Folk Art (Winter 2002/2003)

MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM * WINTER 2002/2003 * $8.00

,

• ,47y

:ma t r

Ivry,

y

!t' Adaittill '.t.:r.

'n14 ,:".'

N / V '11 iN r - 1 /.

:

1'1,0/ 4 1

/ it 13 t 3 11 X Il X

1;*'

04106-. "1 ' ' IiiIhh IT

4 1. 1 ' . $44 - . Ale 4..

4 4 4If :411110018111WrIPIP e: 'ii.,410 :1111111PlebeAk40011101*11, 'VIM elr)MAO 'V1" " . —1• '..,•• 4:.741411t wiarliallrhelleLr 4,/1611^-1C ON 1' f a 1 7 iiti4% 14filfi giliNiffP V- t i CW,Ifi 1

24>

•.

. .411'rMtririrliehitt• caw.. cAt.71,4

VA

j

252

V

,

74382 4!

vglre

0

—a CO

Crucifixion, ca. 1930-35, limestone, 20

STEVE MILLER • AMERICAN FOLK ART •

Index Horse in rare 18" size. Green verdigris patina.

Signed "Made by J. Howard W.Bridgewater, Mass".

17 East 96th Street, New York, New York 10128 Telephone:(212)348-5219, Fax:(212)427-4278, E-mail: sharksm@earthlink.net Gallery hours are from 1:00 pm until 6:00 pm,Tuesday through Saturday.

Other hours are available by appointment.

Portrait of Whitcomb Fairfield holding a glass cane, and with his dog, Vermont, c. 1830-40

DAVID WHEATCROF Antiques 220 East Main Street, Westborough, MA 01581•Tel:(508) 366-1723

Visit our website at: davidwheatcroft.com

JAMES CASTLE

1900-1977

Untitled, n.d.

Found paper, ribbon, flour paste, pencil, 131/:" x I71/2"

Work by James Castle released new to the market will be available at J Crist in New York City January 22-27, 2003.

Call 208 336 2671 or 208 867 5189 for an appointment.

J CRIST GALLERY AND ART SERVICES

The Belgravia Building 465 West Main Street Boise, Idaho 83702 Phone 208 336 2671 Fax 336 5615 Electronic Mail art@jcrist.com

3 Crist is the primary representative for the work of James Castle

Trotta-Bono Antique Native American Art

Western Apache Fiddle Made by Amos Gustina Early 20th century

By appointment:(914) 528-6604 P.O. Box 34 Shrub Oak, New York 10588 tb788183@aol.com We specialize in collection formation and development.

We are actively purchasing fine Native American Art.

FURNITURE

ART

E

xceptional Chippendale carved

mahogany chest on chest, with deep cornice molding above a top section with fluted chamfered corners and three small drawers above three graduated long drawers, above a base section with four graduated long drawers supported on four crisply carved claw and ball feet connected by gadrooned base molding. Superb figured mahogany, with the original brasses. See American Antiquesfrom the Israel Sack Collection, Volume V page 1,343 for a comparable example from the C.K. Davis collection.

New York, circa 1775.

585/8" wide, 24" deep, 80" high ---------• -• ....

•mirs

Specialists in American Federal Furniture for over 30 years.

imina

Thomas Schwenke Inc -4M1111111

..))

or"

-MAW,

.;,1,,,girlIrr-52

.4" <0 .a< <

.111

i

American Federal Furniture

50 Main Street North, Woodbury, CT 06798 Tel.(203) 266-0303 Fax (203) 266-0707 www.schwenke.com

VVALTERS BENISEK ART S. ANTIQUES ONE AMBER LANE • NORTHAMPTON • MASSACHUSETTS • 01060 • • • ( 4 1 3) 5 8 6 • 3 9 0 9 • DON MARY WALTERS • BEN ISEK

INDIAN IN CANOE WHIRLIGIG CIRCA 1900-30. PERHAPS MAINE HEIGHT: 24 INCHES

FOLK ART VOLUME 27, NUMBER 4/ WINTER 2002/2003

FEATURES

Cover: Detail ofTHE SAN SALVADOR [Der San Salvathor]!Adolf{WU (1864-1930)/Bern, Switzerland!1926/ pencil and colored pencil on newsprint/ 59 x 82"!Williams Collection/photo courtesy Phyllis Kind Gallery, NY

Folk Art is published four times a year by the American Folk Art Museum.

The museum's mailing address is 1414 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019-2514,Tel. 212/977-7170, Fax 212/977-8134. Prior to Fall 1992, Volume 17, Number 3,Folk Art was published as The Clarion. Annual subscription rate for members is included in membership dues.

Copies are mailed to all members. Single copy $8.00. Published and copyright 2002 by the American Folk Art Museum,45 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019.The cover and contents of Folk Art 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 American Folk Art Museum. Unsolicited manuscripts or photographs should be accompanied by return postage. Folk Art assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage of such materials. Change of address: Please send both old and new addresses to the museum's mailing address at 1414 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019-2514, and allow five weeks for change. Advertising: Folk Art endeavors to accept advertisements only from advertisers whose reputation is recognized in the trade, but despite the care with which the advertising department screens photographs and texts submitted by its advertisers,it cannot guarantee the unquestionable authenticity of objects or quality of 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 offolk art and 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 Folk Art that illustrate or describe objects that have been exhibited at the museum within one year of placing an advertisement

ST. ADOLF-GIANT-CREATION: THE ART OF ADOLF WOLFLI Elka Spoerri and Daniel Baumann

42

MARTIN RAMIREZ REVISITED Randall Morris

52

NATHANIEL SEYMOUR POTTERY, WEST HARTFORD,CONNECTICUT Vincent DiCicco

60

DEPARTMENTS

EDITOR'S COLUMN DIRECTOR'S LETTER

15

MINIATURES

20

TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

25

CURRENT AND UPCOMING MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS

28

THE AMERICAN ANTIQUES SHOW(TAAS)AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS

36

OUTSIDER ART FAIR BENEFIT PREVIEW AND PROGRAMS

38

UNCOMMON ARTISTS XI,THE ANNE HILL BLANCHARD MEMORIAL SYMPOSIUM

39

GIFT MEMBERSHIPS

68

WINTER PROGRAMS

74

MUSEUM REPRODUCTIONS PROGRAM

76

BOOKS OF INTEREST

78

MUSEUM NEWS

81

OBITUARIES

88

TRUSTEES/DONORS

89

MUSEUM HOURS AND ADMISSIONS

95

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

96

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 7

EDITOR'S

COLUMN

ROSEMARY GABRIEL

e have been very busy these past three months and have a lot to report.

A previously "unknown artist" has been discovered, and has come to New York—no easy trip for a man of 93—to see his work on display; our new building has again been singled out and honored; and our annual Quilt Day turned into a fabulous Quilt Weekend.(See Museum News for these stories and more.) We've also made some changes in our exhibition schedule: the closing date for "American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum" has been extended to January 26,2003. Two new exhibitions,"Fraktur Treasures from the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center Collection" and "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation: The Art of Adolf WOlfli," will open in February. Finally,"Painted Saws: Jacob Kass," at the museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, has been held over for several months—see page 28 for our exhibition updates.

"St. Adolf-Giant-Creation: The Art of Adolf Wolfli" was organized by guest curators Elka Spoerri and Daniel Baumann,in collaboration with Brooke Davis Anderson, director of the museum's Contemporary Center. Elka Spoerri was able to finish her part of the work on the exhibition, the exhibition catalog, and an accompanying essay in this issue of Folk Art before her death in May of this year. Daniel Baumann will be coming to New York from Switzerland to help install the exhibition, a bringing with him Spoerri's vision as well as his own. For a taste of Waifli's mesmerizing and masterful work,see Spoerri and Baumann's essay, starting on page 42.

We lost another star in our small world with the passing of a beloved trustee, Anne Hill Blanchard. In his Director's Letter(page 15), Gerard C. Wertkin shares his thoughts about Anne and the profound sense of loss that we all feel. Randall Moths, who THE GROUND,GIANT-FOUNTAIN-STREAM [Der Grund, Riesen-Fontaine-Strahl]/ Geographic and Algebraic Books/ continues his intrepid research on book 11, p. 884a, b / Adolf Wolfli (1864-1930)/ Bern, Switzerland / 1913/ colored pencil on paper / artist Martin Ramirez, has dedicated 1 2"/ collection of Robert M. Greenberg his most recent essay about Ramirez to 37 x 29/ Anne. For new insights into this enigmatic artist, read "Martin Ramirez Revisited," starting on page 52. Another enigma, until now, has been the life of Connecticut potter Nathaniel Seymour. Vincent DiCicco, with all the diligence of a true sleuth, has found much to tell us about this artist, who died in 1849 and left behind some very fine examples of American redware. DiCicco's essay starts on page 60.

Allow me to remind you that two special events are coming up in January— The American Antiques Show(TAAS)(see pages 36-37), and this year's Outsider Art Fair Benefit Preview and Uncommon Artist XI, the Anne Hill Blanchard Memorial Symposium (see pages 38-39). I hope to see you there. Our next issue's cover story will be "Fraktur Treasures from the Schwenlcfelder Library and Heritage Center Collection," a beautiful, inspiring, and uplifting exhibition. In the meantime, and on behalf of the staff of the American Folk Art Museum,I sincerely wish you a beautiful, inspiring, and uplifng holiday season.

W

11 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM PUBLICATIONS/FOLK ART Rosemary Gabriel Director ofPublications/Editor and Publisher Tanya Heinrich Exhibition Catalog and Book Editor Katharine Clark Production Editor Vanessa Davis Editorial Assistant Erikka V. Han Copy Editor Jeffrey Kibler, The Magazine Group,Inc. Design Eleanor Garlow Advertising Sales Craftsmen Litho Printers Administration Gerard C. Wertkin Director Susan Conlon Assistant to the Director Linda Dunne ChiefAd,ninistrative Officer Robin A. Schlinger ChiefFinancial Officer Madhukar Balsara Assistant Controller Irene Kreny Accountant Angela Lam Accountant Robert J. Saracena Director ofFacilities George Y. Wang Director ofInformation Technology Wendy Barbee Manager of Visitor Services Anthony Crawford Assistant Manager of Visitor Services Michele Sabatiele Visitor Services Assistant Daniel Rodriguez Office Services Coordinator Beverly McCarthy Mail Order/Reception Katya Ullman Administrative Assistant/Reception Collections & Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander Senior Curator and Director ofExhibitions Brooke Davis Anderson Director and Curator of The Contemporary Center Celene Ryan Curatorial Assistant Ann-Marie Reilly ChiefRegistrar and Director ofExhibition Production Judith Gluck Steinberg Director ofTraveling Exhibitions Elizabeth V. Warren Consulting Curator Education Diana Schlesinger Director ofEducation Rebecca Hayes Manager ofSchool and Docent Programs Lee Kogan Director, Folk Art Institute/Curator ofSpecial Projects for The Contemporary Center Laura Tilden Education Assistant Departments Cheryl Aldridge Director ofDevelopment Diana DeJesus-Medina Director of Corporate Development Beth Bergin Membership Director Suzannah Kellner Membership Associate Lauren Potters Membership Associate Danelsi De La Cruz Membership Assistant Wendy Barreto Membership Clerk Susan Flamm Public Relations Director Monique A. Brizz-Walker Director ofSpecial Events Katie Hush Special Events Coordinator Alice J. Hoffman Director ofLicensing/Executive Director of The American Antiques Show Marie S. DiManno Director ofMuseum Shops Richard Ho Manager ofInformation Systems, Retail Operations Janey Fire Director ofPhotographic Services James Mitchell Librarian Jane Lanes Director of Volunteer Services Eva and Morris Feld Gallery Staff Dale Gregory Gallery Director Joan Sullivan Assistant Gallery Director Ursula Morillo Weekend Gallery Manager Kenneth R. Bing Security Bienvenido Medina Security Treenia Thompson Security Museum Shops Staff Managers: Dorothy Gargiulo, Louise B. Sheets, Marion Whitley; Book Buyer: Evelyn R. Gurney; Staff: Yan Chen, Michael Koh,Sandy B. Yun; Volunteers: Angela Clair, Millie Gladstone, Elayne Horne, Elizabeth Howe, Judy Kenyon, Arlene Luden, Nancy Mayer, Judy Rich, Frances Rojack, Phyllis Selnick, Eugene P. Sheehy American Folk Art Museum Book and Gift Shops 45 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10019 212/265-1040,ext. 124 Two Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets) New York. NY 10023 212/595-9533,ext. 26 Mailing Address American Folk Art Museum 1414 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019-2514 212/977-7170,Fax 212/977-8134, http://www.folkartmuseum.org info@folkartmuseum.org

ALLAN Americana

Early Carved and Painted Wood Cigar Store Trade Figure: Anonymous maker.

