smiths. The trade smiths forged iron crosses as a regular part of their occupational duties; the farm smiths, on the other hand, made crosses for family or friends, not necessarily for

DEPORT SCHNEIDER (1877-1941), CROSS MAKER Family plot; C. 1900;forged iron, cut tin; painted silver; tallest cross, 62"H. x 41/ 3 4" W

28

JOSEPH KLEIN (1876-1941), CROSS MAKER Three crosses inforeground; c. 1910;forged iron, cut tin; average size, 69" H. x 45" W

Paul Klein; son of cross maker Joseph P. Klein (1876-1941).

The old blacksmiths were really a good blacksmith. Grandfather was one. He died in the old country when father was sixteen, and dad kept his blacksmith a going.

Dad landed in South Dakota someplace.

Then he homesteaded up north. He made crosses for three to four parishes there. It was so sandy he couldn't make a living. So he came here in 1920, farmed and had a blacksmith in town.

It was a tinkering job, it was not ajob like in springtime when everything was in a rush. The first one he made was for his father-in-law. He just had a pattern of his own. You take a scrap of iron, make the curves in there. He was so accurate. He just went by guessing.

The prettier he could make them,the better. He liked it. Some of them were easier, some were hard. Those round balls, he made them out of square shaft. Made a hole and cut the threads so he could turn it on.

I helped him long as far as I can remember, so much I could make them myself.

Had to hold the iron, cranked the forge, pounded out heavy iron, the two of us hitting on the same piece. Dad didn't do writing on there, he just put the two initials on out of tin. We always painted them black.

The people longed for the iron crosses.

But you know, they run out of style. I farm right against the cemetery, to the south side and from the west side, and don't you think there's thoughts! Those crosses we made, and the funerals that there was for that person. By yourself you know.

ne Gudmunthon

Margaret, daughter of cross maker Conrad Segmiller (1871-1929).

I don't see how he could do it! I can still see him when he was chopping with a hammer and chisel. He. was particular about how things were done. He wanted a nice job and the crosses show it.

Every year he seemed to have some crosses to deliver. Evidently he got orders from people. There were a lot of people that lived around here that knew my father from Russia. He'd make them in his spare time, most ofthem during the winter. When it was too cold to work out in the blacksmith he brought his drill in and screwed it on the wall in the kitchen and worked in there.

Monica our sister remembers that she and mother helped drilling holes in the iron. The holes were drilled for that scrollwork.

I can still see him driving away from home with a load ofcrosses. The wagon had a double box with a rack which Dad made, and the crosses were all put on top, upright.

He made one for young children with a heart on it. He was an artist in his trade. We were absolutely proud of him.

CONRAD SEGMILLER (1871-1929), CROSS MAKER Children's grave markers; c. 1920;forged iron, cut tin;58"H. x 30"W. 29

CM1 JACOB FRIEDT(?-1924), CROSS MAKER Cross marking his own grave;c. 1924;cut, drilled andforged sheet iron;63"H. x 38" W

such as door knobs,springs, boiler tops and curtain rod ends are typical.

A smith combined various types and sizes of metal in the fabrication ofa single cross. Round, square and flat bar iron was in everyday usage. Sheet and plate iron were used less often. Tin was utilized for most ofthe cut decorative motifs and the nameplates. Historically, the crosses were painted black, silver, white or light blue to prevent corrosion.

They were customarily mounted in a cement base which was then set into the ground.

Handmade nameplates giving the name of the deceased and perhaps the birth and death dates are attached at the central focus or slightly below. Heart or circle shapes cut of tin predominate, with the inscription painted on freehand or formed by metal letters, drilled, chiseled, filed and then riveted to the plate. Nameplates might also be molded, chiseled, cast or punched.

Though a majority of them are handmade, it was not unusual to order one from a commercial source. Roughly half of the iron grave markers no longer bear any legible inscriptions.

30

Community Remembrances The people within the communities to which the iron grave cross custom belongs know more than any the memory and emotion the crosses hold. This dialogue represents feelings expressed in many ways by various people across the state of North Dakota.

Caroline. I was a little girl and we lived right beside the cemetery them days. I remember that's all they had in that cemetery, was iron crosses. And in the spring of the year the people would go and paint their crosses if they needed it.

Fix up their graves. We could go along in, we could help something, carry the weeds away or whatever there was. But we didn't dare to go in to play, that was a sacred place.

Mary. You walk around the cemetery, and you look at them, it gives you a deep thought. How at that time they had it that way. It seems to be more of a deeper religion. At that time, that meant so much to them. It makes a person feel like he'd like to know who made these.

Josephine. Like these iron ones now, a

man done them all just with his hands.

Gives you a different feeling because you knew the man, that did them, and you knew how hard he worked at it, and how he did it.

Frank. Something to last. Some of them people that come over here, they wanted everything to last, everything's gonna live forever.

Rose. I think they're beautiful. Really they are. There's something about it. I think it looks more spiritual like. It represents more of the dead. You know like Jesus died on the cross.

Fred. We have a different way in approaching religion. We all have different ways. Now it's marble, marble, marble. You know, monuments. It will just mean that some people will remember another age. The crosses are a symbol of another age.

The blacksmith-made iron grave marker tradition in North Dakota suffered many of the same pressures that much ofimmigrant America underwent during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The custom was lost to conformity and standardization

OLD ST. JOHN'S CEMETERY Blumenfeld, active 1903-1944.

in American society, as well as to advances in industry which made blacksmithing an obsolete occupation. In the face of such odds, it is surprising that some crosses were still being made in the late 1940s.

Only now are communities to whom the custom belongs beginning to put the iron cross tradition into a wider perspective of cultural prominence and value, indeed as something ethnically and religiously specific to them in which they can take great pride. The crosses serve as cultural identifiers and mark an era not only in their own history, but in the history of North Dakota as well. In a very real sense the blacksmith-made iron grave crosses symbolIron Spirits is both an exhibition

and publication produced by the North Dakota Council on the Arts. The exhibit which opened in January, 1983, at the Heritage Center in Bismarck, is currently traveling throughout North Dakota. The publication is available through the Germans from Russia Heritage Society, 1008 East Central Avenue, Box 1671, Bismarck, ND, 58502; $10.95 postpaid.

ize the spirits of the pioneers.

There is a need to protect the crosses.

Many sites have been abandoned and ravaged by time and weather. Some communities are considering ordinances which would standardize cemetery markers and eliminate the iron crosses for maintenance purposes.

Some crosses are in jeopardy of vandalism and theft. And the melting pot pressures of Americanization are still active, with families replacing the wrought-iron markers with contemporary stone monuments. Hopefully, through recognition and understanding of the crosses' cultural value, an awareness will surface which works to protect this unique folk art expression for future generations to know.

It was the singular and captivating beauty of the iron grave markers on the plains of North Dakota which inspired this project and gave it form. As with all art, the appreciation one gains from the crosses is a matter of personal taste and acceptance. And as in all work, there are varying degrees of technical expertise displayed. But beyond aesthetics and technique, the crosses, re-

flecting one of the most elemental forms in nature and having been stylized throughout history by all peoples, can be seen in new, original variations of astounding diversity. The iron crosses of the North Dakota blacksmiths belong to an even greater tradition than their ethnic/religious base.

They share company in the ancient endeavor of people to symbolize the universal. Here then is art in everyday life, truly a gift of iron spirits.

FOOTNOTES .Timothy J. Kloberdanz, "Iron

Lilies, Eternal Roses: German-Russian Cemetery Art in Perspective:' Iron Spirits, p. 106, North Dakota Council on the Arts, Fargo, 1982.

Patrice Marvin and Nicholas Vrooman are a married couple who have actively pursued folk art studies and programming in North Dakota since Feb. 1980. Both are schooled in American Folk Art through the Cooperstown Graduate Program in American Folk Culture & Museum Studies, under the guidance of Louis C. & Agnes H. Jones. Patrice, besides being a folk arts consultant, is a multi-media artist. Nicholas is State Folklorist and staff member of the North Dakota Council on the Arts.

31

1131...ALCIEC FCNILAIK ALARM'

The exhibition,Black Folk Art in America: 1910-1980, has drawn attentioni to an artistic form that represents a unique folk art expression based on a tricultural experience. African tradition transposed to a foreign environment, filled with European art and ideals, resulted in a cultural fragmentation that stimulated the inventiveness and courage that gave birth to black folk art in America. When we peel through the layers of African and European influences, we can see the adaptation that occurred in response to the black's situation in America. The synergistic processes employed by the slave artisan transcends his European-African duality.

Early black folk art exhibited African decorative arts' traditions as they were manifested in the Europeanized designs which were produced for the white aristocracy. This statement points to some ofthe problems inherent in defining the slave artisan as a folk artist. Ifthe work is meant to be utilized or enjoyed by the elite and not the common man, is the black artisan a true folk artist? If he is taught the traditional techniques and ornamental motifs of a European society how then can we present these works as an indigenous art form? How does the fact that the slave or apprentice was instructed and not self-taught affect his status as a folk artist? It is important to recognize that the slave, or even the free man apprentice, had no leisure time and few materials to be used in creating any art or craft work that was not for the use of his master. In light of the restrictions under which the black artisan worked, a hasty judgment of the validity of his art will be misleading. European design elements will be obvious in the work ofthe 19th century black folk artist, but we should be sensitized to the assimilation of African motifs and novel patterns that emerge to form a folk art expression that is further layered by the American experience. Judith Wragg Chase,in her book, Afro-American Arts and Crafts, 32

A Unique Blending of Cultures

by Ellen D. Smith

Staff. Mabangalo, Angola. Wood. 29/ 1 2 inches.

1922 Museum Expedition. Courtesy of The Brooklyn Museum.

makes us aware of the cultural fragmentation that existed even in Africa.

The constant migration of tribes, foreign invasions and technical developments created such a blend of cultural patterns that the origins of their components cannot be traced with any certainty. This same blending of cultures continued to occur when the Africans were brought to North America.

"Thus, the process of cultural synthesis continued in this country as it had across the ocean, where African had always borrowed much from conqueror,from conquered,from neighbor traders, from ancestors; but also had invented much. Through this invention and adaptation he had developed a new culture of his own!" These ideas of invention and adaptation are crucial to our thinking on the subject of any folk art, and particularly black folk art.

The southern plantation provided more opportunity for artistic expression and craftswork than the north did.

The slaves were primarily from agrarian,communal villages that maintained social structures similar to that of the plantation. This made adjustments to a new culture easier and allowed for the preservation of certain traditional rituals, arts and crafts. It is this combination of preserving some elements of the past and experiencing the breakdown of others in the face of a new environment that created a stimulus for new rituals and art forms to develop. This fusion of African, European and American influences plus the destruction of various traditions led to the creation of a new and unique black folk art expression.

The slave craftsmen were not unfamiliar with the restrictions imposed by working for a master, as they were accustomed to working within the rigid rules and traditions that govern certain African tribes. There was then an established pattern of working under the direction of an outside force even before the slaves left Africa. In spite of this dictatorial situation, a synthesis of

African style and individual inventiveness was possible. The black artisan was often more familiar with the materials and techniques available for art and utilitarian productions than was his master. Woods, metals, natural fibers and clay were all known to the black craftsman from his African heritage.

Some scholars believe that the techniques for forging iron were first developed in Africa. The Ashantis and the Benin were excellent blacksmiths.

It is feasible that the slave artisan, even in his subordinate position, could influence these crafts by his superior knowledge of the materials. The shortage of skilled craftsmen in the states provided

greater employment opportunities for black craftsmen. This advertisement appeared in the Tennessee Gazette & Metro District Advertiser on October 24, 1804: "Wanted immediately—as an apprentice to the blacksmith business, a smart, active boy of 12-15 years who can come well recommended. A black boy of this description will be taken. Ellis Maddox, Nashville!' The black slave was the artisan of the south until the Civil War ended. The shortage of white master craftsmen validates the position that the slave artisans had the chance to impose techniques and styles of their own invention on a variety of crafts. This was the beginning of more

intrinsically motivated art work. The restrictions on the bound apprentice obscure his role as a folk artist, and only through examination ofthe actual works can his individuality be revealed.

The development in the art of basketry exemplifies social, technical and stylistic adaptations. Basketry, already a well established craft in Africa, was transposed to American plantations virtually intact. Research gathered in Face ofan Island (St. Helena Island) documents the work of Alfred Graham, the first teacher of basketry at the Penn School. Graham had learned the craft in Africa, where men were skilled in basketry. However, when the slaves

Vrf

fr. 'Tr6rf

J(1(0'1040 411i11‘‘

(ifi fulsoits''"'"14 tt(f,t411 c .ft•i_t•• ,((tt •• 0*l (,1tIltitii 1 0)0 01.1 t 00, 1 10,1 41eavittl:r ,, Coiled Circular Basket with cover. North Africa. H:.P/8 inches; W:10 inches.

Courtesy of The Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory ofDr. Harlow Brooks. American Mt. Pleasant baskets so similar in execution and design sometimes exhibit conical lids and handlesfor carrying.

Photo: Alex J. Rota

Gathering basket. Western Africa. Diameter: top-25 inches; bottom-5 inches. Courtesy of The American Museum of Natural History (Neg. no. 320325).

33

came to America this craft was taken over by women who developed domestic-use designs and employed local grasses and pine needles for visual effect. The individuality of the weaver is evident in the baskets' decoration.

The Afro-American baskets were woven in the same manner as their African predecessors. They withstood the wear of many seasons and displayed the functional adaptations that occurred on the plantations. Mt. Pleasant baskets, for instance, sometimes have conical lids and handles for carrying—a completely American invention—since African baskets were carried atop one's head.