Ca 1870 Height 6 ft. 6 in.

Ex Collection: Edith Gregor Halpert Exhibited: New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1960 Skidmore College, 1962 New York Downtown Gallery, 1965

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

Jon Serl

Jon Serl, Hand Backwards, 1982. Oil on board, 39.75 x 29 in

CAVIN -MORRIS GALLERY 560 Broadway Suite 405B New York, NY 10012 Tel 212 226 3768 Fax 212 226 3768 mysteries@aol.com www.cavinmorris.com

Fleisher/Oilman Gallery invites you to join us in celebrating our first fifty years at our new location 1616 Walnut Street suite 100 January 2003 FLEISHER OLLMAN GALLERY 1616 walnut street suite ioo/philadelphia 215. 545- 7562/fax. 545. 6140 fleisher-ollmangallery.com

Founded 1952

Dwight Mackintosh: DM 84 Four Boys w/Spots; mixed media on paper, 1980, 18.75 x 25.75"

23SF/0500: Walking Stick

20P/OOSBC/02:Anonymous Trade Figure

THE

Winter Antiquities Show December 28-29,2002 / Preview December 27

Barry Simons, BS 786, Untitled, 2002, mixed media on paper, 15 x 22"

AMES GALLERY

Sweeney Center, Santa Fe, NM

Outsider Art Fair January 23-26,2003 / Preview January 22 The Puck Building, New York NY

.

1 112:1

Bonnie Grossman Director

2661 Cedar Street. Berkeley, CA 94708

Tel 510/845-4949

Fax 510/845-6219

Email info @ amesgallery.com

www.amesgallery.com

THURSTON NICHOLS AMERICAN ANTIQUES LLC 522 TWIN PONDS ROAD, BREINIGSVILLE, PA 18031 TEL

610.395.5154

FAX: 610.395.3679

WWW.ANTIQUES101.COM

EXHIBITING ANTIQUES AT THE ARMORY JANUARY 17-19, 2003; NEW YORK, NY

Aft, CEILIME_WILCEP E AN 1 l(I)

An exceptional Indian Princess trade figure from Louisville, KY,ca.1870.

Overall height 74". Across the banner is written, "To-Ho-Pe-Ka No.319",which stands for a Tribe of the Improved Order of Red Men in Louisville, for whom she was most likely a mascot.

Patrick Bell! Edwin Hild P.O. Box 718, New Hope, PA 18938-0718

By Appointment 215-297-0200 fax: 215-297-0300 e-mail: info@oldehope.com www.oldehope.com

Exhibiting at the Winter Antiques Show New York City,January 16th - 26th ,2003

DIRECTOR'S

LETTER

GERARD C. WERTIUN

nne Hill Blanchard was an exceptional person in every respect. First elected to the Board of Trustees of the American Folk Art Museum in 1995,she soon became indispensable to the operation of this institution. Universally respected for her keen intellect and integrity, Anne was deeply devoted to the museum and its mission. Her death in New York on September 16, 2002, deprived the museum of a gifted leader and a valued friend.

Anne Blanchard's grace and personal reticence masked a remarkable toughness and strength of character. The holder of a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University, she served as professor and chair of the Department of Economics of Queens College, City University of New York. During the course of a truly distinguished career, she held academic appointments at Baruch College, Rutgers,Princeton, and Yale, and was the recipient of many professional honors and awards. A tireless advocate for women's education and economic well being, she brought the skills honed in more than two decades of teaching, writing, and administration to her service as a trustee of the museum.

I first met Anne and her husband, Edward Vermont Blanchard Jr., about the time I was appointed director of the museum,in 1991. With collecting interests initially rooted in the fertile soil of the South, where they were born and raised, the Blanchards shared an irresistible and contagious passion for folk art.

As a trustee of the museum, Anne Blanchard was diligent and dedicated.

She served as chair of the Education Committee, a founder of The Contemporary Center, a member of the Executive and Capital Campaign Committees, and as a frequent committee chair or participant in the museum's benefits and special events. She gave of herself and her resources unstintingly, offering encouragement and wise counsel, and played a significant role in the museum's successful efforts to build a new home in the heart of Manhattan.

In 1998, the Blanchards generously Anne Hill Blanchard, January, 2002 donated a group of seventy-five paintings and sculptures to the museum,the single largest gift of works by twentieth-century artists in the institution's history. At the time of this significant contribution, Anne Blanchard observed that she and her husband "have always felt a responsibility to share this great art with others—for them to experience its power."

Anne Hill Blanchard was only forty-eight years of age when she died. Her battle with cancer was notable for the courage with which she fought and the faith that was her guiding principle throughout many months of struggle. She will be remembered with profound respect and

A

Curator Stacy C. Hollander, Lynne Cheney, and Director Gerard C. Wertkiii

affection by all of us at the museum, as much for the special quality of her friendship and the warmth of her unforgettable smile as for her many contributions to the growth and development of this institution.

To Monty Blanchard and his daughters, Lydia, Catherine, and Cordelia, go the heartfelt condolences of the entire museum family.

It is impossible to think of Anne Blanchard without recalling the wonderful parties for the benefit of the museum that she and Monty hosted through the years in their art-filled Manhattan apartment. On October 7,2002, this tradition was renewed. With Trustee Lucy C. Danziger as co-host, Monty Blanchard kindly invited the museum's trustees and staff, together with some close friends, to his home for a special reception. The purpose was to celebrate the accomplishments of Deputy Director Riccardo Salmona on the occasion of his leave-taking to accept a new position at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

As readers of Folk Art already know,Salmona guided the museum's building program and capital campaign with consummate skill, energy, and dedication. It was my pleasure to work closely with him, and I was deeply impressed by his unyielding commitment to the realization of the project's goals. The building of a new museum is an intense and demanding undertaking, and coordinating the many interests that are involved is often a complex juggling act. Salmona managed the project with aplomb and intelligence, and much of our success may be directly attributed to his efforts. On October 7, we raised our glasses high in his honor! I miss the daily exchanges that he and I shared for more than eight years, and wish my friend and colleague well as he faces the challenges of another major undertaking.

The museum's new building continues to garner significant awards and attract important visitors. On October 17,Lynne Cheney, wife of the Vice President,came to the museum for a tour with Senior Curator Stacy C. Hollander and myself. Following a pleasant hour, Mrs. Cheney generously presented the museum with a contribution of $10,000,representing a portion of the earnings of her book for children, America: A Patriotic Primer. On behalf of all of us at the museum, trustees and staff, I express warm appreciation to Mrs. Cheney for her thoughtfulness. Please follow the lead of Mrs. Cheney—and thousands of other visitors—and come see for yourself!*

WINTER 200212003 FOLK ART 15

AMERICAN PRIMITIVE GALLERY

MONKEYS CARVING IN BLACK WALNUT attributed to E.A. McKillop (1879-1950) N. Carolina, height 20 in.

594 BROADWAY #205 NEW YORK, NY 10012 (212) 966-1530 MON-SAT 11-6

Andrew Flamm & Michelle Hauser

ODD FELLOWS ANTIQUES

Carved and painted wood; glass eyes. Mid-20th cent. Signed RFC. 8"x 18.5" x 9".

One of two heads being offered by the same maker at THE AMERICAN ANTIQUE SHOW, 2003.

P.O. Box 145 Mount Vernon, Maine 04352 â&#x20AC;˘(207) 293-3569

MORRIS BEN NEWMAN (c. 1983-1980)

LINDSAY GALLERY 986 North High St. Columbus, OH 43201 614-291-1973 email: lindsaygallery@hotmail.corn

Nvwvv.lindsaygallery.com

CARL HAMMER GALLERY Folk, Outsider, and Contemporary Art from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries

HENRY DARGER

740 N. Wells Street, Chicago, IL 60610 Ph: 312-266-8512/ Ex: 312-266-8510 Email: hammergall@aol.com EUGENE VON BRUENCHENHEIN

Website: www.hammergallery.com

COMPILED BY VANESSA DAVIS

Cloth of Kings

Addicted to Art

The origins of velvet, a fabric that was once reserved exclusively for royals and prelates, is the subject of"Cloth of Kings," an exhibition on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art(860/2782670)in Hartford, Conn., until February 9,2003. Long believed to have originated somewhere in the Middle East, a "proto-velvet" was discovered in 1972 in the tomb of a woman who died in 168 B.C., in Changsha, Hunan, China. This exhibition features 30 intricately patterned velvets dating from the 15th to the 20th centuries from China, Turkey, and Europe. For more information on this beautiful show, please call the museum or visit its website, www.wadsworth atheneum.org.

"High on Life: Transcending Addiction," the eighth thematic mega-exhibition of the American Visionary Art Museum (410/2441900)in Baltimore, Md., began October 5 and continues until September 1, 2003. The show is curated by Tom Patterson and is composed of 300 works by 100 self-taught artists who have dealt with addictions of many types, both in their life and in their work. Featured in this exhibition is renowned sock-thread master Ray Materson, who, while addicted to heroin and serving a 15-year jail sentence, found redemption in embroidering his life story out of unraveled socks.

Materson's transformation from drug addict to drug rehabilitation RED VELVET WITH GOLD AND SILVER PATTERN / artist unknown / Turkey / 17th century / Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art/ Keney Fund

African Museum Moves to LIC The inaugural exhibition of the Museum for African Art's three-

HELMET MASK!Bamileke peoples / Cameroon grasslands! textile, beads, and natural fibers / 301 / 2" high / Museum for African Art

20 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

year interim location (212/9661313)in Long Island City in Queens, N.Y., is "Facing the Mask," on view until March 2, 2003. The exhibition features both a traditional show of more than 80 masks from across the African continent along with videos and contextual information on the masks' uses, and an interactive installation designed to bring the masks "to life." Further hands-on activities include inviting museum visitors to try on African costumes, experience a reconstructed shrine, witness and take part in traditional masquerade performances, create masks of their own,and more. A 64page catalog accompanies this exhibition. For more information, please call the museum or visit its website, www.africanart.org.

GETTING PULLED IN! Ray Materson / 1994 / sewn from the threads of unraveled socks!