These adaptations characterize the inventiveness of the black craftsman.

Afro-American woodcarving has a strong link to its African heritage.

There is little variation in the design and execution of African and AfroAmerican walking sticks. The major decorative motifs that occur are repeated; reptile forms (alligators), multiple reptiles, single reptile (snake), human and reptile combinations and human figures alone. The major differences in the walking sticks is in usage not style. Most black folk artists used them solely for walking, while most African canes were believed to possess magical powers and had religious significance.

Blacksmithing was a craft that the slaves were generally better versed in than their EuroAmerican masters since blacks were commonly employed in the metal trades. As far back as 1759 there is documentation of slave wheelwrights in Potomac River, Virginia and in Maryland where Steven Butler is recorded as a blacksmith in 1772.3 Blacksmithing was not a craft that allowed for much individualistic expression, but "one noteworthy sculpture was discovered at an excavation site of a blacksmith shop and slaves' quarters in Alexandria, Virginia:" This wrought iron figure measures 11" high, is symmetrically posed with the head exhibiting 34

details such as a beard and eyebrows.

The feet are spread apart in a position reminiscent of African (Western Sudan) sculptures. This figure is the only strong evidence to date that reveals iron work created as a self-motivated artistic expression. There is another folk art "expression" worth mentioning. In 1792, 900 armed slaves in Virginia used spears that they had forged to start a rebellion.' Other invasions were aided by swords and spears made by Afro-

Wrought-Iron Figure.

Late 18th century.

Alexandria, Virginia. H:11 inches. Collection ofAdele Earnest. Stony Point, New York.

Wood Figure. African Ivory Coast(Senufo ?).

H:135/8 inches. Courtesy of The Brooklyn Museum.

American blacksmiths. None of these weapons have survived so we cannot make a stylistic analysis, but they were obviously not produced from the master's designs or dictates.

The last craft I will mention is Quilting; a European textile art that was virtually unknown in Africa. Although quiltmaking was a task that primarily reflected the instructions of the slave owner, their creation required at least two choices: the selection of a technique and the selection of a design.

While the construction techniques were primarily European, the designs had African origins. Rather than viewing these quilts as a submission to European traditions, we can acknowledge the prevalence of African design as a statement of cultural survival. The connection between the designs of the black artisans and African textiles is subtle.

In the Bible Quilt by Harriet Powers of Athens, Georgia, eleven panels are arranged in horizontal bands depicting scenes from the Bible. The simplicity of the stylized human and animal forms are similar to Dahomey and Ashanti animal motifs. The Dahomean textile motifs were cut patterns that were standardized by a sewing guild. Marionette-like figures were assembled from a five part pattern and animals were often cut from a single shape.

Simplicity and lack of variation are evident in the images in Mrs. Powers' quilt. The irregular use of panels and the construction techniques may have been learned from Congo-Angolian slaves, as it is similar to the approach used by the Fon of the Benin. Mrs. Powers followed the African tradition of simplicity, working to create icons, rather than literal representations. African art(Fon, Ashanti and Fanti)relies heavily on symbolism. This involvement with spiritualism and religion is perhaps the factor that generates the unique adaptations that transcend a simple merger of cultures. The Bible quilt demonstrates the refusal of the

black folk artist to bend to the rigid structure of Anglo-American expectations. African ideals were maintained through the artists' integrity, courage and inventiveness. Regardless of which form of artistic expression one investigates, the ability of the black artist to intertwine different cultures, environments and emotions is a testimony to his status as a folk artist. Working with what was available in this country, the slave artisan brought his African traditions and European influences together with his emotional responses to his condition and gave birth to a black folk art tradition that still flourishes today.

Ellen D.Smith is a free-lance writer, and a graduate student in the Museum Studies Program at New York University. Ms. Smith's area of interest is costumes and textiles, and she currently is associated with the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Brass gold weight. Ashanti. Africa. Courtesy of The Brooklyn Museum. Note the similarity of the stylized animalform to the figures in Mrs. Powers' quilt.

FOOTNOTES I. Judith Wragg Chase, Afro-American Arts and Crafts (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1971), P. 15 2. Lewis Newton, The Other Slaves, W.E. DuBois, "Black Artisans',' p. 83 3. John M. Vlach, The Afro-American Tradition in Decorative Arts(Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978), p. 188 4. Vlach, P. 108 5. Vlach, p. 115

Applique Quilt. Harriet Powers (1837-1911). Athens, Georgia. 1895-1898. Cotton. H: 70 inches; W:105 inches. Courtesy. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

M. and M. Karolik Collection.

35

For many reasons, Kitaoji Rosanjin was outstanding among Japan's 20th century artists. As a ceramicist, calligrapher, gourmet, wood and metal worker, the government once extended to him the honor of Living National Treasure, a title reserved for the premier masters of traditional Japanese arts. Rosanjin refused, possibly in defense of his own eclectic career.

He began, as other artists had before him, as a carver of seals and signboards. In Japan, these services required, in addition to the requisite craft, aesthetic and literary talents as well. The signboard, or kanban as it is called in Japanese, was an especially appropriate medium for Rosanjin, given his background as both calligrapher and designer. Too, it was like Rosanjin to elevate an object as functional as a sign to the status of work of art.

Rosanjin's approach had precedent in the tradition and sources of kanban making in Japan. The earliest signboards were wooden plaques which were hung below the eaves or on the 36

gate house belonging to temples, private residences or tea houses. This was derived from Chinese custom. Such Chinese plaques were inscribed with Confucian morals, Taoist sayings, or lines from ancient verse, and adorned the interiors as well as the outside of Chinese palaces and temples. The "signboards" were lacquered in cinnabar red, black and gold,and were framed in elaborate carvings.

The plaques themselves denoting place names in Japan were less decorative. Often, the calligraphy appeared to be carved and lacquered against a plain, exposed wooden ground and were simply framed, if at all. The worth of the Japanese sign by the early Edo period (1615-1868) was measured less by material and size and more as a display for the art of calligraphy. Wellknown scribes were commissioned for the brush work, which an artist would then transfer to a wooden board (carefully chosen for grain of wood) and complete the carving and decoration.

An indigenous source for kanban

SHOP SIG

BY LEA SNEIDER &

Kanban: Shop Signs of Japan The exhibition is currently on view at Japan House Gallery in New York City until June 12th, when it will then travel to the Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts for the summer and early fall, and then to the Honolulu Academy of Art. On exhibition are 106 trade signs from Japan dating from the

BAN S OF JAPAN _EXANDRA MUNROE

17th through the early 20th centuries, drawn from private and museum collections in the United States and Japan, and organized by the Japan Society's Japan House Gallery in association with the American Federation of the Arts and the Peabody Museum. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibit.

making may be found in the ema, or votive paintings. In ancient Shinto practice, live horses and other animals were presented to shrines as a rite of offering, and even exorcism. By the 8th century, live horses were replaced with sculptural replicas and in time these were replaced with painted ones. This custom spread among the common people who often painted the votive image themselves, a development that lends the folk art character to many extant ema of the Muromachi period (1336-1568). Besides horses, ema of this type depicted a variety of subjects drawn from the everyday lives of the worshippers. During the 16th century, the upper classes took on the practice of offering ema to shrines and they commissioned artists from the finest schools, most notably the Kano school, to execute them. Ema gradually evolved to become large, decorative plaques which hung within the main sanctuary. It is the narrative, graphic character of the ema that relates to kanban. In addition, the integration of

Greengrocer 18th/19th century. Polychromed wood.

161i x 36 Inches.

The earliest signs displayed little or no calligraphy: they were wood carvings of the store's goods, such as a greengrocer's radishes here. When the sign-maker was a fine craftsman, kanban of this kind serve as rare examples of one style of folk art sculpture.

All Photos: Dana Levy

words and images to convey an immediate message or symbol relates as well.

Most significantly, ema was a folk art of painting on wood, as were many of the kanban which depicted scenes and heros of popular culture that were common in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

But the greatest cause for signboard making in Japan, as in America, was commercial. The establishment in 1615 of the Tokugawa regime, with its capital in Edo(now Tokyo), ushered in nearly four centuries of peace and prosperity.

Since the Tokugawa shoguns virtually prohibited trade with foreign lands they 37

Antique Shop 19th /early 20th century. Wood. 24 x 36 inches.

The treatment of a sign as a work of art in Japan can bring about elaborate solutions.

This sign has been kindly lent to the American exhibition by the owner of an antique shop in

Any resemblance between this sign for a bucket shop in Japan and the trademark of Ballantine beer in America is, besides coincidental, proof of the universality of a good graphic symbol. The three interlocking rings here suggest the rims of three buckets, and the meaning of the characters written within each circle make up a pun which alludes to the trade. From right to left, the characters read tai(large) and fu(wind), a compound for the word typhoon. The square with a diagonal design at the uppermost circle is a symbol for

thus encouraged and stimulated domestic trade and business. Policies of "free guilds" and "free markets" generated commerce in the capital (whose population exceeded one million) as well as in the older metropolises of Osaka and Kyoto.

It was only a matter of a decade or two before affluence shifted from the 38

Matsumoto, where it has served as a sign for a few decades. The carvings of the mythological figures here—a crane, a god, and two dragon heads—date to the 18th century.

They were arranged in an architectural frame suggesting a temple or shrine in the early part of this century,together with the carving of the store's three character name.

Bucket Shop 19th century. Wood, metal, and white pigment. 15 x 17 inches.

samurai, the aristocratic keepers of the regime and a military elite, to the chOnin, or merchants and townspeople.

Theirs was a culture of a prosperous bourgeoisie. Known as the ukiyo, or "floating world:' its fugitive pleasures were the magic of geisha, kabuki players, sumo wrestlers, and profligate spending.

the standard measure called a masu, which is synonymous with the word "to increase': The meaning is obscure: Is it that the bucketmaker's trade "increases with the "typhoons" because more buckets for water will have to be used to guard against the fires which often break out during such high winds? Or, will the bucket-maker's trade "increase" during the "typhoons" because more buckets will be necessary to collect the rain water? Whatever the meaning, such puns were commonly used in the design of kanban.

In the woodblock prints, novels, and dramas of the day, these popular figures were celebrated in their own settings. We can imagine the streets of Edo lined with shops, restaurants, bath-houses, inns, countinghouses, theaters, and specialty stores. Advertising everything from green tea to beautiful women, kanban was very much part of the scene—in

Pharmacy Sign 19th century. Wood with gold and black lacquer. 30 x 22 inches.

Two contrasting techniques of applying gold lacquer highlight the carving of this decorative kanban in the shape of a Buddhist temple bell. The sign advertises an all-purpose patent medicine which purports to be a cure for practically any ailment: "poverty of blood; "hysterics before and after childbirth;"dropsy and beri-beri; and "green-sickness" are just some of the conditions listed in the lower half of the sign.

very much the same way as their modern incarnation, the neon sign, is essential to the street life of Tokyo today.

Folk legends, mythological figures, fortuitous signs and symbols were typically incorporated into kanban imagery in Japan. Examples illustrated here are the Daruma tobacco sign, the temple bell-shaped medicine sign, and the

carvings of birds and beasts in the frame of the antique shop sign.

It is, however, the early Japanese signs that inspire obvious comparison with our own trade signs of similar vintage. Common to both is the design of the written language. One need only compare the different scripts which appear in the examples of Japanese signs

illustrated here to recognize the variety of calligraphic styles in use and at the disposal of the Edo period kanban maker. In American advertising art of the 18th and 19th centuries, a similar interest and exploration of alphabet design appears, especially in the posters typical of that period. In one poster, as many as six or seven different sizes and 39

Pipe Shop 19th century. Wood and metal. 32 x 9/ 1 2 inches.

Smoking was a vogue among the samurai and merchant classes in Edo period Japan, and shops for pipes and accessories flourished. A larger-than-life-size model of a typical brass pipe inset on a fine-grained plaque of keyaki wood is a handsome sign for this shop. The simple, bold contrast of the natural materials is basic to the aesthetic of many traditional Japanese shop signs.

Daruma Tobacco 19th century. Polychromed wood. 37 x 24 inches.

This sign for a tobacco shop depicts the popular Japanese folk image of Daruma,the legendary founder of Zen Buddhism, wrapped in red tobacco leaves. Images of this Indian sage who transmitted Zen to China in the 6th century were venerated there and in Japan, where the religion spread after the 12th century. Common attributes of the Daruma (as illustrated too in this sign) were exaggerated "foreign" features of the face, and a loose, often hooded and sometimes red robe. Legend accounts how Daruma lost his legs seeking enlightenment when he sat cross-legged in meditation for nine years. By the time this carving was made, round-bottomed, fierceeyed images of Daruma were common symbols of good fortune and the trademark of many businesses.

styles of lettering may be seen. In Japan, the signs created early in the 18th and 19th centuries were carvings of an oversized replica of the actual object being sold, typically an abacus, an umbrella, or as here, a pipe. Called mokei kanban, these signs were sometimes carved in the shape of the container in which the object was traditionally stored 40

or sold, such as a tea-leaf um for a tea shop. These plain sculptural kanban could be recognized by the illiterate public and became the trademark of many local businesses. The radishes advertising a greengrocer and the iron hardware inset on a plain wood board that was a locksmith's sign are two examples of a more primitive—yet more immedi-

ate—aesthetic statement. Whereas the later kanban tended towards much decoration and narration, these direct advertisements served their function with elegant simplicity. The old-time American favorites of a wooden boot outside a shoemaker's establishment, the tin soldier outside a toy shop, and the pointing figure—indication of a

Pharmacy Sign for Stomach Medicine Early 20th century. Polychromed wood.