3 x 2"/ collection of Peter Brams

counselor for teenagers is documented in his work Sins and Needles. His art is an example of the show's theme, as described by AVAM director Rebecca Hoffberger, that "human beings are intrinsically flawed yet endlessly transcendent." Extensive programming and conferences are planned to accompany the exhibition. For more information, please call the museum.

Ethiopian Illumination In "The Miracles of Mary: A Seventeenth-Century Ethiopian Manuscript," the Art Institute of Chicago (312/443-3600)displays its recently acquired book dating back to the renaissance of arts and illumination in Christian Ethiopia. Seventy-one narrative paintings illustrate text describing the yearly cycle of celebrations in

Mary's honor. This intimate presentation will be on view until May 18,2003. Every two weeks a new painting will be revealed, totaling 16 for the exhibition, which includes photographs of Christian Ethiopian architecture and ritual. For more information, please call the museum or visit its website, www.artic.edu.

THE COVENANT OF MERCY! The Miracles of Mary ITe'amire Maryaml, pp. 50 (verso) and 51 (recto)! artist unknown / Gonder, Ethiopia / late 17th century, reign of Yohannes (1667-1682) or lyyasu I 1 2 11682-17061 / tempera and ink on parchment, with wood, leather, and cotton binding! 14/ 12/ 1 2 "/ Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Ada Turnbull Hertle, and Marian and Samuel Klasstorner

American Folk Art Sidney Gecker RARE SHENANDOAH VALLEY PITCHER AND BOWL SET JACOB EBERLY •STRASBURG,VIRGINIA •CIRCA 1880

226 West 21st Street• New York, N.Y 10011 •(212) 929-8769• Appointment Suggested.

Subject to prior sale.

LAURA FISHER ANTIQUE QUILTS & AMERICANA 1050 SECOND AVENUE,GALLERY 84

\k/WTH

1)

'VER'

(Between 55-56th Sts.)

HAL

NEW YORK,NY 10022 <

Mon-Sat 11am -6pm Tel: (212) 838-2596

ONIA,4Ft,' 4#A040144:

Alt: (212) 866-6033 e-mail: LFAntiqueQuilts@aol.com

:

A

JUitTvL

New York City's broadest selection

of antique quilts, hooked rugs, rag carpet, coverlets, paisleys, Navajos, Beacons, home furnishings and American folk art.

V

11 TI)1. 4111 V

T

N TiARCkZEI TM

F5 Mi 1.011- EC T V111 SEDAf':,

M

FEIN.THO

440 , Unique spiritual sentiment pieced quilt, c. 1875, artist unknown.

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 21

exhibiting at the American Antiques Show January 15-19, 2003 Metropolitan Pavilion, NYC

Henry Darger Onstage The Obie award-winning dramatic interpretation of Henry Darger's life and work by the Ridge Theater will be performed through "Arts at St. Ann's," at St. Ann's Warehouse (718/858-2424) in Brooklyn, N.Y.,from January 14-26, 2003."Jennie Richieâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or Eating Jalooka Fruit Before It's Ripe" is a multimedia perfor-

mance utilizing film, slides, text, music, and ensemble movement to evoke three-dimensionally the remarkable images painted and conjured in Darger's epic 15,000page narrative,In the Realms of the Unreal. For ticket booking and information, call St. Ann's, or visit www.artsatstanns.org or www.ridgetheater.org.

Rare Texas Pottery

82 poor farm road pennington nj 08534 609.397.4141 www.jeffreyhenkel.com

22 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (713/639-7540) has acquired 14 pieces of rare pottery to add to its Bayou Bend Collection. "The Wilson Potters: An African AmeriTHREE-GALLON JAR / H. Wilson & JAR / Isaac Stittle / Texas / can Enterprise Company / Texas / c. 1869-1884 / c. 1875-1890 / salt-glazed in 19th-Century saR-glazed stoneware / Bayou stoneware / Bayou Bend Bend Collection, Museum of Fine Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Texas" showArts, Houston / museum purchase Houston / museum purchase with cases pieces with funds provided by Mr. and funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. from the Guada- Mrs. Don McMillian / B.2001.14 W.Tucker BlaMe Jr./ B.2001.20 lope Pottery, established in Seguin, Texas, by and evolution that came with it.

John McKamey Wilson, a PresThe newly accessed collection byterian minister, in 1857. Wilwill be on view at the Caroline son's slaves ran the pottery, and Wiess Law Building until made bowls, pitchers, churns, March 3, 2003, when it will be storage jars, and chamber pots. permanently installed in the The style and glaze of the pieces Pennsylvania-German Hall of reveal the migration of potters the museum. For more informafrom the Edgefield District of tion on this exhibition, please South Carolina in the 1840s call the museum or visit its as well as the development website, www.mfah.org.

Katsina/Kachina The mythology and indigenous dress of cultures around the world have always inspired trends and fashion, and have often been interpreted and transformed to suit a completely different purpose. The UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History (310/825-4361)explores the cultural positives as well as negatives of the conunodification of Hopi religious iconography in its exhibition,"Katsina/Kachina: Tradition, Appropriation, Innovation," which began August 4 and will continue until March 23, 2003. The term "Katsina" refers to benevolent Hopi spirit beings as represented by ceremonial dolls given to babies and young girls. In the 19th century, only the Hopi created figures depicting Katsinam. Today, Katsina

SNOWGLOBE WITH "KATSINA" IMAGERY / UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History

imagery is commonly and wrongly referred to as"Kaduna" and appears everywhere,from the sides of U-Haul trucks to key chains to Hermes scarves.

Curated by Dr. Zena Pearlstone, associate professor of art history at California State University, Fullerton, in conjunction with members of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, this exhibition is the first to examine the use and misuse of Katsina carvings and imagery by both Hopi and non-Hopi peoples over the past 125 years. For more information, please call the museum.

Renewing Tradition The African American quilting tradition lives on in the Bucks County Friendly Quilters Group, a monthly gathering of artisans from varied quilting backgrounds.

An exhibition of 15 of their quilts will be on view in "Renewing Tradition: Contemporary African American Quilts from Bucks County," at the Bucks County Historical Society Mercer Museum (215/345-0210)in Doylestown,Penn.from January 18 to February 23,2003. From conventional quilts to the new trend in quilts using African fab-

rics and symbols, this exhibition features a glimpse of the past and of the future of African American quilts in the work of quiltmakers today. This show is guest curated

by Friendly Quilter and Mercer Museum Director of Education and Visitor Services Dr. Cassandra Stancil Gunkel. Extensive programming is scheduled for families and quilters alike. For more information, please call the museum or visit its website, www.mercermuseum.org.

Mosaic Twig Floor Lamp Wi

Beverly Lomax with her quilt ...And Everyone Weath the Vine and Fig Tree, Shall Live in Peace and Unafraid... Micah 4:4

4 Stissins Mt. Lane 518 398-7531

* *

Pine Plains, NY 125671 eso,Mtaconic.net

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 23

MINIATURES

A cultural & educational service of Morehead State University.

Skin Deep

r

rvvâ&#x20AC;˘ T TV,

VIE

"TW'MV I ' â&#x20AC;&#x201D;vvvenr,

TV"2

"Skin Deep: Three Masters of American Inlaid Furniture" features the woodworking techniques of inlay and marquetry, and is presented by the Milwaukee Art Museum (414/2243200) until March 2,2003.

The work of three artists of different eras will be on view.

Nathan Lombard was a furniture maker who worked in Massachusetts just after the Revolutionary War. Peter Glass, a German immigrant marquetry artist living in Wisconsin shortly before the Civil War, made ornate marquetry furniture, some of which may include more than 30,000 separate pieces of wood.

The exhibition includes a table made by Glass as a gift to Abraham Lincoln. And the work of this country's acknowledged expert marquetry artist, Silas Kopf, notable for his mastery of traditional French techniques, shows how the art form has developed and endured through

the centuries. For more information about this exhibition, please call the museum or visit its website, www.mam.org.

WORKSTAND / Peter Glass / 1897 / mahogany, maple, cedar, walnut veneer, inlays of various woods, partially ebonized and stained / 29 20/ 1 2 201 / 2"/ Milwaukee Art Museum / gift of Friends of Art

Mexican Folk Art

KENTUCKY

Folk Orr Art CENTER

Mon-Sat9 am-5pm,Sunday 1-5pm $3 Admission,free on Sunday

Come see our Permanent Collection, Traveling Exhibitions, and our Museum Store!

For more information call, 606.783.2204, or visit w-wwityfolkartorg 102 West First Street, Morehead, Kr 40351

24 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

The Seattle Art Museum (206/625-8900)is showcasing Mexican folk art from across the entire country in "Traditional Arts of Mexico: Beauty from the Hand," which runs until April 26, 2003. The diversity of Mexican communities' artwork,from the Sonora Desert to Chiapas, is apparent in this show, which includes clothing and masks that vary in their styles as village traditions dictate. Functional, ceremonial, and always decorative, Mexican textiles and masks mark and maintain a cultural identity and living history.

For more information on this exhibition, please call the museum or visit its website, www.seattleartmuseum.org.

TIGRE (JAGUAR) MASK, FOR TLACOLOLORES DANCE / artist unknown / state of Guerrero, Mexico / wood, paint, mirrors, teeth, hair, and leather / collection of Leslie Grace

TRAVELING

EXHIBITIONS

THE HERDSMAN-ROSE OF AUSTRALIA /Adolf Won (1864-19301 / Bern, Switzerland / 1911 / pencil and colored pencil 1 2> on newsprint / 19/ 14/ 1 2 "/ Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland / A9243-58 /from the traveling exhibition "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation: The Art of Adolf Wolfli"

Mark your calendars for the following American Folk Art Museum exhibitions when they travel to your area during the coming months: Nov. 13, 2002-Jan. 28, 2003 ABCD:A Collection of Art Brut Mennello Museum of American Folk Art Orlando, Florida 407/246-4278 Dec. 29,2002-Feb. 23,2003 Quilted Constructions: The Spirit of Design Butler Institute of American Art Youngstown, Ohio 330/743-1107 March 14-May 31,2003 Sketches and Studies from the Henry Darger Collection at the American Folk Art Museum Intuit: The Center for Outsider and Intuitive Art Chicago 312/243-9088 April 19-June 15, 2003 Quilted Constructions: The Spirit of Design Fort Wayne Museum of Art Fort Wayne,Indiana 219/422-6467

April 26-June 29, 2003 ABCD: A Collection of Art Brut Chicago Cultural Center Chicago 312/744-6330 May 24-Oct. 25,2003 Fraktur from the Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum Hancock Shaker Village Pittsfield, Massachusetts 413/443-0188 June 17-Aug. 17,2003 American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum Telfair Museum of Art Savannah, Georgia 912/232-1177 June 28-Aug. 23, 2003 Quilted Constructions: The Spirit of Design The Nickle Arts Museum University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta, Canada 403/220-7234

For further information, please contact Judith Gluck Steinberg, director of traveling exhibitions, American Folk Art Museum, Administrative Offices, 1414 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019-2514, 212/977-7170.

6119 ROUTE 9 RHINEBECK, NY

BY APPOINTMENT 0845 87 6- 1582 www,goldgoaticom

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 25

Ginger Young Gallery Southern Self-Taught Art

www.GingerYoung.com By appointment: 5802 Brisbane Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Phone/Fax 919.932.6003 Email ginger@GingerYoung.com

American folk art doll with amber glass eyes 12" tall, carved wood, circa 1875

BRANT MACKLEY GALLERY AMERICAN INDIAN ART & FOLK ART 7096 Union Deposit Road, Hummelstown, PA 17036

Tel: 717-566-9409

Cherokee Indian effigy pipe bowl depicting two couples dancing at a "fancy ball," circa 18th-1st Qtr. 19th century, steatite, length: 2 3/4 inches.

Exhibiting: Heart of Country Antiques Show, Feb. 14-16, 2003, Nashville,TN Mann Indian Art Show, Feb. 22-23,2003, San Rafeal, CA

26 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

HILL GALLERY

Visionary Sculpture

By Navajo Artist Charlie Willeto (1897-1964) Circa 1961 Illustrated: Willeto Collective Carved and Painted 18"Hx 5"Wx 2"D

407 West Brown Street Birmingham Michigan 48009

248.540.9288

ANNOUNCEMENT

Current and Upcoming Museum Exhibitions American Anthem: Masterworks from1 the American Folk Art Museum

ra ur reasures from the Schwenkfel er Library and Heritage CenterCollection

American Folk Art Museum 45 West 53rd Street New York City Now through Jan. 26,2003 he dynamic and much acclaimed exhibition "American Anthem" will remain on view until January 26,to cap off the museum's inaugural exhibition year.

This presentation explores American folk art within its cultural context through the museum's permanent collection. Grace Glueck of The New York Times called it "a show that explodes with visual energy," and said,"It contains some of folk art's most esteemed icons, among them the Flag Gate, a pair of spiffy lady-gentleman portraits by Ammi Phillips, a spirited carousel horse, and a life-size

American Folk Art Museum 45 West 53rd Street New York City Feb.1 - May 11, 2003 he American Folk Art Museum presents a rare collection of fraktur artworks that have never been seen outside of the Schwenkfelder Library. Until 2001, when the expanded Heritage Center was opened as part of the library, the Schwenkfelder collection—one of the finest in the United States— was known primarily only to scholars and experts in the field.

The 80 examples featured in the exhibition, organized by the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center in Pennsburg,Pennsylvania, have been chosen to represent the variety of fraktur

baseball player... . But to those already familiar with the museum's great holdings... the most interesting part of the show may be recent additions to the 20th-century section."

PHRENOLOGICAL HEAD / attributed to Asa Ames (1824-1851)/ Evans, Erie County, New York / c. 1850 / paint on wood / 16% • 13 / collection American Folk Art Museum, bequest of Jeanette Virgin, 1981.24.1

forms, artists, and styles in the collection, and include works showing how Mennonite fraktur motifs influenced Schwenkfelder artists into the early 19th century. Among the artists included are Huppert Cassel and several members of the Heebner family. "Fraktur Treasures from the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center Collection" will be installed in the museum's intimate fifth-floor galleries, providing an ideal setting for these small-scale works on paper. To give viewers a broader view of the context in which these works were created, the museum will augment the exhibition with outstanding examples of painted furniture, Amish quilts, and pottery from its own collection.

Painted Saws: Jacob Kass American Folk Art Museum Eva and Morris Feld Gallery Two Lincoln Square Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets New York City Now through July 13, 2003 his exhibition will be held over to mid-July. It is the first museum exhibition in the Northeast to present Jacob Kass's painted tools and drawings. These works celebrate the value of labor, the beauty and

power of nature, and diversity in our population."You could say that Jacob Kass's art is cutting edge—and notjust because he paints on saws...the museum digs into Kass's prolific past with 'Painted Saws,' the first solo museum exhibition in New York dedicated to the artist's unconventional work, which depicts slices of Americana with a well-honed skill," says Time Out magazine.

.5 d

,S ot

j 4; ,,,c'

e 13:

St. Adolf-Giant-Creation The Art of Adolf Wolfli American Folk Art Museum 45 West 53rd Street New York City Feb. 25 - May 18, 2003 ontinuing its commitment to the work of 20th-century international self-taught artists, The Contemporary Center of the American Folk Art Museum

presents "St. Adolf-GiantCreation: The Art of Adolf Wolfli," an exhibition featuring more than 100 works by the Swiss artist—considered by many the greatest artist in the European tradition of art brut.

See pages 42-51 for complete coverage of this exhibition.

HOUSE AND GARDEN FOR ABRAHAM HEEBNER / attributed to Susanna Heebner (1750-1818)/ Worcester Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania / 1818 / watercolor and ink on paper / 121/., TA"/ Schwenldelder Library and Heritage Center Collection

211 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

e .....6 .

C.A.

*

, ' 11....'"'". .1.1/••••• , 1. 1.4.

ee

tre, A. ,

.14.V

• . ,„

RARE HOOKED AND CLIPPED HEARTH RUG / 33.5" x 67"/wool on linen / New England / circa 1830-1840 The technique usedby thisskilled needleworkeris unique in thatitcombines the conaptofhooking but with individaulpieces of woolenfabric roundedateach end Fme and colorful composition ofcentral urn with profuse floral decoration.

JAN WHITLOCK TEXTILES 302/ 655-1117 CHARLTON BRADSHER AMERICAN ANTIQUES

CARVED 84 PAINTED SQUIRREL pine with applied glass eyes Cabarrus County, North Carolina late 19th century, 11.5 inches high.

Specializing in folk art & material culture of the Southern backcountry.

125 Furman Avenue Asheville, North Carolina 28801 (828) 251-1904 www.charltonbradsher.com

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 29

PO Box 1-57, 2.0 Main Street Briclgeport, NJ 0801+ Phone:(856) +67-5197 fax:(856)+67-5451 raccooncreek@comcast.net

OON REEK Antiques,L.L.C.

.8111•••••••••••

doliN1101111011•11111.11...•

*a.

Penns,9Ivania Theorem: Lititz Moravian Girls' School 1820 - 1850

Clifford A.Wallach Tramp Art Specializing in fine Folk Art and Americana in rare and unusual forms.

81 Washington Street Suite 7J Brooklyn, NY 11201 Tel: 718.596.5325 Internet: www.trampart.com

dqUJO310H

:010Lid

MAGNIFICENT POLYCHROME TRAMP ART CLOCK TOWER WITH RADIO Made in the 1930s and inspired by the New York City Skyline.

Height 86" Width 19" Depth 12"

Works by

SOPHY POLLAK REGENSBURG 1885-1974

"Decanters, Flowers & Fruit" 16 "x 20" Casine on canvas

This reviewer does not know of any better primitive painter of today."

- Art News (Fairfield Porter in 1956)

FOR INQUIRIES: CHARLES POLLAK REGENSBURG TEL: 203-778-2346 FAX: 203-743-6127 EMAIL:CHASLEY@WEBTV.NET

Intriguing portrait of four red haired children in blue jackets and dresses, behind a blue drapery, on a blue background. Unidentified artist working in the mid-19th century. Oil on canvas.

Schoolgirl copy of H. Brueckner's The Prayer at Valley Forge (1866), executed in charocal on paper, circa 1866-1880. Found in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A penciled notiation by the instructor or parent reads "Drawn by Margaret Roberts." Unusual, paint decorated frame. 22" x 29"

Magnificent carved wooden decoy of a preening snow goose, circa 1940. Photos can not properly convey the sheer perfection of this flowing, elongated form, executed by a masterful, yet unidentified carver.

Found in Pennsylvania. 25" 1 x 10" w x 9" h

• • • 4014,1,K.1, Avyttzu.tes

Ltd

SP&aIALIZJNc IN Arrn621.te Toys,'SANK-s, FOI-K ART

AmeRicANA

f-toWARA PRANC-IN

f—}"CYR.e

C a 1875• Excelletnt Pata

svtLL&ir toJ. H-owara's

H-orse

ju.st cis scarce awa desi.ralolt Wowderrul pati-vua with a cast zv

head

Leow Wei-ss • Steve w Wei-ss

WaskiLwgtovu Avt-ti.ctixes Show jowt..kciT th - 12th, 2003 The Ameri-ocivt..Avvactuts Show —Jai/Lyon 15- -I : 9th, 2003 Po -e>ox 17-52 • 2412 Movx.tCHAZ -g.riAseliavviptow

Ny

11_932

(6.31)726-5057- • (212)310-6380 -fax: (&31/726,1936-0 • emailjt.cisevt@gettv,i,o,i,ain.tiztuts.covv. • www.4emiNIANT1L461ES.C.OM

BARBARA ARDIZONE ANTIQUES SALISBURY, CONNECTICUT 06068 • 860-435-3057 SPECIALIZING IN PAINTED FURNITURE AND SMALLS AMERICANA AND FOLK ART

4=1

Early 19th century yarn sewn hearth rug New England origin 64" x 29" not including fringe

34 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

SPLENDID PEASANT AMERICAN FOLK ART

Martin and Kitty Jacobs. South Egremont â&#x20AC;˘ Massachusetts (413) 528-5755 www.splendidpeasant.com

Highlighting American Antiques: The American Antiques Show The American Folk Art Museum "Celebrates the American Spirit" at the first anniversary of The American Antiques Show (TAAS). TAAS, a benefit event for the museum, is an educational and buying/collecting event featuring a unique opportunity to learn from renowned experts in the field of Americana and folk art. TAAS is held at the Metropolitan Pavilion, a landmark building in the heart of Chelsea, at 125 West 18th Street (between 6th & 7th Avenues), NYC. WALKING TOURS AT TAAS

OBJECT APPRAISALS AT TAAS

SILENT AUCTION AT TAAS

In the Company of Experts

In The Company Of Objects: What Is It Worth?

America Eats: American Fare Basic to Exotic

Thursday and Saturday, January 16 and 18, 2003

Friday, January 17, 2003

Thursday through Sunday, January 16-19, 2003

8:30-11:00Am at The America Eats Café, upstairs at The American Antiques Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC.

11:00Am Thursday, January 16, 2003 through 5:00pm Sunday, January 19, 2003 at The American Antiques Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18 Street, NYC.

LUNCHTIME TALKS AT TAAS

Hidden Treasures! Don't know what an object is?

Don't know whether it belongs in the attic or on display? No need to wonder any longer. Meet an expert and find the answer. Bring one object for an appraisal or just come to listen and learn as our distinguished panel of experts uncovers hidden treasures.

Lunch & Learn: Digesting Antiques

$35 General / $30 Members, Seniors, & Students (with photo ID)

Take a chance every day at TAAS! A silent auction where you don't have to be a "foodie" to be in the know celebrates one of America's favorite pastimes— eating. Gift certificates are provided by New York's finest restaurateurs and chefs for dining experiences uptown, downtown, midtown, eastside, and westside ... all over town. There are more than 15 restaurants for you to choose from.

9:30-11:00Am at The American Antiques Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC. Take a personal tour through TAAS In the Company ofExperts. Whether attending TAAS as a seasoned collector or as a newcomer, strolling through the aisles with an expert provides an opportunity to ask questions and examine objects in a relaxed atmosphere before TAAS opens to the public. $35 General / $30 Members, Seniors, & Students (with photo ID)

Thursday through Sunday, January 16-19, 2003 AMERICA TOASTS AT TAAS

12:30-1:30Pm at The America Eats Café upstairs at The American Antiques Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC.

America Toasts: A Taste of American Wines

You do not have to be in attendance to win. Gift certificates will be mailed to winners. Winners will be announced on Sunday, January 19, 2003 at 5:00Pm when TAAS officially closes.

Free with daily admission to TAAS

Satisfy your appetite and your mind in The America Eats Cafe, every day upstairs at TAAS! Enjoy a delicious box lunch as you learn about Americana and folk art from top experts in the field. $40 General / $35 Members, Seniors, & Students (with photo ID)

AFTERNOON TIMEOUTS AT TAAS

Teatime Talks Thursday through Sunday, January 16-19, 2003 3:00-4:00pm at The America Eats Café, upstairs at The American Antiques Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC.