Diameter, 40/ 1 2 inches.

In 1868, the feudal regime fell and a new government was established with the Emperor Meiji as its titular head, thus bringing 400 years of self-imposed isolation from the outside world to an end. With the consequent arrival of American and European diplomats, missionaries, and businessmen,and with the new national policy of "modernization" and "Westernization': the prestige and the image of things foreign became the rage and in time, the norm. Distorted and amusing stereotypes of Western subjects, such as this Victorian gentleman advertising stomach medicine, were commonly featured on signs of the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Locksmith 3 4 19th century. Wood and metal. 25 x 17/ inches.

Typical of Japanese kanban design is the display of the actual object sold, arranged in a bold and graphicfashion against a plain wood ground. A sturdy iron lock is set here on a board which announces the services of this shop. From left to right, the calligraphy, of an exaggeratedly awkward design style, announces the services of this shop:locks, door pulls, and knife-sharpening.

good resting house—share with the best Japanese signs the honesty,dignity, and imagination inherent in any truly fine folk art expression regardless of national origin.

Lea Sneider is curator of the exhibition, Kanban: Shop Signs ofJapan and co-author of the exhibition catalogue. Alexandra Munroe is Assistant to the Director, Japan House Gallery.

41

ArtBy Bill Traylor ‘41 BY DIANE RNORE

Spotted leopard. c. 1939. Poster paint and pencil on cardboard. 115/8" x 143/8'.' Reminiscent of Nigerian lore, the leopard has long been a symbol of wisdom and leadership.

Courtesy, Ricco-Johnson Gallery, NYC.

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Camel,tree with birds and owl,and flying bird In circle. c. 1940. Pencil on cardboard. 14"x 143/87 Traylor may have unconsciously taken this image from a Camel cigarette package. Courtesy, RiccoJohnson Gallery, NYC.

Man in house. c. 1942.

Poster paint on cardboard. 8"x 127/ !

3 This brown man seated in a blue decorated house, with a black hoodedfigure looming above, could be a depiction ofan inevitable confrontation with death. Courtesy, RiccoJohnson Gallery, NYC.

One day as Charles Shannon walked through town, he passed an old man holding a three inch stick in one hand, and a three inch pencil in the other.

Using the stick as a straight edge, he was totally absorbed in making pretty neat lines on a piece of cardboard. The following day, Mr. Shannon returned to find the white-bearded man penciling simple images like a shoe, or a rat on pieces of cardboard, sometimes measuring no longer than six inches. The time was 1939,late spring or early summer. The town was Montgomery, Alabama, and the man was Bill Traylor, who is hailed today as one of the foremost 20th Century black folk artists.

One of twenty artists represented in the Corcoran Gallery's exhibition "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980:' Bill Traylor, whose coiled serpent appears on the catalog cover, was described by New York Times critic, Vivien Raynor, as "the star of the show, all right:" One has to wonder how this modest gentle man would react today to the flurry of solo exhibitions of his work and their countless laudatory reviews.

Bill Traylor never told Charles Shannon that painting was something that just came to him. In fact, he never 43

really told Shannon how he came to draw that day at the age of 85, and Shannon, a talented Southern artist in his own right, never asked. Artist to artist, an endearing relationship was to develop between the two. Shannon may very well have been the closest living person to Traylor at the time, and may have given him a purpose to continue this creative outpouring which was to consume his next three years. Certainly, Shannon is the only person today who can answer any questions about old Bill.

He was born in 1854 in Benton, Alabama,a small town between Selma and Montgomery,on a plantation owned by George Traylor. Bill was given the family name. Ten years later, with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, he was free to leave, but elected to stay on, marrying and fathering between 20 and 25 children. Besides farming and tending to the animals, he was known to be a pole carrier for a surveying team. At the age of84, with his wife(or wives) and the Traylors' gone, and his children scattered, he took to the streets of Montgomery. He worked in a shoe factory, providing a possible association with his first shoe sketches, until his rheumatism began troubling him and he went on relief. Sleeping in the back room of the Ross-Clayton Undertaking Company, he would roll out his bundle of bedding at night. In the morning, he would stuff it in the corner and be on his way to Monroe Street, where he set up a wooden crate as a seat in front of a fence. In the background was the unmistakable pounding of a blacksmith shoeing, the inspiration for one of his earliest detailed compositions. Punching a hole in the finished cardboard with his pencil, and looping some found twine, he would hang his pictures behind him. The more prolific he became, the more his outdoor exhibit expanded. Soon he found himself an overhead cover in a doorway around the corner, between the Lawrence Street Negro Pool Hall and a fruit stand. Traylor sketched on any paper or cardboard that came his way. It is quite common for the backs of his drawings to be Philip Morris advertisements,candy bar boxes, and price signs displayed by the fruit stand. In a recent conversation 44

Large construction with nine figures. c. 1939-42.

Pencil on cardboard. 20/ 1 2" x 14'.' An irregular shape would determine a whole design. Thisjagged portion ofcardboard is responsiblefor thefractured ladder. Courtesy, Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. Collection.

Shannon recalled, "Irregular shapes would set him off. He responded to the shapes of cardboard he was using.

Their jaggedness set off the action of whole designs:" Nothing is haphazard.

This is most evident in his complex compositions of animals and elf-like men wearing top hats and carrying canes, pointing long fingers, scampering hurriedly or chasing each other across the cardboard or up and down totemic structures, ladders, or simple houses. The more one sees of his work, the clearer it becomes that Traylor is never unclear. Erasures are occasionally evident, but there is never a hesitancy in his work.

Shannon, recognizing Traylor's in-

:s°

nate ability and being involved by this time, did not ask too many questions for fear of breaking the spell.

"There were so many things to wonder about but I didn't want to interrogate him. He did talk freely and was very trustful. He felt that he was working for me...I'd give him a little money..."

Shannon also brought him more lead and colored pencils, and poster paint, or show card color. Ignoring natural coloring, Traylor's choice of palette is unexpected—a purple pig, a red dog, a green headed woman—but these were chosen from a myriad of colors. There were many that he did not touch. He utilized the primary and binary colors,

Woman with Umbrella. c. 1941. Pencil and poster paint on cardboard. 13/ 3 4" x 1I': Beginning with the geometric base ofboth rectangle and triangle, Tiaylor also utilizes a series ofdiagonal lines to pattern this strong and striking image in red, blue and black. Courtesy, Luise Ross Fine Art, NYC.

1940 photograph ofthe 8x 4' mural ofBill Traylor, being painted by Charles Shannon at New South, a short-lived art center in Montgomery.

The building has since been razed and all that remains is a snapshot.

Courtesy, Richard Cox. From hisforthcoming book, "Southern Scene Art, 1900-1945:' Louisiana State University Press.

along with brown and black. He never used white or any gradation of color; neither did he experiment with mixing.

Although the colors are straight from the bottle, there was an attempt to shadow.

The tone or value is not always even.

We see thick and thin strokes, making the images piercing, memorable. The thin pigments appear luminous, almost as if the incandescence is coming from behind the grey cardboard backs. Some of his strongest works are in pencil, and from a flat surface there emerges a mysterious sense of depth. The viewer is taken on an extraordinary adventure involving the excitement of a new discovery.

Shannon was involved in this discovery along with Traylor, perhaps in amazement, perhaps in awe. "It just evolved;' he says. "It was so beautiful!' He did not want to violate the relationship or influence Traylor in any way. Going to see Traylor was fun, and it was common for Shannon to pull up a seat next to Traylor as he talked about his work. Unlike many folk artists who do not differentiate themselves from their art', Traylor responded to his own work as if it was created by someone else. He poked fun at the subjects and revelled in the joy of a new technique, such as the day he devised a manner of placing a figure inside a house, a problem he had been working on for some time.

Shannon urged his friends to support Traylor and a few passersby did buy his work, paying what they could afford.

Traylor was amused. "Sometimes they buy them when they don't even need them:" he told Shannon. In an effort to generate funds and recognition for Traylor, Shannon showed his work to Alfred Barr, then Director of the Museum of Modern Art, who was neither interested in mounting a show nor in buying the group of paintings for more than $25.00. But through that meeting, Traylor's work eventually was shown at the Fieldston School, in New York, in 1942. Two years previously, Traylor saw his work exhibited for the first time at New South, a Montgomery art center. Shannon painted an 8' x 4' mural of Traylor painting in his designated spot and brought him to see it. Traylor stared 45

at his work hanging on the white walls, astounded, so it seemed, by his own creative energy. The building has since been razed, the mural is gone, and all that remains is a snapshot.

With the coming of World War II Traylor headed north to Michigan to live with one or more of his children, and Shannon went off to serve as an artist-correspondent. We do not know exactly where Traylor stayed during this time or even if he painted. No known work exists. But he returned to the Montgomery streets in 1946 and Shannon returned from the war. Traylor having, in the interim, lost a leg to gangrene, depicted one-legged self portraits but eventually his compositions became less detailed, and as Shannon says, "his work was never quite the same:' The social workers, now aware of Traylor's presence, made him live with a daughter in Montgomery but soon he was back on the street.

Then he was sent to be cared for in a nursing home. "A terrible place" recollects Shannon, and Traylor died soon after at the age of 93, in 1947.

For over three years, Bill Traylor sat in his seat off busy Monroe Street and worked all day and into the night.

Sketching and living may have become one and the same to him, and his work probably gave him a second life. His inspirations were derived from memory, interpretations ofthe world and his own experiences. He no longer pushed a plow across the fields, he drew it instead. He penciled and painted between 1,000 and 2,000 images. Unlike many contemporary folk artists, there is no sense of religious imagery or revelation in his work. But through his vitality and sense of humor comes the joyous affirmation of life, the highest form of spiritual message one can relay.

If art can be sophisticated and naive simultaneously, this best describes the work of Bill Traylor. This seeming paradox exists on Traylor's "canvas" without conflict. He began each sketch with a simple geometric form, usually a rectangle but occasionally a triangle. The sophistication lies in the manner in which he built upon the elementary shape, and the deliberate placement of the figure or object in relation to the surrounding empty space. Traylor p0546

Turkey with insect. c. 1939. Poster paint on cardboard. 8"x 13!

Traylor's knackfor positioning hisfigures "just right" is evident in this sensitive and tender rendering. Courtesy, Luise Ross Fine Art, NYC.

•

Construction with Snake. c. 1939-1942.

Pencil on paper. 20"x 15 Figures balancing themselves on one leg admonish the man holding the flask while the hunched back older man undauntedly hobbles along with a serpent underfoot.

Courtesy, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago.

sessed an extraordinary ability to abstract, simplify, and combine objects. They stand detached, but appear connected, nonetheless, by the circular continuity of suggested movement.

His people may poke each other with sticks, but they do not interact. This distancing may parallel his own personal relationships. A woman, pointing in two directions, shouts at a man standing calmly with a lunch box or an umbrella. "She's not asking him where he's been, she's telling him;' Traylor laughed to Shannon, who understood it to be Traylor's own experience within a female dominated relationship. Where animal and man share the space, the animal, generally, is predominant, as is the woman when paired with a man.

The dominant figure is generally in the foreground.

The plane system, which he created,

compensates for lack of background scenery. Human and animal figures are suspended in mid-air, with a sense of nobility, a certain solidness. A man performs a backward flip as he drinks from a non-spillable flask, supported by the tip of the cane held by an onlooker. Traylor, himself, achieves a similar balancing act between groups of organic and inorganic forms, architectural and T-shaped structures. A young boy and old man do not interact as they stand across from each other at a pump, tree stump, or fountain. Is the dog chasing the young figure up a tree or lifting the thirsty fellow up for a drink from the "fountain of youth;' as the older, wiser gentleman, in his top hat looks on? And the top hat that appears repeatedly, is it just a "good visual hat" as Mr. Shannon sees it, or is it a reference to the Baron Samedi of

Haitian folklore?'

Considering the artist's frame of reference, his work which falls somewhere between fantasy and reality is, paradoxically, universal. One can accept the notion of his work having African undertones through ancestral memory, but his work has been compared to Ice Age,Egyptian,and Haitian art as well.'

Comparisons have been drawn between the works of Traylor and the rock paintings of 15,000 to 30,000 years ago in Altamira, Spain, and Font de Gaume and Lascaux, France, not necessarily in function, but out of a certain aesthetic. The rock paintings were not made for wall ornamentation, but for ritualistic purposes,for in drawing their prey, the artists believed that the real animal would succumb to their power.

The animals are drawn in profile, fullbodied and dignified, in both Traylor's work and the cave paintings.

The rock paintings of Tassili in the Sahara, discovered by Henri Lhote, are different from those found in France and Spain. Traylor's representations, however, bear a striking resemblance to these as well. Painted by the nomads of Sudan, who lived a tranquil life as herdsmen from 4000to 1500 B.C.,they display scenes of a more settled and civilized life than that of the hunter.

Walls depict dances, people sitting in circles, women performing domestic chores, men accompanied by dogs, and cattle huddled near huts'. Although more frenetic, Traylor's figures resemble the elegant simplistic women balancing themselves on one leg as they gather grain. A natural economy of means is attained through a precise and compact design.

The animals which Traylor sketched are uncompromising and unforgettable, especially as they loom over masters who walk or lead them. The proportion determines the impression; the impression determines the effect. It is his animal pictures, which have been described as most vividly revealing "his gift for placing shapes just right:" His respect and fascination for animals may have come from his close association with them while farming, or may be a natural progression in experimentation, and a precursor to painting people. Some are delicately hoofed like 47

Man walking dog. c. 1940. Pencil and colored pencil on cardboard.

11/ 1 2 "x 11W On an otherwise discarded square of

cardboard, Traylor leaves us with an unforgettable image ofan everyday experience. Courtesy, RiccoJohnson Gallery, NYC.

human nature along with life's simple pleasures. The fact that his work accelerates to a more mature style in such a compressed time span may account for much of the nervous tension present.

The rhythmic perfection of his best paintings induce feelings far deeper than the imagery alone would warrant. Traylor's work lives its own life and like all good art, stands on its own. It does not need the sentiment of his being an 85 year old ex-slave. For those caught in the fascination of Bill Traylor some simple images will never be the same. A man will always walk his dog up the back of his leg and a simple pig will forever remain washed with purple pigment.

Diane Finore,a Master's degree candidate in American Folk Art Studies at New York University, has been a folk art enthusiast since the day, twelve years ago, when she stood in a rainstorm at a country auction to purchase her first quilt for 75g.

those in the Tassili frescoes. The spotted leopard is reminiscent of Nigerian lore where it is a symbol of wisdom and leadership. Traylor's animal depictions may be iconographic of his deeprooted African culture.

At times his painting resembles Egyptian art, which also idolizes particular animals. The cobra was a known goddess of lower Egypt. The serpent appears repeatedly in Traylor's work.

His box-like figures are Egyptian in stance. Feet point in the same direction looking much like two left feet. A detail from a wall painting in the tomb of Chnetnhotep near Beni Hassan, Egypt, c.1900 B.C., displays birds in a tree much like Traylor's animals in a tree.

Traylor's sketch goes so far as to include a camel in the foreground. Although no other reflections of advertisements are discernible, this could have been unconsciously taken from a Camel cigarette package.

48

Hieroglyphics chronicled a lifetime, beginning with a network of straight lines. As mentioned previously, Traylor also began with a network of straight lines. Egyptian art is noted for its strict adherence to a prescribed style, and a maintained sense of order, poised within an austere harmony. Traylor's sense of austerity is revealed in his painting depicting a brown man seated in a house decorated with blue slashes, as a black hooded death figure with his cane, looms above. One small window, a welllighted escape, is left free of all design, as is the desolate foreground, the now.

These childlike figures are not detailed as in his finest work and yet he did not master the house or use blue paint till the later years of his painting career.

This could be one of his final paintings, depicting an inevitable confrontation with death.

Bill Traylor is a worldly comic fellow who shows us the brutalities of

FOOTNOTES 1. Vivien Raynor. The New York Times. 'Art: Show in Brooklyn Mines Black Folk Vein:' July 2, 1982.

2. All quotes by Charles Shannon, unless otherwise noted, are from conversations with the writer on December 19, 1982 and January 16, 1983.

3. Folk artist Antonio Esteves, upon the news of the Brooklyn Museum purchasing one of his paintings, remarked, "They're going to put me in a museum:' Conversation with Kay Sloman.

4. Bill Traylor to Charles Shannon. "The Folk Art of Bill Traylor" by Charles Shannon.

Exhibition catalog, "Southern Works on Paper, 1900-1950:'(Southern Arts Federation, 1981).

5. Lowery S.Sims. Exhibit catalog,"Bill Traylor: People, Animals, Events, 1939-1942:'(Vanderwoude Tananbaum Gallery, New York, September 8-October 9, 1982). Dr. Maude S. Wahlman. Exhibit catalog, "Bill Traylor!'

(Arkansas Arts Center, October I4-November 28, 1982).

6. Ibid.

7. Basil Davidson. 'African Kingdoms:'(New York: Time, Inc., 1966), 48, 49.

8. E.H. Gombrich. "The Story of Are:(New York: Phaidon Publishers, Inc., 1961), p. 39.

FURTHER READING Livingston, Jane, and Beardsley, John. "Black Folk Art in America 1930-19807 Exhibition catalog,Corcoran Gallery of Art.(University Press of Mississippi and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, 1982).

Rankin, Allen, Collier's Magazine. "He Lost 10,000 Years:' June 22, 1946.

Raynor, Vivien. The New York Times. "Gallery View: A Gentle Naif from Alabama': September 26, 1982.

COLLECTOR'S NOTES

By Joyce Hill

John Brewster, Jr., the deaf-mute itinerant painter born in Connecticut in 1766, had a long and apparently self-supporting career which bridged two centuries.

As he sought commissions in towns from Poughkeepsie to Portland, Brewster typically advertised his professional services in local newspapers, usually identifying himself as a miniature as well as a portrait painter.

Curiously, although over one-hundred of his portraits have been located—some signed or documented, others attributed to him on stylistic grounds—miniatures by Brewster have remained frustratingly elusive. Folk art historian Nina Fletcher Little, in her chaptef on John Brewster, Jr., in American Folk Painters of Three Centuries, noted that "Only three miniatures have been discovered, recognizable through their similarity of technique to his larger works!" Several other miniatures including that of Mrs. Benjamin Greene (nee Lydia Clarke) in the collection of the Lexington (Massachusetts) Historical Society have also been attributed to Brewster. However, speculations about his smaller works have continued because no signed examples could be found.

Now a recently discovered miniature of Benjamin Apthorp Gould (Fig. 1) provides a new touchstone for evaluating "portraits in small" in relation to Brewster. Affixed to the back of the ivory of the Gould miniature is a paper inscribed: "Benj. Gould, Jr. Taken by/Mr. John Brewster, Jr./Oct. 1809!'

(Fig. la)Not surprisingly,the miniature is remarkably consistent with Brewster's larger-scaled portraits, not only

Fig. 1

Fig. la

Benjamin Apthorp Gould John Brewster, Jr. Inscription on paper affixed to the back ofthe miniature on ivory reads: "Benj. Gould Jr. Taken by/Mr. John Brewster Jr./Oct. 1809' Newburyport, Massachusetts.

2/ 3 4"x 2" oval.

Private Collection.

in style, and in the posing of the subject, but in the painting of the costume detail as well.

In the autumn of 1809, John Brewster, Jr., apparently spent several months in the household of the Gould family in Newburyport, Massachusetts. In addition to the October date on Benjamin,Jr.'s miniature, an advertisement in the Newburyport Herald for November 17, 1809 announced Brewster's availability as a portraitist and that he had "taken lodgings for a few weeks at Capt. Benjamin Gould's, Federal Street..."(Fig. 2)Capt. Benjamin was the father of the Benjamin depicted in the portrait miniature.

The miniature subject, Benjamin Gould, Jr., has been depicted in a black coat, brown-striped vest, white stock and tie. Brewster used some crosshatching in modeling the contours of Gould's face, as well as in developing a background within the oval for his subject. A similar technique was used in the miniature,New England Gentleman (Fig. 3), an earlier attribution to Brewster made by Mrs. Little. In addition to the blue cross-hatching of the backgrounds, the two portrait miniatures share other characteristics—the direct frontal gaze of the eyes, the nose delineated in three-quarter position with a dark shadow cast at the end of the nose, and lips separated by a pleasantly curved but well-defined line.

Another miniature—still unlocated —of Daniel Cleaves of Saco, Maine (Fig. 4) was attributed to the hand of John Brewster, Jr., by Mrs. Little in Three Centuries of American Folk Painting. This miniature, although 49

Fig. 2

-

John Brewfter,

, and li''ir GentlemenE NF();i71 ' rant!Xand ; 1 te

i1 I Newburyport, that he has commenced %,-bufinefs of his profeeion in this town, and

lacking the cross-hatching technique used in the later miniatures, relates stylistically to the two miniatures as well as to Brewster's large portraits.

The miniature of Benjamin Apthorp Gould has descended within the sitter's family and has a continuous history of family ownership. The small portrait on ivory is still encased in its original gold locket and rests in its original red leather case. Wherein the reverse side ofthe Gould miniature's frame includes a window showing plaited hair, presumably Gould's, the reverse of the miniature of A New England Gentleman reveals a second, unrelated miniature—a stylized portrait of a woman pointing heavenward and standing beside a tablet inscribed SOU/VE/NIR. Gould, the son of Capt. Benjamin and Griselda Apthorp (Flagg) Gould, was born June 15, 1787 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. An outstanding student at Dummer Academy,Gould went on to achieve academic distinction at Harvard. Even before his graduation, he was appointed Headmaster of the Public Latin School of Boston and given the challenge of improving the school's classical curriculum. He wrote a revised text for Latin grammar and prepared editions of Horace, Ovid, and Virgil; all of his texts were used widely throughout the country. In 1823, Gould married Lucretia Dana Goddard, daughter of Nathaniel and Lucretia (Dana) Goddard. He later retired from education and became a highly successful businessman.

John Brewster, Jr., the son of Dr. John Brewster and his first wife Mary Durkee, spent his early years in Hampton, Connecticut. Unfortunately, no references indicating just how early his artistic talents surfaced or to what extent they were encouraged have been found to date. However, by 1790, a diary entry written by the Reverend James Cogswell of Scotland, Connecticut, noted on December 13th that Brewster "... is very Ingenious, has a 50

of the ; hi, I

/ taken lodgings for a few weeks at Capt. limitmin Gould's, Federal Rivet, where he w;11 grate- I fmly receive and punectrilly attend aay orders . with which they may pleafe to honor him ; and I wait on then% at their own lodgings if agreeable. ; and Miniatures to 1 Nov. 17. I .l ricej—P°rtr4ita doClhars : • Newburyport, 139 Advertisementfrom the Newburyport Herald of November 17, 1809.

Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Fig. 3 New England Gentleman Attributed to John Brewster, Jr. Found in Connecticut. c. 1805.

Miniature on ivory. 2"x 15/8"oval.

Private Collection.

Daniel Cleaves Attributed to John Brewster, Jr. Probably Saco, Maine.

1800-1805.

Present location unknown.

Genius for painting & can write well,& converse by signs so that he may be understood in many Things ..."2 Brewster did have some instruction in painting from the Reverend Joseph Steward, a virtually self-taught portrait painter, of Hampton, Connecticut.

Many questions remain about certain years in Brewster's life. No paintings or miniatures have been positively related to his stay in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1799, although he advertised in the December 31st issue of the Poughkeepsie Journal that he had "commenced his business!' Nor have portraits been found which correspond with the account book notations made by storekeeper Comfort Starr Mygatt of Danbury, Connecticut from November 24, 1798 through April 8, 1799.3 In the ledger, John Brewster, "Portrait Painter:' received clothing including a "Wool coat" and "patent stockings:' materials, sundries, "To Cash pd. for Paint Brushes:' and "Cash for you to balance" in exchange for "Portrait Painting as to agreement!'

Perhaps the appearance of the Gould miniature will spark further searches, not only for other miniatures by this extraordinary painter of people but for his larger portraits as well.

Joyce Hill has lectured on folk art and folk painting for historical societies, clubs, and museums.

She is continuing research initially published in the Bay State HistoricalLeague Bulletin on itinerant artists in Massachusetts. She is Curator of the Museum of American Folk Art. FOOTNOTES 1. Lipman, Jean, and Armstrong, Tom, editors, American Folk Painters of Three Centuries, (New York: Henry Hills Press, Inc., in association with the Whitney Museum of Art), p. 21.

2. Ibid., p. 18 3. Ledger in the collection of the Danbury ScottFanton Museum and Historical Society, Danbury, Connecticut. Ledger reference and shopkeeper identification courtesy of Mrs. Dorothy T. Schling, Museum Consultant, Southbury, Connecticut.

Special appreciation is extended to Nina Fletcher Little for her consultations on miniatures attributed to John Brewster, Jr.

Calendar

THE EVOLUTION OF THE AMERICAN CHAIR Through June 1983 Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute 310 Genesee St. Utica, NY. 13502 The exhibition, on view at Fountain Elms,includes thirty chairs from various periods in American history. It features the newly acquired Herter Brothers chair, a maple side chair made by the renowned furniture makers of New York in the 1880s.

A SAMPLER OF AMERICAN ADVERTISING FROM THE BELLA LANDAUER COLLECTION December 15, 1982 through July 31, 1983 The New York Historical Society 170 Central Park West New York, N.Y. This exhibition will emphasize the many kinds of advertisements used by thousands of different merchants to sell their products. Items in the show range in size from General Tom Thumb's calling card, measuring 11 / 4" by 3R: to three life size cigar store figures. Posters, trade cards, sale catalogs, labels, handbills, invitations, and manufacturer's premiums of every variety will trace the history of advertising in this country from the late 18th to the early 20th century.

FRONTIER MERCHANTS AND NATIVE CRAFTSMEN: The Fred Harvey Company Collects Indian Art(1902-1968) Through Summer 1983 The Heard Museum 22 E. Monte Vista Road Phoenix, Arizona The Fred Harvey Company, whose business began in 1876 with the opening of a restaurant in the Topeka, Kansas railroad station, played a decisive role in directing public attention to the native cultures of the Southwest. Their "Harvey Houses" which sprang up every 100 miles along the Santa Fe Railroad offered the tourist Indian crafts from the reservations. This exhibit will showcase 600 objects from the collection including a reconstruction of the Indian Department salesroom in Albuquerque, New Mexico as it appeared to the tourist in the early 1900's. Also included will be Navajo weaving and jewelry, Pueblo pottery, Hopi kachinas, basketry and Chilkat blankets.

A CELEBRATION: AMERICAN LANDSCAPE PAINTING,GENRE ART AND DRAWING February 3—June 5, 1983 The New York Historical Society 170 Central Park West New York, N.Y. America's foremost and lesser known landscape and genre artists will be represented in this exhibition which will include the Society's paintings, drawings and watercolors as well as an important loan. America's first native school of landscape painting was created by the Hudson River artists and the Society's collection of these paintings is one of the country's finest. Genre painting, a reflection of strong nationalistic pride felt in 19th century America, will be represented by paintings, watercolors and drawings by William Mount, Eastman Johnson, Worthington Whittridge, E.L. Henry and others.