Saturday, January 18, 2003 5:30-7:30pm at The America Eats Café, upstairs at The American Antiques Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC. Cheers! Combine two of life's greatest pleasures, collecting and drinking wine. A tasting of fifteen to twenty California and New York wines for the sophisticated palate and beginners alike. Talk to sommeliers and representatives from some of America's finest wineries. $40 General / $35 Members, Seniors, & Students (with photo ID)

EXHIBITION AND GARDEN DISPLAY UPSTAIRS AT TAAS

A Celebration of the American Spirit: Quilts, Garden Display, and Table Settings Thursday through Sunday, January 16-19, 2003 Every day from 11:00Am until closing, upstairs at TAAS, visit an exhibition of quilts from the museum's permanent collection complemented by garden and tabletop displays created by New York's finest floral designers and party planners.

MASTERWORKS TOUR AT THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

Take time out to relax and to discover a different topic while enjoying teatime treats in The America Eats Café, every day upstairs at TAAS. Join experts for a half-hour discussion on such diverse topics as textiles, furniture, toys, antique garden accessories, paintings, and collecting. $40 General / $35 Members, Seniors, & Students (with photo ID)

DEALER CHATS AT TAAS

Cocktail Conversations: Personalize Your Own Tour Through TAAS Thursday through Saturday, January 16-18, 2003 5:30-7:30pm at The American Antiques Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC. Join us for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as you follow a path through TAAS to hear dealer chats.

Take an hour or two to stroll down the aisles of TAAS as you stop to hear one or more of six different dealers present brief talks from their booths. New dealer chats are featured each evening. A "Daily TAAS Dealer Chat Map" with locations, times, and dealer topics is provided to all participants. $40 General / $35 Members, Seniors, & Students (with photo ID)

American Anthem: Private Exhibition Tour Sunday, January 19, 2003 10:00-10:45Am at the American Folk Art Museum, 45 West 53rd Street, NYC. 11:00-NooN at The America Eats Café, upstairs at The American Antiques Show, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC. Take a private tour of the American Folk Art Museum with Gerard C. Wertkin, director of the museum, and Stacy C. Hollander, senior curator, as they guide you through a song of praise to the nation, the exhibition American Anthem: Masterworksfrom the American Folk Art Museum.

The exhibition takes a fresh look at aspects of this country's cultural heritage through the museum's permanent collection and includes major new acquisitions donated in honor of the opening of the museum's new building. A continental breakfast follows at The America Eats Café, upstairs at TAAS at the Metropolitan Pavilion, before TAAS opens to the public. $35 General / $30 Members, Seniors, & Students (with photo ID)

Special events include admission to TAAS and show catalog. Make your reservations today.

Space for all events is limited. Groups are welcome. For reservations call 212. 977. 7170, ext. 314 or ext. 312.

AMEWCAN FO, ART NV5,1.1

THE AMERICAN ANTIOUES SHOW

"Celebrate the American Spirit" with us and 45 exhibitors—"a who's who of Americana"— at the first anniversary of The American Antiques Show

A Twenty-First Century American Tradition

TA A

03 ues Show

The America

A Benefit for the American Folk Art Museum at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, NYC THURSDAY, JANUARY 16—SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2003 Gala Opening Night Preview WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2003 Honorary Chair PAIGE RENSE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST For TAAS 2003 Ticket and Special Event Information e-mail taas@folkartmuseum.org or call 212.977.7170 Managed by Keeling Wainwright Associates, Inc.

OuLtsiAor Art Fgair prw.nted/ by the/ A vnorl,ccwv Fcri,k/ A rt- M ws-eAA444/ Wectneisciay,Jcwwwwy 22, 2003 6:30-9:00 PM eourly 5:30 and/6:00 PM PIA-ck/BuZlziiAtugLafTaiyett Er 14o-misto-n/ StreetsNew York/ City This exuberant opening night celebration of the Outsider Art Fair offers a first look at thousands of works by contemporary self-taught artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;presented by an array of the best American and international galleries. Enjoy cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and live music at this exciting museum benefit!

BENEFIT CHAIRS Paul and Dana Caan Pei-Ling and Thomas Isenberg Laura and Richard Parsons Selig and Angela Sacks VICE CHAIRS Didi and David Barrett Sam and Betsey Farber Audrey Heckler Richard and Amy Rubenstein

COLLECTORS' CIRCLE $750 per person ($625 is tax-deductible) Includes early admission at 5:30 PM, unlimited re-admissions to the Fair, Fair catalog, one complimentary ticket to "Uncommon Artists XI: A Series of Cameo Talks," and a copy of the museum's exhibition catalog, The Art of Adolf Wolfli: St. Adolf-Giant-Creation.

PATRON $350 per person ($250 is tax-deductible) Includes 6:00 PM admission, unlimited re-admissions to the Fair, Fair catalog, and a copy of the museum's exhibition catalog, The Art of Adolf Wolfli: St. Adolf-Giant-Creation.

Includes 6:30 PM

SUPPORTER $150 per person ($75 is tax-deductible) admission, one re-admission to the Fair, and Fair catalog.

To purchase tickets, please contact the museum's special events department at 212. 977. 7170, ext. 308, or e-mail OAF2003@folkartmuseum.org The Outsider Art Fair is produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith 6 Associates.

BeAttofit PreNtem 2003 Spect.oth Prog4ratmuniA4,9/ CONVERSING WITH CONTEMPORARY MASTERWORKS Guided Museum Tours Wednesday, January 22Sunday, January 26, 2003 3:00 PM each day American Folk Art Museum, 45 West 53rd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) Free with museum admission These guided tours, offered each day during the Outsider Art Fair, will offer an in-depth look at the contemporary works in the museum's current exhibition "American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum."

For reservations, please call the education department at 212. 265.1040, ext.102.

INSIDE OUTSIDER ART IN NEW YORK An American Folk Art Museum Explorers' Day Trip Friday January 24, 2003 10:00 AM-4:00 PM $80 for members; $90 for non-members Join the Folk Art Explorers for a tour in New York City. Visit the studios and homes of artists Malcah Zeldis and Bernard Goodman as well as an exciting private collection. The tour will depart from the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Two Lincoln Square (Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets). Motorcoach transportation and lunch are included in the tour cost. Enrollment is limited.

For reservations, call the membership office at 212. 977. 7170, ext. 306.

060

UNCOMMON ARTIS1S XI: A SERIES OF CAMEO TALKS The Anne Hill Blanchard Memorial Symposium A symposium presented by the American Folk Art Museum's Folk Art Institute and Contemporary Center.

Saturday, January 25, 2003 10:00 AM-NOON American Folk Art Museum, 45 West 53rd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) $35 general; $30 members, seniors, and students At the forefront in celebrating and introducing powerful, under-appreciated artists to a larger public, Uncommon Artists seeks to examine creativity within a personal and cultural context. Unique in format, this symposium specifically focuses on individual contemporary artists from around the world.

Greetings GERARD C. WERTKIN, DIRECTOR, AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM, NEW YORK Introduction LEE KOGAN, DIRECTOR, FOLK ART INSTITUTE/ CURATOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS FOR THE CONTEMPORARY CENTER, AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM, NEW YORK Visual Grace: Charting Religious Texts CAROL CROWN, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE Messenger Between Heaven and Earth: Arthur Bispo do Rosario and His Portraits of the Universe BEATE ECHOLS, FOLK ART INSTITUTE, AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM, NEW YORK Dread of Threads: Wilhelm van Genk's Journey COLIN RHODES, PH.D., DIRECTOR, LOUGHBOROUGH SCHOOL OF DESIGN, LEICESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND

.0119 HOLY ST. ADOLF TOWER/Adolf Wdlfli (1864-1930)/ Bern, Switzerland /1919/pencil and colored pencil on paper/30 1/2 x 22 / 1 4"/collection American Folk Art Museum, promised gift of Sam and Betsey Farber, P10.2000.7/photo by Gavin Ashworth

Goodman on Goodman: An Artist's Journey BERNARD GOODMAN, ARTIST, NEW YORK For reservations, please call the Folk Art Institute at 212. 265.1040, ext.105.

JUDY A SASLOW GALLERY Global Outsider & Contemporary Art 300 West Superior Chicago Illinois 60610 312 943 0530 fax 312 943 3970 www.jsaslowgallery.com jsaslow@corecomm.net Tuesday- Saturday 10 to 6

Exhibiting the work of Clyde Angel Larry Ballard Francois Burland Paul Duhem Edmond Engel Angela Fidilio Madge Gill Nancy Josephson Matt Lamb Albert Louden Dwight Mackintosh Michel Nedjar Gene Merritt Perfimou Marco Raugei Christine Sefolosha Genevieve Seale Sava Sekulic Gerard Sendrey Bill Traylor Oswald Tschirtner Anna Zemankova Carlo Zinelli + artists of Gugging

Michel Nedjer,

Untitled (Belleville), 1987, mixed

media on wallpaper, 21" x 22.5"

FM ENT

NIE Be sure to visit our booth at the

Outsider Art Fair January 22-26, 2003 Puck Building • SOHO • New York City

GILLEY AN

0

GA ,LLTN F

RAMING

8750 Florida Boulevard Baton Rouge, LA 7081 5 225.922.9225 outsider@eatel.net or visit us online at: www.gilleysgallery.corri Clementine Hunter • Baptism • 15.5" x 15.5" • Oil • c. 1950

40 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

AMERICAN VERNACULAR NEW

1 ,K, SELF-TAUGHT,

DISCOV-,ERI AND

Our

ULPTURE

IDER

INTRODUCIION

BY

MARGIT

ROWEL I

St. Adolf-Giant-Creation:

The Art of Adolf w •• lfli

By Elka Spoerri and Daniel Baumann

rench artist and founder of the Collection de l'Art Brut, Jean Dubuffet, referred to Adolf Won as "The Great Won." Andre Breton, leader of the surrealist movement, described Wolfli's work as "one of the three or four most important oeuvres of the twentieth century." Won would not have been surprised by these honorary descriptions.

He considered himself a great artist. It is reported that toward the end of his life Won complained to one doctor about how difficult it was to "work in the sweat of my brow in order to earn my life as an artist." With the exhibition "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation: The Art of Adolf WOlfli" the SAINT-MARY-CASTLEGIANT-GRAPE: UNITIF American Folk Art ZOHRN HEAVY TONS [Santta-Maria-Burg-RiesenMuseum adds a new Traube: UnitifZohm Tonnen peak to Won's excep- schwerl Geographic and Algebraic Books, Book 13, p. 75 tional career, which 1915 and colored pencil on brought him and his Pencil newsprint / 4 411 / 4" oeuvre from the mental 283 Collection of the Adolf asylum to museums all WoHli Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, over the world.

Switzerland, A9256-17

42 WINTER 2007/2003 FOLK ART

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 43

Adolf WOlfli was born in 1864. He grew up in Bern, Switzerland, in dire poverty during an era of great social crisis. His father, Jakob, was a stonecutter and alcoholic who ultimately abandoned the family when Adolf was about five years old.

His mother, Anna, worked as a laundress to support herself and Adolf, her youngest child. In 1872 she fell ill; she and Adolf were forced to return to their native village of Schangnau, Canton Bern, and as wards of the community, they were separated and sent to work for different farmers in exchange for food and lodging. When Anna died in 1873, young Adolf, then only eight years old, continued the hard life of a child hireling; he worked for a series of farming families, some of which were abusive and negligent. Nevertheless, he excelled in school, completing his formal education in 1879.

From 1880 to 1895, Wolfli worked as an itinerant farmhand and as a handyman. In 1882 he fell in love with the daughter of a neighboring farmer, but her parents forbade the union. The loss haunted Wolfli for the rest of his life. Gradually, Wolfli's existence became more and more lonely. In the spring of 1890 he was arrested for the attempted sexual assault of two young girls and sentenced to two years in prison. After he was released, Wolfli found it increasingly difficult to find a job.

His final break with society came in 1895, following an attempt to molest another little girl. He was caught, and on June 3 was sent to the Waldau Mental Asylum (now the Psychiatric University Clinic)in Bern for evaluation. When questioned about his behavior,lfli said he was aware that it was forbidden; he had resorted to such actions, he said, because the rich parents of his beloved had forced him to give her up. The medical examiners at Waldau diagnosed schizophrenia and declared him mentally incompetent. Won was thirtyone years old; he remained in the Waldau Mental Asylum for thirtyfive years—until his death in 1930.

During his first years at Waldau, Wöffli was an agitated and violent patient. In 1899, however, his mental state began to improve. By this time, Won had begun to draw,

44 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

c,tio

,40

41:

—

ASSIZES OF THE MIDDLE-LAND [Assiisen-des-Mit-tel-Landes] two-page composition) a. NEGRO [Negre] p. 11 b. ASSIZES OF THE MIDDLE-LAND [Assiisen-des-Mit-tel-Landes] p. 12 1904 Pencil on newsprint 39/ 1 4 29/ 1 2" each Collection of the Adolf Wolfli Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland, A9204; A9205

n

A

r-2.1-44-zArt

and periods when he drew and was calmer alternated with periods of agitation and aggression. Because no drawings have been preserved from the 1899 to 1903 period, the entries in his medical history remain the only testimony on the beginnings of Wolfli's art in 1899.

It was in 1907 that the first fortunate event occurred in dismal life: he met Dr. Walter Morgenthaler (1883-1965), who worked as a psychiatrist at Waldau intermittently from 1907 to 1919.

Morgenthaler was supportive and encouraged Wolfli's work, which he documented during the artist's lifetime. In 1921 Dr. Morgenthaler published a pioneering monograph on Wolfli's life and work, Ein Geisteskranker als Kiinstler (Madness and Art: The Life and Work of Adolf Wolin).

Wolfli's art can be divided into three distinct groups: early works; bread art, or single-sheet drawings; and the five bodies of the narrative book works窶認rom the Cradle to the Grave; Geographic and Algebraic Books; Books with Songs and Dances; Album Books with Dances and Marches; and the Funeral March. The book works comprise a monumental 25,000 pages of richly illustrated text. With some interruptions, Won was also occupied from 1916 until 1921 with the decoration of a large wooden cupboard and two small vitrines at the Waldau Museum. The museum had been established in 1914 on Morgenthaler's initiative. Open only by appointment, it was visited by psychiatrists, a few members of the general public, and several artists.

After Wolfli's death, all his books were preserved at Waldau, where they remained until their removal to the Adolf Won Foundation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Bern,in 1973.

Early Work(1904-1907) Wolfli began to draw at Waldau Mental Asylum in 1899, but no works completed before 1904 have survived. The drawings from 1904 and 1905 form a unified group, a well-defined block marked by sublime draftsmanship and artistic vision. These drawings are the foundation of WOlfli's art. Here, we find

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 45

those elements of form and content that would come to characterize all his work. Indeed, this compact, early group occupies a special position in his oeuvre, for if Wolfli had not created anything else, these drawings alone would suffice to secure his place among the visionary artists of the twentieth century. The American Folk Art Museum presents twenty works from this singular period.

The Narrative Oeuvre(1908-1930)

world, the world of St. Adolf II. In the songs, polkas, mazurkas, and marches of the Books with Songs and Dances and the Album Books with Dances and Marches, Won celebrates the events of his imaginary life story and of St. Adolf-GiantCreation. This hymnlike epic reaches its climax in the Funeral March, a profound finale in which the rigorous rhythm of both word and number series achieve a perpetual movement that suggests an infinite flow.

The fruitful encounter between Wolfli and Morgenthaler had as its From the Cradle to the Grave precondition Wolfli's persistent, (1908-1912) lonely work on the early drawings. Wolfli conceived this series of nine The skill he acquired during that books as a coherent work under period must have given him his self- the title From the Cradle to the confidence as an artist. His laborious Grave; Or, through Work and Sweat, molding of archetypes and general Suffering and Ordeals, Even through systems of order gave Won the nec- Prayer into Damnation; Manifold essary spiritual protection against the Travels, Adventures, Accidental chaotic states of his psychosis and Calamities, Hunting and Other Expeenabled him to observe his own life riences of a Lost Soul Erring about story more calmly, and to depict it in the Globe; Or, a Servant of God narrative form. without a Head Is More Miserable Wolfli's narrative oeuvre, than the Most Miserable of Wretches. which he commenced in 1908 and The text runs without interruption continued without interruption until from book to book and contains more his death in 1930, was the artist's than 2,970 pages and 752 illustrations life's work. It consists of prose texts in pencil and colored pencil. At the interwoven with poems, musical end of the series, Wolfli gives compositions, and illustrations. instructions to a printer regarding the Forty-five large books and sixteen title, execution, price, and distribution school notebooks, totaling 25,000 of the work. densely filled pages, have been preFrom the Cradle to the Grave served. The exhibition "St. Adolf- recounts Won's imaginary life story Giant-Creation: The Art of Adolf in the form of a travelogue. The child Wolfli" will allow visitors to en- Doufi, Won's alter ego ("Doufi" is counter and plunge into this excep- a nickname for Adolf), is accompational world vision. nied on his travels to different parts A comprehensive view of his of the globe by an ever-growing writings clearly shows that even in its group of relatives and friends, memmonumental and multilayered scope, bers of the so-called Swiss Hunters the whole is a unified work. Content, and Nature Explorers Traveling Sociform, and language dynamically ety. WOlfli situates Doufi's adveninteract, and each of these elements is tures in a period of time that was still continuously transformed through the "beautiful" for himâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;before the death course of the entire text. The work of his mother and the beginning of his begins with From the Cradle to the life as a foster child. The story begins Grave, Won's imaginary autobiog- with the family's immigration to raphy. In the next stage, Wolfli America in 1866, when Doufi is just expanded his life story into the realm two years old. After a stay of about of myth, developing the Geographic ten months in New York, the family and Algebraic Books, a fantastic moves to the Atlantic island of Saint narrative of travels throughout the Helena, off the coast of Virginia, and universe and of his own transforma- then back to Europe, from which the tion into St. Adolf-Giant-Creation. imaginary journeys and adventures Wolfli's descriptions of the cosmos expand "more or less over the whole culminate in his creation of a new earth"â&#x20AC;&#x201D;to Asia, Australia, Africa,

46 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

back to America, Greenland, and a fictive continent that Wolfli calls Southern Meridian.

Geographic and Algebraic Books (1912-1916)

In the Geographic and Algebraic Books, Wolfli describes the emergence of the St. Adolf-GiantCreation. The first three books contain his "Building Foundations": Doufi has accumulated a fortune from "Charity Donations" given in sympathy for his calamities; he buys up the places he visited earlier, rebuilds cities and countries, and creates public enterprises and social institutions, traffic systems, and other infrastructures. He is shaping the future as if it were the present.

This activity culminates in 1912 with the metamorphosis of the Swiss Hunters and Nature Explorers Traveling Society into a Giant-TravelAvant-Garde, a transposition of the travels around the world into travels around the cosmos; the substitution of gods for the world regents; the encounter with God-Father; and, finally, the formation of the St. Adolf-Giant-Creation. Doufi and his companions leave the earth and continue their travels in the cosmos, directed by God-Father, on the Giant-Airplane. WOlfli describes the fantastical visions he encounters with God-Father and other divinities.

Because our conventional numerical system does not go far enough for the vast exaggerations necessary to describe the St. AdolfGiant-Creation, Won takes the traditional numbers through quadrillion and then expands them by twentythree new numerical units. At first, the highest number in this invented system is Oberon; later, he supplements it with an even larger number, ultimately the largest one, which he calls Zorn ("rage").

In 1916, with a touch of irony, Wolfli formulated his self-appointment: "St. Adolf the I, Great-King of Grenoble-St. Adolf-King, Giant-City in Savojen; last named with an additional calculation-supplement of 50 hours is my third-youngest brother as a Great-God! And I am, St. Adolf the II, Couscous King and GreatGreat-God. Bern, Friday, the 23d of June, 1916."

THE SAN SALVADOR [Der San Salvathor] 1926 Pencil and colored pencil on newsprint 59 82" Williams Collection Photo courtesy Phyllis Kind Gallery, NY

BON AMI Funeral March, p. 3,604 1929 Pencil and collage on bound newsprint 27% x 193 / 4" Collection of the Adolf Wolfli Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland, A9404 [This work is not included in the American Folk Art Museum's exhibition]

• "7-Hi-.7.""

-"C•7; 144-

_

7

,

/err, ;

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 47

In the Geographic and Algebraic Books, Wolfli developed two new picture types: number pictures and music pictures. The number pictures originate from the calculation of interest accruing from Doufi's imaginary fortune. These images, repeated in lead or colored pencil, are most impressive in their design. They

women's names, such as Santa Ida or Santa Lina, or they have invented names, like Kannari or Dalaari. As he does in the Geographic and Algebraic Books, Wolfli celebrates events and persons from his earlier stories in a seemingly endless variety of ways.

An important new element of these books is the numbering system with

Wolfli often inserted another totally different song or dance sequence. For instance, a mazurka would be introduced in the middle of a polka. This interruption worked to ensure a continual linkage over several books, for the reader would have to wait for the continuation of suspended songs or dances.

reflect not only Wolfli's need for order but also his fascination with the incremental power of financial capital. The music pictures exist primarily as musical notation, but some are combined with ornamental or figurative elements.

which he orders the musical compositions. This system forms the basic principle of organization, as what constitutes the text is less and less a narrative progression, consisting instead of fragments accompanied by passages of dialect and solfege.

Wolfli classifies the musical compositions according to type of dance, voice, tempo, beat, measure, and song number. The longest dance, "Santa Ida and Santa Lina Polka," encompasses 2,755 song numbers.

When he bound the books in the middle of a song sequence or dance,

After 1917 the illustrations for the Books with Songs and Dances become rarer and rarer. They consist primarily of pasted reproductions of individual pictures, or of several pictures in collage on large folded pages.

Books with Songs and Dances (1917-1922) The Books with Songs and Dances are filled with musicâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;songs, polkas, mazurkas, and marchesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;consisting of dialect, phonetic rhymes, and solfege. The dances are titled with

45 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Album Books with Dances and Marches(1924-1925, 1927-1928)

All eight books (none of which are part of the exhibition presented by the American Folk Art Museum) contain mainly musical compositions, again noted in solfege. The texts are dated 1924 and 1925, whereas the drawings

FORMOOSA ISLAND IN THE INDIAN OCEAN Unsel Formoosa Am ldischen Ozeard 1914 Pencil and colored pencil on paper 27% 39%" Collection of David Byrne Photo courtesy Phyllis Kind Gallery, NY

St. Adolf-Giant-Creation: are from 1927 and 1928, when Won evidently bound them into albums and titled them. The narrative texts are increasingly reduced, and key terms are substituted for the expanded storytelling found in the earlier works. Won refers to these key terms by name or nickname in the progression of the songs. The dances and marches are ordered according to "Ring" numbers, which are combined with a long series of continuously numbered names: "Blast, 7. Ring, 707. Ludmilla, 7.