QUILTS AND CAROUSELS:FOLK ART IN THE FIRELANDS May 1—July 4, 1983 Firelands Association for the Visual Arts 80 S. Main Street Oberlin, Ohio 44074 This exhibition ofcarousel animals and quilts will illuminate the history and culture of the City of Oberlin, Oberlin College and Ohio's Firelands Region. A symposium on "quilts as visual language" will be held during the first two weeks of the exhibition. Speakers will include Case Western Reserve University History Professor Lois Scharf("Women in Action: A 19th century Perspective:' May 4); exhibition curator, Ricky Clark ("Quilts as Historic Documents:' May 6); quilt researcher Cuesta Benberry ("Afro-American Woman and Quilts:' May 8); quilt collector and author Jonathan Holstein ("Aesthetics and Economics in American Quilts:' May 11); folklorist Rosemary Joyce and artist/quiltmaker Nancy Crow("Today's Quilters: Traditional and Innovative,' May 15). During the opening reception, 2:00 to 5:00PM May at FAVA,the film "Quilts in Women's Lives" will be shown.

SECOND WESTERN STATES EXHIBITION/THE 38th CORCORAN BIENNIAL EXHIBITION OF AMERICAN PAINTING May 6—August 31, 1983 Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences Peoria, Illinois This exhibition which is comprised of 100 paintings by 30 artists is being organized jointly by Clair List, Associate Curator of Contemporary

Art at the Corcoran and the Western States Arts Foundation of Santa Fe, New Mexico. To be included are artists from Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington. This year's exhibition is the first of five consecutive Corcoran Biennials to focus on individual regions of the country. The Biennial was created in 1906 to provide a collective forum for the most prominent artists in the country to display their work.

EARLY SOUTHERN HISTORY AND DECORATIVE ARTS June 19—July 15, 1983 Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts Winston-Salem, North Carolina The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina together with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, will sponsor a graduate summer institute focusing on the decorative arts and history of the South before 1820. The 1983 program will focus in detail on the material culture of the Carolina Low Country including Charleston, South Carolina.

Participants will have the opportunity to make use of the collections and research facilities ofthe Museum (MESDA), the Old Salem restoration and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Lectures on history, decorative arts, research methods, object analysis, and other topics will be given on a daily basis by staff members, faculty, and a number of invited guest speakers.

A field trip to the Charleston, South Carolina region will take place during the institute.

TRADITIONAL POTTERY OF ALABAMA July 12—September 18, 1983 Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts 440 So. McDonough St. Montgomery, Ala. 36104 Over 200 traditional potteries operated in Alabama between the years of 1920 and 1982. The Anglo pottery tradition was dominant, with the high-firing stoneware clays of the Alabama Piedmont and Black belt attracting numerous pottery families from Georgia and the Carolinas. Approximately 100 pieces representing the traditional forms, glazes and regional characteristics are included in this exhibition,sponsored jointly by the Alabama State Council on the Arts and Humanities and the Montgomery Museum. A catalogue with essay by State folklorist Hank Willett will document this important part of Alabama's cultural and artistic heritage. The program is sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Museum News

TWO MUSEUM SATELLITE EXHIBITIONS IN NEW YORK CITY During the period in which the Museum's permanent home is under construction, we will be presenting exhibitions in several galleries throughout New York City: A Pieced Paradox: Mid-Western Amish Quilts will be on view at the City Gallery ofthe Department of Cultural Affairs at 2 Columbus Circle from June 23 through August 27, 1983; Amish Crib Quilts can be seen at the Equitable Life Assurance Society, 1285 Avenue of the Americas,from June 15 through August 31, 1983. These exhibitions are in addition to those which will be mounted in our temporary headquarters.

A Pieced Paradox at the City Gallery will feature approximately 30 Amish quilts, primarily from the Goshen, Indiana Amish community, drawn from a recent major gift to the Museum's permanent collection by David Pottinger. The exhibition will illustrate the paradoxical nature of these quilts, which are emblematic ofthe belief ofa plain and simple people, yet dazzle us with daring uses of color and form—curious foreshadowings of the work of contemporary artists such as Victor Vasarely, Frank Stella, Bridget Riley and Ad Reinhardt. The nonconformist Amish and their singular folk art vividly represent the spirit and creative diversity of America's pluralistic democracy.

Mr. Pottinger is the curator of A Pieced Paradox, and author of the forthcoming book, Quilts from the Indiana Amish: A Regional Collection prepared by the Museum of American Folk Art in conjunction with E.P. Dutton.

Amish Crib Quilts at The Equitable Life Assurance Society includes quilts from the Museum's permanent collection and private collections, supplemented by textual storyboards and multiple photographic images of Amish life which are divided into four categories: The Amish Community; Amish Children Within the Community;The Quilt in the Amish Tradition; and The Quilt as Artistic Expression. Dawn Wiegand, a graduate intern in N Y.U.'s Folk Art Studies program, is curator of the exhibition.

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Playtime: Actress Sandy Duncan admires a set ofhand crafted toy blocks in the Museum Shop.

MUSEUM BENEFIT AUCTION The Museum of American Folk Art takes pleasure in announcing the generous support of Shearson/American Express as the sponsor of the Gala Spring Auction on April 14th at Sotheby Parke Bernet, Inc. Shearson/American Express' funding will enable the Museum to generate new funds for its relocation to temporary facilities during the construction of its permanent home on West 53rd Street, and to enrich its endowment fund.

Since the auction took place after The Clairon went to press, the results and appropriate thank-you's to all who worked so hard to make this a great success will be reported in The Clarion's Fall, 1983 issue.

SATELLITE MUSEUM SHOP OPENS IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER Opening mid-May in the Channel Gardens section of Rockefeller Center, the second Museum Shop will showcase selected items from The America Collection—the Museum of American Folk Art's Reproduction Program—in addition to the traditional handcrafted works and art books for which The Shop has become so well-known.

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART RECEIVES PLANNING GRANT FROM THE NEW YORK COUNCIL FOR THE HUMANITIES. In the winter of 1983, The Museum of American Folk Art is mounting a major exhibition, "Reflections of Faith: Religious Folk Art in America." The exhibition will include examples of painting, sculpture, watercolor and needlework spanning the period from the founding of the nation through the Twentieth century. In light of the broad range of the exhibition, it is important that the works of art be placed in the cultural framework from which they sprang. Accordingly, it was necessary to develop educational programming to support the theme of the exhibition.

The first step in the development of this undertaking was a successful grant application to the New York Council for the Humanities for a mini-grant to underwrite a day long planning session to bring together a group representing the academic and museum communities. The planning session was attended by Don Yoder, Distinguished Professor of Folk Life Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; Simon Bronner, Assistant Professor, Folk Lore and American Studies, Pennsylvania

State University; Kurt Dewhurst, Acting Director of the Museum, Michigan State University and co-curator of the exhibit; Marsha MacDowell,co-curator;Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Performance Studies, New York University; Susan F. Saidenberg, Curator of Education, Museum of American Folk Art; and Gerard C. Wertkin, Assistant Director of the Museum of American Folk Art. As a result of this productive meeting, Susan Saidenberg developed the major content areas for a three-day symposium entitled: "True Believers: Religious Folk Culture in America:' which will bring together scholars from all parts of the country. The program will include sessions on the nature of the religious folk object,the role of folk art in personal and family identity, and its role in folk festivals and maintaining the life of a community.

Funding for the symposium has been requested from the New York Council for the Humanities.

We anticipate that the program will afford the general public, as well as the scholarly community, an opportunity to celebrate the rich and thriving folk cultures of New York. Since the symposium is to be co-sponsored by the New York Folklore Society, it will open avenues ofcooperation between the Museum,folklife scholars and community organizations.

the field of American folk painting.

The Museum's research library has been enriched by a file of original papers relating to John Hale Bellamy (1836-1914), the New England folk sculptor known for his carvings of eagles. The gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Isaacson of Lewiston, Maine, the documents include manuscript letters, deeds, personal and family records, photographs and templates. Mr. Isaacson, who served as guest curator of the Museum's 1981 exhibition, "Records of Passage: New England Illuminated Manuscripts," and Mrs. Isaacson previously have enhanced the Museum's permanent collection by gifts ofa number ofimportant watercolors. Their continued support ofthe collecting and research endeavors of the institution is deeply gratifying.

QUERY As a research assistant, in nineteenth century painting, at the Museum of American Folk Art, I am seeking information relating to an unidentified portrait painter. The two photographs are of

companion portraits representative of this artist's style. They are believed to be the work of an itinerant Boston artist, active in Massachusetts, and/or New Hampshire,ca.

1830-1840. At present, only one other portrait by the same hand has been located.

Any information your readers may be able to contribute towards establishing a body of work, and eventual identification, will be greatly appreciated. Please address correspondence to: Alexandra de Lallier PO. Box 609 Lenox Hill Station New York, N.Y. 10021

THANK YOU Two good friends of the Museum, Dr. Stanley B. Burns and Gail Dane Gomberg, have established a valuable resource of photographic materials relating to American folk art and folklife at the Museum of American Folk Art. Dr. Burns, a prominent medical historian with a longstanding interest in photography, and Ms. Gomberg have presented over 100 early daguerreotypes and ambrotypes to the Museum and generously have indicated their intention to add materials from time to time in the future. The archive includes rare images of folk paintings and portraits of individuals involved in a variety of crafts.

The gifts of Dr. Burns and Ms.Gomberg are of particular importance to researchers in

King Carl XVI Gustafand Queen Silvia ofSweden with Director, Robert Bishop during their visit to the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art to view the exhibition, Olof Krans: A Prairie Vision.

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Bookshelf

AMERICAN DECORATIVE ARTS

By Robert Bishop and Patricia Coblentz.

Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1982. $65.

Dr. Robert Bishop, Director ofthe Museum of American Folk Art, and his coauthor, Patricia Coblentz, formerly Assistant Director of the Museum of American Folk Art, have composed a masterpiece for their field, as well as for the collector and lover of the decorative traditions of our country. On first encountering American Decorative Arts, one is struck by the sheer beauty ofthe book: its magnificent cover, wealth of photographs(more than 400), and its own decorative graphic elements. But the aesthetics of the volume is only the invitation to the reader to delve into what may be the most comprehensive and important book on decorative arts written to date.

The book is divided into four major sections covering 360 years of design: "The Colonial Period:' "Independence to Civil War!' "The Maturing Nation!' and "America the Beautiful:' In the first, the authors trace the impressive development ofthe arts in the earliest days of the colonies to the mid-18th century. In the beginning America brought the tastes and styles fashionable in the mother country to their new homeland, utilizing native materials to reproduce the Medieval designs favored in England. It was not long, however, before commerce opened foreign lands and beauty to America: the East and other European countries became sources of inspiration. Jacobean, Cromwellian, William and Mary, Queen Anne, and Chippendale styles are all reviewed and generously illustrated by a multitude of photographs of furniture, paintings, utensils, engravings, ceramics, needlework, and museum period rooms.

During the years between 1620 and 1776, Americans showed reverence for the past and for their English heritage, as well as abounding ingenuity and inventiveness, revealed in the materials used and designs executed in our young country. By 1776,the popularity of the Rococo style spoke of the devotion to beauty, detail, and opulence prevalent in the urban centers.

The book's second section leads to a discussion ofthe Victorian style with its use of older styles (Greek, Gothic, Elizabethan, Rococo) and pleasing contrast between simplicity and often exaggerated embellishment. Dr. Bishop and Ms. Coblentz's 54

lucid and informative text makes clear the importance of the rise of technology and its effects upon the decorative arts. The discussion of country styles from 1776 to 1860 is especially engaging. The childlike and vibrant qualities of much of the folk art is a testimony to the originality and vivaciousness of the people of the American countryside. Excerpts from books and periodicals of the day enrich the text. Stenciling, textiles, furniture, woodworking,and painting are explored,as are the influences ofsuch religious and social groups as the Shakers.

In the introduction to "The Maturing Nation!' the authors speak of the social and economic reforms following the Civil War and of the further developments in technology. The Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia was an important event, for it summarized the advances made in America during the first one hundred years and was, in and of itself, a symbol of the flowering of American industry and design.

At the same time a love of nature survived, often seen in the organic style, illustrated by a photograph of the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park. Iron, electricity, and kerosene are but a few of the technological advances made. The variety of styles popular in this period is lavishly illustrated and fascinatingly discussed.

The last section, `America the Beautiful"(1948-1980)traces the colonial revival, art moderne or art deco, and the international style. Perhaps the ultimate statement is a two page photograph of a loft in New York, inhabited by magnificent examples of folk art, set in the pure sunlight of the most modern of settings. The spirit of American creativity speaks in that picture and in its eloquent placement at the end of the book.

Dr. Bishop and Ms. Coblentz have amassed an enormous amount of art and social history and have presented it with clarity, grace, and extreme intelligence.

The illustrations extend the vast knowledge of the text and captions, allowing the reader to become visually aware of the development of the decorative arts: its influences from across the world, its harkenings to the past, and its yearnings to the future. The book is a joy to mind and eye—a true treasure to own. One's pride in the creativity, sensitivity, ingenuity, and even whimsy of American artists and craftsmen is awakened and enlivened.

Sara Robinson Farhi

AMERICAN FOLK DOLLS

By Wendy Lavitt.

133 pages. 50 color and 40 black and white illustrations. Alfred A. Knopf $25.00 hardcover and $14.95 paperback.

This lovely book, beautifully photographed and thoughtfully written, proves conclusively that, though created for the pleasure of a child, no grown up could be immune to the charms of the dolls depicted here. Wendy Lavitt has taken the subject of dolls from the realm of the playroom and put it into a historical, sociological and artistic perspective. Though primarily concerned with dolls in the New World—those made during the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—the book also traces the history of these beloved playthings from as early as the year 2,000 B.C. and the Egyptian tombs. There are beautiful examples of every type of doll from the familiar "rag" or cloth doll to a strange pair of dolls fashioned from discarded wishbones. The qualities that make a doll such an intricate part of childhood development then as now are obvious. Peppered with a lively thought provoking text, one is given meaningful and delightful insights into the life of a child in centuries past. As Ms. Lavitt says in her introduction..."if only the dolls themselves could speak!' Indeed, as you read this book you wish you could know what life was like for the owners of those faceless, somber Amish dolls or what social commentary the owners of those topsy turvey dolls—black at one end, white at the other—could make. You can't help but marvel at the intricate clothing and detail evident in the nut and bean dolls. Perhaps the most haunting section of the book is devoted to black dolls. "The innocence, poignancy and vitality inherent in black dolls create a unique tension that transforms these playthings into folk art:' In the case of Indian dolls, the meshing of cultures to which these native Americans were subjected is readily apparent as the dolls eloquently speak of the new culture the Indian was forced to embrace. The dolls of the Hopi tribe were primarily educational tools perpetuating symbols and rites of the religion. After the arrival ofthe Mormon missionary in the 1890's ordinary dolls played a • role in the Hopi childhood.

This book fills a void and is a must for toy and doll collectors as well as collectors of other forms of American folk art. Educa-

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tional as well as lovely to look at, it is a delight as well for anyone with fond memories of a long lost childhood friend.

Pat Locke

BRITISH PRIMITIVE FANTASISTS. A SURVEY OF PORTAL PAINTERS.

By Eric Lister.

252 pages. 105 illustrations, 91 in color.

Alpine Fine Arts Collection, Ltd. New York: 1982. $60.00 regular edition. $250.00 limited edition with 3 signed and numbered graphics.

Eric Lister, along with his partner, Lionel Levy, has owned the Portal Gallery at 16a Grafton Street in London since December, 1959. In the beginning they showcased the works of British Primitive artists, many of whom they discovered.

A very large, handsome volume, this book presents a number of the works of thirty-nine British artists, as well as a discussion of their mostly idiosyncratic personal and creative lives. While the majority are painters, several work with fabrics, and one embroiders silk on tea towels, creating mostly pin-up girls with movie star faces.

Much as Sidney Janis did in the early 1940's for American primitive painters, in his now classic book, They Taught Themselves, Lister recounts his own contacts with the artists and their work, his visits to their homes,and the impact their art created when first seen by the public. While not all of the artists discussed are actually fantasists — some would probably be better termed primitives—their very different styles and lives make for fascinating reading.

On the basis of the British artists covered here, the overall impression given is that, as a group, they are very unlike our own selftaught artists, whose paintings are usually characterized by patterns and tightly worked design elements. This is not true of the British, where the imagery is often dream-like in a surrealistic sense, and can be jarring, offbeat and shocking as well.

The element of fantasy present in so many of these pieces is epitomized in Scotsman Fergus Hall's painting "Fat Musicians!' which has a Dali-esque quality. The two "Grimaldi" paintings by Patricia Neville, on the other hand, have a soft, misty, 19th century quality akin to the Impressionist

period. One of the loveliest sections of the book is devoted to Kit Williams, the 35year old artist now known to millions as the originator of the puzzle and later the book Masquerade. The paintings depicted here, like those in his book, are beautifully detailed and colored and filled with seemingly unrelated elements which are of course part of a carefully conceived theme. One of the most humorous sections belongs to Beryl Cook whose paintings are easily recognizable since her characters are all so much larger than life. Of particular interest to American Folk art collectors will be the decoys of Guy Taplin, who after many years as an itinerant worker finally found employment as keeper of the wild fowl in Regents Park. There, with many hours of solitude, he began to carve what are called here "wildlife sculptures" from pieces of driftwood from the Thames.

Both the works and life stories of these artists add to our understanding of this segment of contemporary British art, and the author, by presenting their lives in an understated, almost off-hand manner, helps illuminate them. A case in point is the story of James McNaught's stay in a hostel where thousands of flies came out of the tap the first time he ran water for a bath. Even though their numbers lessened with time, there still continued to be "the odd wing, leg, or body floating about" whenever he filled the tub. A glimpse at McNaught's grotesque, rather menacing figures suggests that he probably had a number of equally bizarre experiences.

As a record of what British Primitive artists have been doing in the last decades,and as a comparison to American folk art,this is an excellent source book, deserving the attention of anyone with an interest in what is happening on both sides of the Atlantic.

interviews conducted over several years with nine Mississippi artists, Black and White. They include: three musicians, a sculptor, two canemakers, two painters, a basketmaker, a quiltmaker, and a needlework maker. Their voices are strong and clear as they discuss and elaborate on those incidents in their lives most directly involved with their senses of place and creativity.

The importance of Place in the work of an artist is the major theme in this book.

Through all the isolation, hardship, and genius emerges a sure sense of the earth and the self. We are charmed by their monologues while we are awed at the myriad, unpredictable forms their artistic impulses take.

Dr. Ferris's choices in his presentation should be complimented. Lack of phonetic dialect, an invisible interviewer, and the careful editing of monologues all serve to clarify and isolate the most important statements regarding their art. We could have missed the electricity of an in-person exchange. Extra clarity is needed to make words live on the page. Dr. Ferris succeeds beautifully by cutting out all superfluous, non-illuminating small talk. The effect immediately pulls us in closer. We deal with the artists and their muses; directly.

With a forward by Robert Penn Warren and an illuminating introduction by Dr. Ferris on the subject of Place, Local Color is a necessary addition to any library of Twentieth Century folk art.

Randall Morris

FAIRGROUND ART

By Geoff Weedon and Richard Ward.

303 pages. Published by Abbeville Press, New York. $65.00.

Judith Reiter Weissman

LOCAL COLOR:A SENSE OF PLACE IN FOLK ART

By William Ferris. Edited by Brenda McCallum.

241 pages, black and white illustrations.

McGraw-Hill Book Co. New York. $19.95, hardcover, $11.95 paperback.

Local Color by William Ferris, founder of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, is a carefully presented selection of

This elegant, entertaining book is the first ever solely devoted to those commercial art forms which graced fairgrounds, circuses and amusement parks in England, America, Germany, France, Belgium and Holland.

Secondarily, the book focuses on the carvers, artists and studios who produced this highly appealing form of "packaging!' Beginning with the carousel or "roundabout" the evolution of the English carousel horse is traced by artist, with each successive carver introducing more animals into his repertoire as well as the glorification ofcon55

Bookshelf

temporary celebrities. As the artistry develops, one sees the indelible mark of each carver and can quickly identify, for instance, the fanciful carvings of C.J. Spooner or the violent imagery associated with the work of John Robert Anderson.

National style is obvious, as well. Perhaps the most bizarre carousel vehicle, which is German in origin, is that of a large menagerie figure, such as a camel or rhinoceros, fitted with interior seats. The French and Belgian carousel animals are noteworthy for their life-like colors, and the fact that all the trappings, such as tassels and jewels, are carved in wood.

The evolution ofthe American carousel is interesting for many reasons. As America grew from an agrarian to an industrial society, leisure time and disposable income became important factors in the growth of the amusement business. Stylistically, the American carousel falls into three categories: the "Coney Island;' the "Country Fair" and the "Philadelphia:' At one time there were five carousel manufacturing concerns in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, all of them operated by immigrant carvers from Europe. The Coney Island style begins with Charles I.D. Loof, a furniture restorer of French-German heritage, continues with Marcus C. Illions, perhaps the most flamboyant and gifted of the Coney Island carvers, Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein, and Charles Cannel whose work epitomizes the "flashy extravagance of Coney Island carving..."

The Philadelphia style had as its chief proponent the work of an old German cabinet maker, Gustav Dentzel. Of all the large carousel factories, his produced the most consistent product. The Dentzel style was perpetuated and refined by his rival, The Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC).

Begun in 1903 to emulate Dentzel's success, within ten years they were building carousels of unsurpassed splendor.

Ease of erection and limitations of portability dictated the Country Fair style. The chief proponent ofthis school of design was the businessman Alan Herschell and his brother-in-law Edward Spillman who formed the Herschell Spillman Co., the largest and most prolific carousel manufacturer in the country. Charles Wallace Parker, "the amusement king;' was the only manufacturer of carousels not on the eastern coast. In 1882 he purchased a shooting gallery and by 1902 had his first travelling 56

carnival on the road, all of which—the wagons, tents, carved show fronts and rides—were built in his factory. It was his horses, sometimes nearly 8 feet in length and very elongated and abstracted in form that rivaled Coney Island in extravagance.

But horses and other carousel animals, while of tremendous interest to collectors, represent but a portion of this book.

The history of fairground advertising is traced from 19th century England and simple canvas banners to the later incorporation of such techniques as art noveau painting, tromple l'oeil and rococo decoration. As the book continues it further traces the mechanical and ensuing artistic evolution of the mechanical switchback—the forerunner of our modern roller coaster. The cars for these amusements are among the most beautiful images in the book,depicting fairground art at its most magical. The book in its concluding chapters paints a picture of amusement park life sadly more familiar to most of us. Namely those devices whose successful operation require little help from any decorative treatment. Without doubt the most bizarre section of the book is devoted to painted banners. Designed to appeal to a semi-literate public this, the oldest form of fairground decoration, often celebrates such themes as sex, violence, horror and later, contemporary comic strip and cinema heros and heroines.

Though appearing to be the quintessential picture book this volume contains a wealth of information and pleasure about the art forms that have graced and sustained Fairs and amusement parks for centuries.

Though written with somewhat of a European bias it will delight collectors of Americana as well.

Pat Locke

AMERICANA:FOLK AND DECORATIVE ART Introduction by Mary Jean Madigan.

Edited by ART AND ANTIQUES, Billboard Publications, New York, 1982. $19.95.

This volume, a collection of twenty articles published in Art and Antiques magazine, is itself an eloquent patchwork quilt of studies of American folk and decorative art. In the book's introduction, Mary Jean Madigan discusses what she means by "Americana":

"those objects widely used or displayed in the American household through the turn of the twentieth century" and goes on to define the sources of influence and inspiration of the objects examined in the articles: religion, politics, various cultural traditions, usefulness, and even the solitude of days spent by sailors at sea. By 1825, many objects were formed, at least in part, with the help of machines, a fact which, Ms. Madigan states, was not necessarily detrimental to the quality of the work. In reading, Americana, one enters the realm of days gone by, discovering new friends in objects with the wealth of history behind them,and revelling in the artistry evident in the daily lives of our forefathers.

From the wide-eyed, sometimes wistful and sometimes startled eyes of the beasts of Edward Hicks' Peaceable Kingdom paintings;to a dainty, bustled lady floating across a piece of scrimshaw; to graceful and sinuous decoys,the worlds portrayed in Americana are at once rich in creativity and love of design. Some of the studies included are: the paintings of Antonio Jacobsen, painted tinware, mochaware, Staffordshire, occupational shaving mugs, jacquard coverlets, white quilts, bandboxes, cast-iron banks, and oil burning lamps. Susan Meyer's excellent piece on Cantonware contains fascinating material about the history ofEngland and America's trade with China, as well as photographs of examples of goods imported from the East. Ruth Amdur Tadenhaus' "Pennsylvania German Quilts" is a highly informative and instructional article describing the differences between the Amish and Mennonite people and the variations in their quilting work. While the Amish quilts are very geometrical and less intricately colored than those of the Mennonites, whose every souls seem to dance on the faces of their quilts, both are equally dramatic in the richness of color and elaborate feather and floral stitching employed.

All the articles are highly readable, informative and inspiring to the collector and anyone who loves history and beautiful objects. Ms. Madigan has chosen her subjects carefully, with eyes both scholarly and aesthetic. The avid collector and newly born enthusiast will find Americana a delightful and rich compendium of some of the most colorful and interesting examples of folk and decorative art.