Female Teacher, 745." A musical composition recorded in solfege follows, and the number of the next song progresses with each word, song after song: "Blast, 8. Ring, 708. Ludmilla, 8. Female Teacher, 746." All but the Ring numbers of each successive song vary or disappear, but the Rings can be counted on to provide the actual sequence of the songs. In the course of the enumeration, some single words can be repeated up to a thousand times; others are repeated only ten, thirty, or fifty times before they finish their cycle and are superseded by new words, with which the count begins anew.

Funeral March (1928-1930) The Funeral March, which Wolfli worked on persistently during the last two years of his life, forms the conclusion of the artist's oeuvre. The written record of his illness (from the medical history) documents his unbroken determination to bring this work to completion. Even a serious intestinal operation in March 1930 hardly diminished his production.

All the books of the Funeral March are signed St. Adolf II. To this are added descriptive titles and other information, as in this long signature: "St. Adolf II Algebrator, Major-Commander and MusicDirector, Giant-Theater-Director, Almighty-Steamship-Captain, and Dr. of Art and Science, Director of the Algebra and Geography-BooksFabrication and Hunter-General.

Inventor of 160 self-made inventions, highly valuable and patented, each of them, by the Russian Czar, and glorious victor of numerous, enormous gigantic battles."

Wolfli conceived the Funeral March as a musical composition on a

The Art of

On view at the American Folk Art Museum 45 West 53rd Street, New York City February 25-May 18, 2003 ontinuing its commitment to the work of twentieth-century international self-taught artists, the American Folk Art Museum presents "St Adolf-GiantCreation: The Art of Adolf Wolfli," an exhibition featuring more than 100 works by the Swiss artist. Adolf \Willi(1864-1930)is arguably one of the greatest artists in the European tradition of art brut. He is celebrated for his intense visionary imagery, having created thousands of pages of text, drawings, collages, and musical compositions during his confinement in a mental asylum near Bern, Switzerland.

"Wolfii is a fascinating and magnificently accomplished artist," says American Folk Art Museum Director Gerard C. Wertkin. "His work draws deeply from the wellspring of vernacular culture while remaining unremittingly idiosyncratic in expression. Presenting this exhibition is in keeping with the

C

versity Press. It was edited by Tanya Heinrich, the museum's exhibition catalog and book editor, and includes essays by Elka Spoerri, Daniel Baumann,and Edward M.Gomez;a foreword by Gerard C. Wertkin; and excerpts from four of Wiffolfii's texts that have never before been published.

The catalog will be available in January at the American Folk Art Museum's Book and Gift Shops,at 45 West 53rd Street and at 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue, between 65th and 66th Streets.

museum's overarching mission, which recognizes the interconnectedness of artistic activity across international boundaries." The exhibition was organized by guest curators Elka Spoerri and Daniel Baumann,in collaboration with Brooke Davis Anderson, director of the museum's Contemporary Center. More than two-thirds of the works

in this comprehensive exhibition will be on view in the United States for the first time.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a full-color, 112-page catalog published by Marquand Books in association with the American Folk Art Museum,and distributed by Princeton Uni-

The exhibition "St. Adolf-GiantCreation: The Art of Adolf WEIlfli" is sponsored in part by the Swisspeaks Festival, an initiative of the Swiss government commission,Presence Switzerland, and the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York.

Presence Swsse Presenza 555555,3 Preschientsche Seizes Presence Switzerland

SWiSSpeakSFESTI VAL

Plt••It LV ET IA • Art• Council of Switzerland

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 49

grand scale: The composition is not recorded in musical signs or in solfege; it consists of phonetic structure rhymed with the vowels A, E, 0, and U, which melt into one single body of sound. In this way, Wolfli takes up the expressive tonal qualities of language, its onomatopoeic value as sound. The series of phonetic structures is interrupted, in rare cases, by short geographical texts, prayers, or biblical quotations.

All the songs of the Funeral March are structured according to the same compositional scheme. Won picked out a motif from the collage inserted in the text and developed it with a dialect rhyme to Wiiga ("cradle"), most often with the phrase i'd Wiiga witt ("into the cradle"). A key word referring to the pasted reproduction is worked into the rhyme sequence, establishing a connection.

This song construction is used throughout the entire Funeral March.

The pictorial statement and the articulated, self-contained writing flow side by side as two interrelated yet independent streams.

In the illustrations for the Funeral March, Wolfli works almost exclusively in collage. As picture material, he uses mostly reproductions cut from illustrated magazines, often the Illustrated London News. In spite of his isolated life in the asylum, WOlfli shows great acuity in picking out the most relevant topics and events in arenas such as sports, film, politics, city life, and even advertis ing. All the pictorial motifs of his previous work are paraded once again .1 in concentrated form: female beauty,1 motherly love, domestic bliss, comfortable living (in contrast to his life of poverty), political and financial power, mountains and glaciers, catastrophes and idylls.

value, on which he himself places a much greater value, comprises his gigantic autobiography."

Today, instead of using the term "bread art," a reference to hack jobs done as "bread-and-butter work," scholars speak of "singlesheet drawings." But whatever their designation, they are fundamentally separate from the illustrations of the narrative work.

texts that WOlfli called "explanations." The explanations do not elucidate the drawings, but they do connect the pictures to the content of his writings. All the personages, countries, and events mentioned therein can be found (albeit with many variations) in the narrative texts. Won became famous exclusively on the basis of these singlesheet drawings. It was mostly these

GIANT CANARY: WINGSPAN 10 METERS [Riisen-Nannaari: 10 Meter Spann-Flugel-Weitte] Geographic and Algebraic Books, Book 11, p.851 1913 Pencil and colored pencil on newsprint 371 / 2 â&#x20AC;˘ 271 / 2" Collection of the Adolf Wolfli Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland, A9252-7

fAirallYarniell

134111111111Ir,

ViiitifiliadviiIiiitarifinIZSLINVITIVertaIn

Z01212111a113131MAVNIMIPPipiarniviugm, :nt7.--

Fitioszoraltiegiodirktaitisosithiltomoriavismsit" mg mumIMILIIIIIiindlitMlifaiNIAMINSIIMS MEM*

: z .112.7 71,,a1; FIERWEErt

OP-

Bread Art: Single-Sheet Drawings (1916-1930)

In his monograph on Won,Morgenthaler wrote, "One can divide his works into two important groups, according to their aim: One group could be called 'bread art.' This group includes drawings he does for others in exchange for plain or colored pencils, paper, tobacco, and so on. The second group, to which Wolfli assigns by far the greatest

50 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Almost all of the single-sheet drawings were produced between 1916 and 1930, independently from the narrative texts. They come in different sizes and are executed on high-quality drawing paper with colored pencils. On the back of them are

works that Morgenthaler published in his monograph, that physician, art scholar, and collector Dr. Hans Prinzhom knew, and that Jean Dubuffet saw and acquired on his trip through Switzerland. These were also the works exhibited in a few shows

from 1945 through 1972, when "Documenta 5" was held.

During the last ten years of his life, Adolf Won was able to pay for the drawing materials he needed with the money he received from the sale of his single-sheet drawings. But even when he could get good drawing paper, he continued to order newsprint, for this paper was easier to bind into books. Very few single-

Analysis of WOlfli's work as a whole shows that form and content interact in such a way that three levels of structuring can be distinguished. On the first level, WOlfli's urge to create and talent for pictorial and narrative expression show themselves to be independent of the compulsions related to schizophrenia. On the second level, the experiences of psychosis and the manifestations of

sheet drawings dating from 1929 and 1930 have been found; at this time, Welfli was concentrating on the Funeral March. There are some collages in the single-sheet drawingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; fifteen are known todayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but Wolfli's use of the technique met with no enthusiasm from the psychiatrists or collectors that he was in conntact with, according to his medical history. Thus, Adolf Won went on producing the desired drawings for his buyers; for his Funeral March, he worked unswervingly and almost exclusively with collages.

delusion penetrate the first, disturbing ofthe American Folk Art Museum's and altering it. On the third level, exhibition "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation: The Wolfli succeeds in uniting the regres- Art ofAdolf Wolfli," and coauthor ofthe sive and hindering factors of his ill- exhibition catalog. Elka Spoerri died on May 17ofthis year. ness with his artistic vision, to form Daniel Baumann, an art historian and an integrated whole. It is Wolfli's great achievement that he could cre- freelance writer, is the cocurator ofthe ate his art both within the domain of American Folk Art Museum's exhibition his illness and in spite of it. With the "St. Adolf-Giant-Creation: The Art of Adolf Wolfli," and coauthor ofthe exhibipictorial and literary means of his art, tion catalog. He has served as curator of WOlfli was able to express the exis- the Adolf Wolin Foundation since 1996. tential condition that his psychosis Baumann has organized numerous exhibiforced him to experience, and in so tions and has written extensively on the doing, he allows us an insight into his reception of Wolfli's work and ofits relation to mainstream culture. particular condition humaine.*

Art historian Elka Spoerri(1924-2002) served as thefounding curator ofthe Adolf Wolfli Foundation, Museum ofFine Arts, Bern, Switzerland,from 1975 to 1996. She researched the content of Wolfli's images and writingsfor thirty years, providingfundamental insight into the artist's thousands ofdrawings and nearly 25,000 pages oftext. She organized more than sixty exhibitions of Wolfli's work and was the author ofmany publications on his art. Spoerri was cocurator

THE KANDER VALLEY IN THE BERNESE OBERLAND [Das KanderThal im Berner Ober-land] 1926 Pencil and colored pencil on paper 18/ 1 2 24%" American Folk Art Museum, Blanchard-Hill Collection, gift of M. Anne Hill and Edward V. Blanchard Jr., 1198.10.64

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART Si

Martin

Ramirez UNTITLED (caballero w/palm trees) c. 1954 Ink, colored pencil, crayon, and collage on paper 48 36" Private collection Photo courtesy Fleisher-011man Gallery

Revisited 52 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

By Randall Morris

In 1995 I wrote an article for this magazine that raised some questions about the ways in which we have approached the work and life of Martin Ramirez, one of this hemisphere's universally acclaimed master artists. The main point I sought to bring forth in that article was that a Ramirez had been created in an artworld that had little or no interest in who the man was, or in any life he might have lived outside the context of his dismal existence in the DeWitt State Hospital in Sacramento, California. All biography up to that point and for the most part, up to this point, was known through the memories and notes of Dr. Tarmo Pasto, a man who befriended Ramirez and was responsible for preserving much of Ramirez's work.

UNTITLED (violin player, dancers, and animals) c. 1953 Pencil and crayon on paper 86 24" Private collection, Philadelphia Photo courtesy Fleisher-011man Gallery WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 53

In that article I began to propose a multidisciplinary approach to the work that combined evidence from the images themselves and what was then known about the community from which Martin Ramirez had allegedly come. At the time that article was written no research had yet been done, rather the directions needed for further exploration were sketched out in general discussion. The article was intended to stimulate scholars and the public in general to rethink the vagaries of what is meant by "out-

Ramirez is achieved on various scholastic fronts. The work will never be 100 percent deciphered, and we must learn to live with that. Even if we find everything out about his physical history, it will not be enough to explain some of his most surreal images empirically. Many people have trouble with this.