Sara Robinson Farhi

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Our Increased Membership Contributions September-December 1982

We wish to thank the following members for their increased membership contributions and for their expression of confidence in the Museum: Acuff, M., Riverside, CT Angelo, Mr. and Mrs. John, New York, NY Albert, Allan, New York, NY Alhadeff, Morris J., Renton, WA Allen, Lewis, New York, NY Babtkis, Raymond, New York, NY Bahm, Mr. and Mrs. Darwin M., New York, NY Barancik, Richard M., Barrington Hills, IL Barenholtz, Bernard, Marlborough, NH Bernard, Mrs. Robert, New York, NY Brooks, James G., Boulder, CO Brown, Edward J., New York, NY Buckett, William, Rochester, NY Cohn, Dr. and Mrs. Hans, Suffern, NY Colchamiro, Oscar, New York, NY Cowen, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur, New York, NY Cowin, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel, New York, NY Cox, Mrs. G. W,Galveston, TX Cunningham, Mrs. E W., Hopewell, NJ Dammann, Mr. and Mrs. R. W,Rye, NY Davidson, Hal and Glenda, Boulder, CO Donahue, E. M., New York, NY Dorfman, Norma, Bridgehampton, NY De Silva, James S. Jr., La Jolla, CA Edmonds, Mary Jaene, Long Beach, CA

Eisner, Mrs. Lester Jr., New York, NY Ernst, John L., New York, NY

Meltzer, Barbara and Robert, East Northport, NY

Feldman, Suzanne, New York, NY Fowle, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce, New York, NY Fowler, Ms. Jacqueline, Stamford, CT Freedman, Mr. and Mrs. Norman, Mamaroneck, NY French, Dr. and Mrs. Joseph, Staten Island, NY Friedman, Howard K., Morristown, NJ

Nation, Robert E, Elizabethtown, PA Natkin, Mr. and Mrs. Robert, W. Redding, CT

Gamble, Ms. Gregor A., Topsham, ME Gamson, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin, Beverly Hills, CA Getz, Elias, New York, NY Gordon, Ellin B. and Baron J., Purchase, NY Graff, Howard M.,Townshend, VT Guttenberg, John P., Alexandria, VA Hagler, Mr. and Mrs. Charles, Ypsilanti, ME Hawkins, Paul M., Atlanta, GA Horwitz, Mr. and Mrs. John C., New York, NY Jamison, Earl, Lahaska, PA Johnson, R. Jeffrey R., Springfield, MD King, Jonathan and Jacqueline, Ridgewood, NJ Klein, E. Suzanne, Albany, CA Koren, Albert, New York, NY Levy, Peter A., New York, NY Livingston, Mrs. Richard M., Scarsdale, NY Masters, Mr. and Mrs. Jon, New York, NY Mayer, Mrs. Myron, New York, NY Mazoh, Stephen, New York, NY Macleod, Mrs. Patti, Santa Monica, CA Mcelfresh, Nancy, St. Paul, MN

Pope, Mr. and Mrs. Aaron S., Lake Worth, FL Potter, Mr. and Mrs. William, New York, NY Rose, Joanna S., New York, NY Sack, Israel, New York, NY Sackton, Alexander, Austin, TX Schumann, Robert and Ann, Mullica Hills, NJ Shands, the Reverand and Mrs. Alfred III, Crestwood, KY Sierra, Francisco E, New York, NY Siffert, Dr. and Mrs. Robert S., New York, NY Spitalny, Jane, Scarsdale, NY Speck, Paul G., Summit, NJ Steinberg, Sheila, New York, NY Steinberg, Mr. and Mrs. Robert, New York, NY Strauss, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, New York, NY Sterling, Dr. and Mrs. E. C., Randolph, VT Tepper, Phyllis, Valley Stream, NY Thompson, Maurice C., Westport, CT Tishman, Judith R., New York, NY Troubh, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond, New York, NY Warren, Mr. and Mrs. Irwin, New York, NY Wehle, Robert, Jackson Heights, NY Young, Mr. and Mrs. John R., Old Greenwich, CT Zagat, Eugene and Nina Jr., New York, NY

Our Growing Membership September-December 1982

The Museum Trustees and staff extend a special welcome to these new members.

Abbott, Janice G., Allendale, NJ Aberg, Elizabeth, Dallas, TX Ackley, Diane, New York, NY Adelson, Jean, Washington, DC Alexander, Mabel, New York, NY Alfond, Theodore, Weston, MA Anderson, Sandra, E. Longmeadow, MA Ault, Dr. and Mrs. J. Burch, Santa Fe, NM Axelrod, Nancy, Woodcliff Lake, NJ

Baer, Katherine B., Atlanta, GA Baker, Bradford C., Belfast, ME Barlow, Ed, New York, NY Barnes, Patricia N., Evanston, IL Barrett, Jackie, Asheville, NC Bartok, Lillian, New York, NY Bate, Mary Waters, Essex Falls, NJ Beazley, Linda, Pottstown, PA Becker, Irving H., Rye, NY Beer, Barbara A., Ashland, OH Berge, Elizabeth, Staten Island, NY Bieneke, J. Frederick, Litchfield, CT Birnbaum, Carolyn, Corona Del Mar, CA Bluestone, Hilda, Riverdale, NY

Boehm, Mary, New York, NY Blecher, Mrs. Eric, Cleveland Heights, OH Brackenridge, Cardine, New York, NY Brechner, Marilyn and Milton, Sands Point, NY Brown, Dr. L. N., Tampa, FL Brown, Stephen C., Oak Brook, IL Brustein, Dr. Harris, New York, NY Burak, George P., Nevada, NM Burlingame, Mrs. R. B., Boulder, CO Callahan, Jayne, Stamford, CT Callahan, M. Kathryn, La Jolla, CA Calligar, Catherine, New York, NY 57

Our Growing Membership September-December 1982

Candler, Mrs. Richard, Wilmette, IL Cane, Susan, New York, NY Capele, Mr. Joseph, New York, NY Cargo, Lin, West Bloomfield, MI Came, Blanche E., Catskill, NY Carr, Ann Marie, Newport News, VA Ceppos, Sandy and Jeffrey, New York, NY Chabot, Mrs. Robert, Cincinnati, OH Challenger, James E., Winnetka, IL Chaplain, Mary L., Maplewood, NJ Chick, Kerry, Australia Clardy, Elisabeth, Arlington, VA Conn, DiDi, Sherman Oaks, CA Cotter, Barbara, Long Beach, CA Cullman, Lewis and Dorothy, New York, NY Cohen, Mr. and Mrs. Peter, New York, NY Darby, John M., Longview, TX Davis, Mrs. Donald L., Friendship, IN De Angelis, Evelyn, Melville, NY De Christofaro, John M., Southampton, NY De Verter, Richard, Bird-in-Hand, PA Dentes, Eslie and George, Brooklyn, NY Donovan, Ann Marie, Framingham, MA Dowling, Tom, New York, NY Dubin, R. A., New York, NY Dubin, Mimi, New York, NY Dudock, Sylvia, New York, NY Duncan, Jane C., Philadelphia, PA Dunham, Norine, Hemet, CA Durland, Margaret, Greenwich, CT Easdon, Diane, New York, NY Elliott, Kim, Hollis, NH Elsberry, Donna, Tampa, FL Emans, Charlotte M., New York, NY Emig, G. Robert, Reading, PA Ertel, Rita, Cedarhurst, NY Etheridge, Eric, New York, NY Etheridge, Nora, Jackson, MS Fenster, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen, Ordell, NJ Fergusson, Betty, Richland, WA Fields, Mr. and Mrs. Richard, New York, NY Firth, Leslie M., New York, NY Fischer, Edith, Beverly Hills, CA Flum, Rosemarie, Potomac, MD Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Robert C., Cos Cob, CT Fox, Nancy Jo, New York, NY Francis, Anna B., Southfield, NY Fusto, John, Lebanon, TN Futterman, Janet Cooper, New York, NY The Gallery of Folk Art, Marblehead, MA Gallo, Mrs. Arnold, Manhasset, NY Garfield, Alex, Chester Springs, PA Gehrett, Mrs. John D., Franklin Lakes, NJ Gilbert, Steven, Ottawa, Canada Glasgow, Paul, Woodmere, NY Goldman, Mrs. Joy, Teaneck, NJ Goodman, Beatrice, Scarsdale, NY Griffin, Susan Casserly, New York, NY Gardner, Mr. and Mrs. Edward, Larchmont, NY 58

Haenggi, Mrs. Connie, Houston, TX Halpern, Joyce, New York, NY Halpern, Allan, New York, NY Hanson, Bonnie, Colts Neck, NJ Hanson, Dr. Sandra Sellers, Brooklyn, NY Harding, Mrs. Nina, Antrim, N.H. Harrison, Marianne, New York, NY Hartman, Mr. and Mrs. W. R., Morristown, NJ Heaphy, Anne, Holland, MI Helterman, Judy, Gaitherbury, MD HeIvey, Gregg A., Middleburg, VA Hemenway, Nancy, Brookline, MA Henriksen, Mr. and Mrs. Dale, Massapequa Park, MD Herrman, Nancy Sullivan, Sayville, NY Hess, Christine, Short Hills, NJ Hoffman, Kathleen N., Okemos, MI Holton, Barbara Anne, Charleston, S.C. Honig, Helen, New York, NY Hubbard, Eliot, New York, NY Hubbard, Mrs. Paull, Rumson, NJ Hubby, Mrs. F W,Niantic, CT Jones, Leigh R., Kingston, NY Kasano, Mrs. Grace, Syosset, NY Katz, Ruth J., New York, NY Kelley, Byron R., Mechanicsville, PA Kenefick, Mrs. John, Omaha, NE Ketay, Jennifer, W. Boca Raton, FL Key, Jacqueline, Greenwich, CT Kimelman, Isabella, New York, NY Kimmel, Cynthia, Grand Ledge, MI King, Scottie, New York, NY Kittredge, Brimfield, MA Kleinknecht, Dorothy Sweeney, Saddle River, NJ Klemmer, Anne S., Chappauqua, NY Klep, Marcella, New York, NY Kluser, Verena, West Germany Kohen-Lemle, Roni, New York, NY Koppel, Barbara, New York, NY Kramer, Dr. Shelley, San Diego, CA Kuhlman, Dr. and Mrs. Jay, New York, NY Kunzelmann, Susan Ely, Fayetteville, NY Lee, Lippe, New York, NY La Grave, Alla V, San Francisco, CA La Grotteria, Margaret N., Glencoe, IL La Placa, Linda, Hoboken, NJ Langdon, Anton, New York, NY Lannen, Laurel M., Chicago, IL Larribeau, Robert Jr., Short Hills, NJ Lateiner, Dr. and Mrs. Lloyd, Greenwich, CT Lawrence, C. and Whitman, Baltimore, MD Lebolt, Nancy, Highland Pk., IL Levin, Barbara, Pt. Washington, NY Levin, Jack M., Chicago, IL Levine, Rhoda, New York, NY Lindhloom, Nancy, Poughkeepsie, NY Lorenz, Mary Jo, Newport Beach, CA Macaulay, Mr. and Mrs. E. H., New York, NY Mack, Mrs. John, Madison, WI

Maine, Bruce, Bethel, CT Mandato, Kathy, East Norwalk, CT Manning, Edna, Westport, CT Manzella, Mary Rosa, Kenmore, NY Mardelle, Madsen, Minneapolis, MN Mason, Normon 0., Westport, CT McCormick, Mr. and Mrs. Robert, Madison, NJ Mclndoes, The, Ridgewood, NJ McIntosh, Jean, Omaha, NE Melamede, Amos, New York, NY Meltzer, Mr. and Mrs. Judd, New York, NY Merrit, Nancy, Glendale, CA Mesh, Marilyn, Gainesville, FL Messina, Albert S., New York, NY Metzen, Dr. and Mrs. John R.,East Aurora, NY Miller, Donna and Harvey,East Greenbush, NY Miller, Hisami, New York, NY Miller, Jean, Charleston, WV Miller, Sharon A., Riverside, CT Millstern, Jeffrey, Brooklyn, NY Mincolla, Dr. A. V, Binghamton, NY Minge, Dr. and Mrs. Ward Allan, Corrales, NM Mitchell, Norma L, Shaunee Mission, KS Moore, Marcia Ann, Malibu, CA Morris, Randall and Shari, New York, NY Milton, Mrs. David, Houston,TX Murphy, Suzanne, Milford, NJ Neely, Diesner, Whitmore and Family, .

Stowe, VT Nemuth, Harold, Richmond, VA Nicholas, Diana, Los Angeles, CA Nicholson, William B., Short Hills, NJ Nicole, Francx, Jamaica, NY Nissley, Astrid Becerra, Middle Village, NY Norman, Joan, Roslyn, NY O'Neill, Marilyn, New York, NY Ogle, Lucille E., New York, NY Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA Palmer, Laura, New York, NY Parker, Edward A., Hyannis, MA Peckham, Mrs. Joe, Topeka, KS Petrus, Carolyn, State College, PA Pezzelo, Rosine, New York, NY Pluckham, Nancy D., Dunwoody, GA Potter, Adrienne M., Hummelstown, PA Pregno, Adrienne, Briarcliff Manor, NY Preston, Laura, Wilmette, IL. Price, D.A., Montreal, PQ, Canada Randall, Linda, Orange Park, FL Ransohoff, Joe, New Haven, CT Raskas, Mrs. Cheryl, Cherry Hill, NJ Reagan, Helen G., Falmouth, MA Reeves, Jack Jr., Southampton, NY Reid, Ginerva C., Eugene, OR Regina Public Library, Regina, SK, Canada Rembe, Armin and Penny, Albuquerque, NM Reynolds, Carol, Seattle, WA Rhymes, Mrs. Peter H., Houma, LA

UM'

Rinschler, Norma, Locust Valley, NY Riviere, Scott D., Washington, DC Rothchild, Ms. Judith, Northbrook, IL Rowley, Cynthia, Stonington, CT Rudman, Errol, New York, NY Russel, Peter and Schumann, Marie, New York, NY Rosenman, Moe and Estelle, Seaforth, NY Sabert, Susan, Floral Park, NY Sagan, Judith, Westbury, NY Saltzman, Ms. Mollie, New York, NY Samstad, Anne, Leucadia, CA Schaps, Sandra, Niles, IL Schelling, Anne P., Charlotte, NC Schoellkopf, George, New York, NY Schultz, Merryellen, Omaha, NE Schumann, Robert and Ann, Mullica Hill, NJ Seibold, Eleanor, New York, NY Seidman, Mrs. L. William, Tempe, AZ Selby, Suzanne C., Essex Junction, VT Selser, Christopher, New York, NY Sena, Noriko, Maplewood, NJ Shy, Audrea, Medina, OH Siegmund, Frederick and Joanne, New York, NY Simon, Joan, Pittsburgh, PA

Simpkinson, Anne, Silver Spring, MD Sines, Ronald D., Ft. Lauderdale, FL Single, Suzanne, Rochester, MN Slade, Alma, Bridgeport, CT Smith, Mrs. Ann B., Pittsford, NY Smith, Walter E., Augusta, GA Snyder, Stephanie, Los Angeles, CA Sonnabend, Mrs. Paul, Weston, MA Speigel, Donna Stamm, Chicago, IL Steele, Stacey D., New York, NY Steinberg, Roslyn, NY Stevenson, Michael, Wheeling, IL Stonehill, Judith, New York, NY Strahorn, Susan and Jim, Menlo Park, CA Streich, Frances A., Old Greenwich, CT Strickling, Mr. and Mrs. Laurence, Chicago, IL Symnes, W. K., Houston,TX Tanenbaum, Robert N., New York, NY Taylor, Angela, New York, NY Taylor, Dr. J. Cain, Nashville, TN Templin, Judy, Dallas, TX Tenen, Barbara, Los Angeles, CA Tenenbaum, Karen Lee, Beverly Hills, CA Tenhover, Shirley M., Cincinnati, OH Tesords, Colorado Springs, CO Thomas, David W., Fairfield, PA

Thurston, Christina, Manchester, VT Timbeas, Mrs. Joan, New York, NY Titcomb, M. Elizabeth, Virginia Beach, VA Tomlinson, Mrs. Kendall S., Lebanon, PA Townsend, E. Jane, Newburgh, NY Treacy, Kathleen, Cedarhurst, NY Urquhart, Heather J., Alameda, CA Van Winkle, Mrs. A. F., Bethleham, CT Volk, Jeannemarie, South Salem, NY Whitwell, Joseph and Josephine, Greenwich, CT Wachter, Denise, Phoenix, AZ Wagner, Paul and Jeanette, New York, NY Waldern, Virginia, Golden, CO Ward, Mrs. Richard, Lafayette, CA Webster, S., New York, NY Weinberger, Mrs. Jerome L., Cambridge, MA Williams, Mary V, New York, NY Worth, Lynn, Westport, CT Yenter, Sharon, Seattle, WA Zaleski, Helen, Wilkes Barre. PA

•

low The Aged Ram Suzanne C and Cleland E. Selby The Brickyard B- 7 Essex Junction.Vermont 05452 80078-4530

We are wife and husband individually designing and hooking our country experiences and naïveté into rugs.

4011Bii 59

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ittiques Weekend 507 EXHIBITORS — many under tenting

June 11 & 12 Sept. 3 & 4 Sat. 10am-6pm Sun. 9am-4pm Free parking Admission: $2.00

A national antiques event with leading dealers offering folk art, china, quilts, baskets, rugs, copper, clocks, dolls, primitives, advertising, jewelry, country items, silver, Americana, vintage clothing, paintings, Orientalia, early lighting, tools, pewter, toys, a great variety offurniture, and 1000's offine collectables.

Early admission (no passes valid) Saturday 8am - $5.00

Farmington(CT)Polo Groundsif= Potts Exit 39 off 1-84, 9 miles west of Hartford Don Mackey Shows,Inc.

Suffield, Connecticut

ERWIN ROWLAND

QUILTS & COUNTERPANES Handmade American quilts crafted by Amish and Mennonite ladies in the finest tradition of patchwork, applique and handquilting.

Quilts may also be custom ordered.

Send $3 for full color booklet.

By mail or appointment

Philadelphia Pavement, 1982

HANDA/NDS 37 Maple St. Summit, N.J. 07901 (201) 273-0707

FINE COUNTRY CRAFTS • Antique Quilts • Redware • Decoys • Baskets • Handwoven Rugs • Dolls PROPRIETOR: PEGGY McNAMARA CALL OR WRITE FOR INFORMATION

Erwin Rowland 181 East 73rd Street New York, N.Y. 10021 212-249-1246

limn your likeness Paintings done in 1800's costume. Submit photos, one unsmiling. Backgrounds may be plain, scenic, with pets, art objects.

Arlene Strader kik Art Portraits 100 S. Montgomery St., Union, Ohio 45322 Phone (513)836-6308 • By appointment

iltitance eciahsts HUNTINGTON T. BLOCK INSURANCE 2101 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037 Telephone 202/223-0673 or Toll Free 800/424-8830 Telex 892596

62

Custom Made Stretchers for displaying Quilts & Hooked Rugs Rag Carpets sewn together for Area Rugs

Pie Galinat 230 w.10th St., n.y. , n.y. 10014 (212) 741-3259

POSTER ORIGINALS Publishers and distributors of American and European fine art posters. Send $7.50 for fully illustrated color catalogue

924 Madison Avenue, New York 10021 Tel (212)861-0422 Mon-Sat 10-6 GRANDMA MOSES NOV.16 TO JAN.& 1983 GALERIE ST. ETIENNE 24 WEST 57 NEW YORK

158 Spring Street, New York 10012 Tel (212) 226-7720 Tues-Sat 11-6, Sun 12-5

#314. Grandma Moses. 22/ 1 2x 28 inches. $15.

63

The Bee Publishing Company Church Hill Road Newtown, CT 06470

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Old order Amish quilt Wool circa 1900

iliThEmcLa,B%-linc AMISH•QUILTS - AND•TEXTI 1.1-S

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Star of Bethlehem 45" x 45" Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Handquilted from fine old wools.

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American Folk Art Address Book Edited by lean Lipman and Tom Armstrong

um BACK ISSUES OF

THE CLARION The following back issues of The Clarion may be ordered through the mail: Spring 1979 Summer 1979 Fall 1979 Spring 1980 Winter 1981

$15.50 Postpaid

Spring 1981

60 illustrations, 48 pages of full color

Fall 1981 Winter 1981/82

Spring 1982

A durable, practical, and beautiful version of the most indispensable book in any household, enlivened by masterpieces of American folk art.

Here is a handsome, unique address book that will give pleasure every time it is used. Twenty-four glorious examples of American folk art in full color, selected by Whitney Museum directors,form the alphabetical dividers and include such classics as Girl in Red with Her Cat and Dog,Bird of Paradise Bride Coverlet, and Edward Hick's Cornell Farm to such lesser known delightful works as an American flag farm gate and an 1880 Valentine. In addition to paintings, at least one example ofeach form offolk art is represented: sampler, quilt, decoy,Indian chief, weather vane, gravestone, ship's figurehead, and furniture.

Created by a well-known designer, the address book is eminently practical and inviting, with a top spiral binding, stiff covers, and address pages of heavy stock. Here is an address book designed to be enjoyed for years.

Jean Lipman,former editor of Art in America, is an expert on American folk art. Tom Armstrong is the Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art. To order, simply fill in the order blank along with a check or money order for $15.50 (includes postage and handling) made out to: Folk Art America,P.O. Box 6,Lynchburg, Virginia 24505 VISA and MASTERCARD also accepted Please print dearly

Name

includes "American Folk Paintings" catalog includes "Hawaiian Quilts" catalog includes "Shaker" articles includes "John Blunt" catalog includes "Records of Passage: New England Illuminated Manuscripts in the Fraktur Tradition" catalog includes "Anonymous Beauty: Quilts, Coverlets, and Bedcovers—Textile Treasures from Two Centuries" catalog includes "The American Decoy" catalog includes "Accessions from the Lipman Collection" and "Woven for Work: American Baskets" catalogs includes "The Art of Scherenschnitte" and "The Chalk Menagerie" catalogs

The cost of each back issue of The Clarion is $6.40 per copy (price includes postage and handling). Orders must be prepaid by sending a check or money order to: The Museum of American Folk Art, Mail Order, 49 West 53 Street, New York, N.Y. 10019

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watercolors and silkscreens ANTHONY PETULLI) FINE ART 711 N,11il NhIssankm.

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Managed by S. K. FRENCH Box 62, Exeter, N. H.03833

1 .N • N.._

Felicity Quilts and Patchwork

American Folk Art Pillows

Reproduced from Nineteenth Century Quilt Top

Hand Quilting of Antique Quilt Tops Authentic Quilt Reproduction Traditional and Contemporary Karen F. Berkenfelel 150 West 79 Street N.Y.C. 10024 (212) 799-3321

stenciled and quilted by New Hampshire artisans. esigns are based on American quilt patterns and American wall stencils. Our pillows measure a xis 14" square and are filled with a unique mixture ant potpourri and buckwheat hulls. $30.00 each.

Available at all Crabtree & Evelyn stores.

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Fragrance Artistry for the Home

67

AMERICAN FOLK ART: EXPRESSIONS OF A NEW SPIRIT A Major Visual Presentation of the MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART's Permanent Collection

This stunning full-color 164 page book focuses on the entire range of America's rich and varied folk art heritage. 130 works of art—the first comprehensive documentation of the Museum of American Folk Art's permanent collection—includes the finest examples offolk painting,folk sculpture and 3-dimensional works, painted and decorated furniture, and quilts and other folk textiles from the 17th through the 20th century.

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Available both in hardcover and paperback NOW at the Museum Gift & Book Shop. $22.50—Hardcover $18.00—Paperback (English, French and German editions)

This publication, made possible by a grant from United Technologies Corporation,

Make check payable to: Museum of American Folk Art, 49 West 53rd Street, New York, New York 10019

Name

Please send me copies of Expressions of a New Spirit LI Hardcover LI Softcover My check for $ including $2.50 for postage and handling is enclosed.

Address City State Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

68

will accompany the first large-scale international traveling exhibition devoted solely to America's unique contribution to the world of folk art. Paris, Munich, Hamburg and London plus nine American cities are on the exhibition itinerary.

Zip

Residents of New York must add applicable sales tax.

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from the diary of Elder James Prescott on a visit to the New Lebanon Shaker community, October 5, 1860...

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to DILWORTHTOWN.* COUNTRY TOFE 275

HARTI, select gIND121clealerj 74,93eAe104' and early i9Kantu yri-milti,e, county, and_firinal_fiinifure zsdilajiecL in room setttngs in an 1804 &14_de&fizi koav and adjacent sIv QfIts, „stoneware, baskets, Oriental items and rags,_folk aft,j,arnifiNS early glas4 chtna, iron, We,cgryet- brass, 7voOdenwaye, and the unusual, corn_pdse wondveul variety outstandins antiques the early dicorcer collection.

Brintori: Bridge, Kcal ClIng,er ,PA 1,cY580 (v4 miLe OFF Ri. 2.02. ,1- times Scitari cf west GttesTeR)

BARBARA E. MILLS, MANAGER

215 • 399 •Chai4cFin.tv.S. 0560 1_

ROUTE 5 HARTLAND, VERMONT 05048 2 MILES igottrR OF EXIT 9 OF INTERSTATE 91

•Ea.uvos

Cai-atogue

1.00

MAY! TO OCT.31 • OPEN EVERY DAY 9 TO 6 NOV. I TO APRIL 30• WED. THROUGH SUN.10 TO 4 CALL AHEAD IF COMING ANOTHER DAY OR TIME

802-436-2441

4, 05 Ph 71

EPSTEIN/POWELL 22 Wooster St., New York,N.Y. 10013

By Appointment(212)226-7316

Jesse Aaron Peter Charlie William Dawson Uncle Jack Dey Antonio &teves Howard Finster Victor Joseph Gatto S. L.Jones

Justin McCarthy Inez Nathaniel Old Ironsides Pry Nellie Mae Rowe Jack Savitsky Mose Tolliver Luster Willis and others Justin McCarthy "Loretta Young" (Watercolor and ink on paper,9x12)

Index to Advertisers

Patricia Adams 23 59 Aged Ram Industries All of Us Americans 22 American Hurrah Back cover American Country Store Inside front cover American Folk Art Company 18 American Folk Art Pillows 67 Ames Gallery 23 Marna Anderson 21 Antiques and the Arts Weekly 64 Antiques Center at Hartland 71 Antique Monthly 70 Aarne Anton 22 Kenneth J. Butler 20 Betty Carrie 70 Come Quilt With Me 70 Country Curtains 71 72

Crane Gallery 16 The Dilworthtown Country Store 71 Leslie Eisenberg 19 E.M.D.L. 17 Epstein/Powell 72 Ethnographic Arts Inc. 20 Suzanne Feldman 21 Felicity 67 S.K. French 67 Folk Art America 66 Pie Galinat 63 Gasperi Folk Art Gallery 18 Phyllis Haders 15 Carl H. Hammer 14 Handmaids 61 Huntington T. Block 62 Jay Johnson Inside back cover

Kennedy Galleries Pamela B. Kline and Traditions Don Mackey Shows,Inc. Made in America Steve Miller Ohio Antiques Review Anthony Petullo Poster Originals Erwin Roland/Quilts and Counterpanes Ricco-Johnson Gallery John Keith Russell Schoolhouse Antiques Thomas G. Schwenke Sotheby Parke Bernet Arlene Strader Thomas Woodard

3 65 60 12 1 69 66 63 61 11 2 23 7 6 62 4

JOHNSON JAY America's Folk Heritage Gallery 1044 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10021 Tuesday thru Saturday 12 p. m. to6 p.m.

(212)628-7280

KATE AND JOEL KOPP

ERICA*HURRAH 766 MADISON AVENUE • NEW YORK, N.Y. 10021 • 212-535-1930

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Mennonite "Barn Raising" Log Cabin Quilt, Pennsylvania c. 1865 86" x 86"

THE LARGEST AND FINEST COLLECTION OF ANTIQUE QUILTS IN AMERICA PLEASE VISIT US WHEN YOU ARE IN NEW YORK CITY OUR HOURS ARE TUESDAY-SATURDAY 11-6 PM