The basic premises of the article still hold, and I believe they will continue to hold over time and scrutiny.

Primary among these is the idea of artistic control. Donald

• Gr. :j

!Ci f" 4±,4 ' 4;1 VitPHA Ta.

lici7FAR71;a.A. C,4

.137

* pin? 11124st

:lir

Ira*

.

01 Willt

'7''E'r""1.411'

• 141

sider" art, and to recontextualize Martin Ramirez as a Mexican, an artist, and a man ingrained with a culture that was—and is—not North American in mores, values, or visionary content.

The article was well received at the time, but since then I am finding that people who happen upon it now tend to take what was conjecture and unresearched as faulty fact and miss the broader intent of the article. As it happens, there is enough new information since that time for some of the more vague concepts to be clarified. It must be remembered that studying an artist like Martin

54 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Kuspit's statement that "Ramirez's work doesn't show such control" in an Artforum review rankles as much now as it did then. I hope the flood of literature that has appeared in the field since that review has done much to illuminate dated assumptions of self-taught artists as victims making art despite themselves. We have learned to put aside many notions of outsider freakishness. For example, review the recent American Folk Art Museum's exhibitions on the work of Henry Darger that showed how thought out and calculated was his art-making process. In my last essay, I brought into question not whether Martin

UNTITLED c. 1950s Mixed media on paper 24 84/ 1 2" Blanchard-Hill Collection #249

Ramirez was actually "insane," but rather the degree of that insanity and also the language through which that alleged insanity manifested. It is not so far-fetched an idea that a person from an insulated folk community will manifest mental illness in the terms of that community rather than in the Western community's terms, or in terms of a 1950s community in which he was incarcerated. The man received shock treatments almost as a matter of course.

He received no personal care. There is no way to fully cal-

felt that Ramirez might have been analyzed and treated differently had he been in a similar situation today. He might have received outpatient treatment and been given a diagnosis of depression. Ramirez received no personal analysis at the time and was part of the first wave of patients in this country to be treated with Streptomycin for tuberculosis. It seems that the government used this group as a trial for the then experimental drug. The treatment was successful, but the ward stayed together, and accord-

culate the repercussions of the culture clash and stress on his psyche. But it must be said that since the fifties great progress has been made in understanding the psychiatric problems of people coming to the United States from other countries. My supposition that Martin Ramirez was by no means beyond communication has since been corroborated over and over again by an informant who worked at the DeWitt Hospital.

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to make contact with James Durfee, a man who had helped care for Martin Ramirez at the end of his life. Durfee genuinely

ing to my informant received no further therapy beyond very basic maintenance.

Ramirez lived in a converted barracks along with seventy-five other mental patients, some of whom were quite violent and manifested extreme psychotic behavior.

He was afraid of them and hid under a table when he made his drawings, unrolling them section by section while hiding them from the cleanup crew. He responded to English, and it was thought that he chose not to speak rather than his being mute. There was no one at the facility, at least during those four years, who spoke to him in

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 55

Spanish. According to Durfee, Martin Ramirez was by no means beyond human communication. He was enthusiastic about making his drawings and was evidently pleased if the work was appreciated, sometimes giving a few of the drawings to attendants as gifts.

A major area of the previous article that needs clearing up is my conjecture about Martin Ramirez's Indian

blood. This would be controversial even if we knew for certain that Indian blood ran through his family, because the degree of its affect upon his lifestyle would always contain a certain ambiguity. Be that as it may, it appears that Martin Ramirez was from the region of Jalisco called Los Altos, an anomaly on the ethnic map of Mexico. This ranching and agave-raising section of Jalisco has adhered to a European peasant model of folk Catholicism, with very little intermixture with indigenous blood. At the time of the previous article this fact was not known to me.

58 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

What this changes is the kind of information we can take more assuredly from the drawings in terms of Ramirez's immediate culture. It gives us more of a grasp on the visual language of the drawings, and at least some indication of whom he was speaking to when he made the drawings, apart from himself. Of course, it changes nothing about the formal grandeur of the work, although it

does reinforce the idea of a few of the nicho-like formats for some of the singular figures. As for the drawings becoming more accessible owing to the lack ofâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or at least reduction ofâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the importance of ingrained Indian imagery, the irony is that folk Catholicism is just as inscrutable to the modern Western sensibility as Native American iconography might be. A good model to examine would be the santero communities in northern New Mexico, who managed to keep a strong tradition of folk Catholicism alive into contemporary times. It is only quite

UNTITLED c. 1950s Mixed media on paper 30" Blanchard-Hill Collection

recently that religious artwork from these communities has gained more than a regional or cultish appeal to nonSouthwestern museums and collectors. Both New Mexico and Los Altos are very much modernized now, but they have still maintained a very strong Catholic fundamentalism, especially among the less wealthy.

The basic intentionalities of a Ramirez with no Indian blood, in regard to his traveling to the United States, are not so different than what was stated in the previous article. Poverty pressured many Mexicans in the third decade of the last century to travel to the United States and try to put enough money together to send home to family. Having hunted for food in his childhood and youth, he was still a hunter, crossing the border into a wilderness in order to try to enrich the lives of those at home. In the particular case of Martin Ramirez, he was less successful in the American hunting grounds owing to his physical and mental breakdown and incarceration.

Our sense of outsider (that hellish overgenerality) art history has fixed Ramirez in a room in Sacramento.

Only this has been used as the grounding for his overall imagery and intention. We have incarcerated him again in our history books. When I wrote the first article I had a burning need to fill in what else there might have been that he brought with him into the drawings. When the Museum of International Folk Art hired me to write about Ramirez for their upcoming "Vernacular Visionaries" exhibition, I felt I needed to go to Mexico, not so much on a fact-finding mission as on a contextual mission for myself, to find some essence that might trigger deeper understanding, a way of tasting the entire stew, even if there was a chance I couldn't isolate some of the individual spices.

I knew of a few sociologists who were working on finding out about Ramirez's life. Indeed, they claimed to have been inspired by my earlier article, and now they had found his family and thus information about his life's details. We will be seeing the fruit of their labors at some time in the future. Unfortunately, they said they could not share much information with me, claiming contractual constraints. I needed, therefore, an approach that would dovetail somehow with their efforts, could absorb without too much revision the information they found, and still take our thinking about this great artist to a new level.

From all this it is clear that the earlier article maintains a correct course through the art, but in removing the Indian references a few perspectives need to be changed.

What this does is open other areas to an increased examination, such as his faith, the nature of that regional Catholicism, the role of animals in the drawings, and images that, without the Native American worldview, become even more mysterious and cryptic.

The point about Ramirez's Catholicism is key. Still unexplored fully, it opens up a finite picture of faith that is more open to documentation and contextualization. There are regional specifics and shapes to the religion. Syncretism between Native American and Catholic sources always gives history a consistent ambiguity. The placement of Martin Ramirez in Los Altos removes a certain degree of that ambiguity because of the region's singular history. This is true in terms of his cultural background

UNTITLED (seven deer) c. 1953 Crayon and collage on paper 27/ 1 2 x 24/ 1 2 " Private collection Photo courtesy Fleisher-011man Gallery

UNTITLED MADONNA c. 1953 Colored pencil, crayon, and collage on paper 44/ 1 2x 32/ 1 2" Private collection Photo courtesy Fleisher-011man Gallery

_ I

111111111-111-11-1-1-1:11-ATI I ill I 11111-n I

i71 illit I

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 57

only. We must remember that Martin Ramirez was not a traditional artist.

I discussed syncretism in the first article as a combining of Indian and Catholic beliefs into a third form; however, if we remove the Indian explanations much of the circumstances remain the same, because syncretism finds that place where two systems of belief have common ground. For example, both ways of seeing share concepts of good and evil, an underworld, the use of a serpent as a demonic personification of evil, and the presence of a devil. We can also remove the moon goddess and direct earth mother symbolism from the Virgin Inmaculada, but she still stands astride the globe with her head in the heavens as she fights the demonic serpents at her feet. Ramirez himself has given her a more earthly manifestation as he covers her in flowers and plants, either as offerings or recognition of her saintly or motherly qualities.

The form of much folk Catholicism in Mexico was apocalyptic in nature, brought by priests from Europe.

Good-evil, home-wilderness, saint-devil, wife-whore, and family-stranger dichotomies form much of the basis of everyday life. Without Indian imagery, the tunnels and underground trains do not automatically revert to Freudian symbols. They maintain their connections with the wilderness and the chthonic or spirit world.

Also in regard to the Catholic iconography of the drawings, I stated a strong syncretic leaning toward Santiago [Saint James], who has a powerful presence in other parts of Hispanic Mexico. Tipped off by independent scholar Victor Espinosa and corroborating this with my own observations in Los Altos, I saw less of Santiago than I did the apocalyptic presence of Saint Michael and La Purissima (another manifestation of Inmaculada). However, there are no Saint Michaels defeating devils. The men on horseback with bandoliers may well represent local Cristeros. Los Altos was a major arena of the Cristero Rebellion, which was in full swing before Ramirez came to the United States. I hope that future published research will shed light upon this as well.

Much will remain ambiguous about the work itself.

Even an artist's family cannot be authoritative about why a man makes art or chooses what he chooses. In fact, research in this field often shows just the opposite. If the community is not an art-making community, art-making is usually not understood or encouraged. I made statements in the earlier article about Ramirez being either from a pottery culture or from or near Tonala, the major pottery center of the region of Jalisco. Los Altos is very close to Tonala, but the pottery-making roots of the town are Indian or Mestizo in origin. It can also be seen to be distant, rather than near, in terms of the kind of transportation available in the early part of this century. We saw Tonala pottery for sale in numerous Los Altos towns, but this is not meaningful in terms of proving exposure. We are faced here with a seemingly unprovable conundrum, because Ramirez's style, subject matter, and line, as well as the language of some of his compositions, are in complete keeping with the visual vocabulary of Tonala pottery but, of course, developed and taken to completely new places by his genius.

Also completely unexplainable is the highly developed non-usage of one-point perspective in his drawings,

58 WINTER 2002/2603 FOLK ART

and their maplike qualities. The other area of seeming permanent controversy are his omnipresent and emblematic deer. Their significance is different as well if one removes the Indian presence. But again, there are commonalities to the deer regardless of white or Indian symbolism. Deer were plentiful in the hills and were a necessary source of meat, skin, and other parts in everyday life. In the older article I had mentioned the native association of Christ with the deer in many religions of Northern and Central Mexico. This, too, appears to not be the case regionally.

Butjust to muddy the water a little, the priest in one of the small towns in the area told us that on certain holidays Indians came through with masked dances. Apparently, they were not completely absent from the region.

Without this Indian influence the deer take on a different importance. Anyone looking at these drawings can see a narrative power to their content. Ambiguity sets in as far as pinning down the subject of those narratives. In this sense, they are more like certain types of song or poetry.

My tendency still would be to put an autobiographic focus on some of these deer, if not as direct portrayals of Ramirez himself, then as a fable-like presence in their depictions of families in their formal placement. This remains a further area of research and development.

Through the miracle of the Internet I came to meet James Durfee, who was the ward supervisor at the DeWitt Hospital from 1955-1959. He was senior psychiatric tech, grade 2. I called him, and in the following notes from that interview I would like to share some tantalizing glimpses into Martin Ramirez's life in the hospital.

In convalescent ward 108 at the DeWitt Hospital in Sacramento, California, Martin Ramirez lived with a highly regimented schedule. Each morning he would be brought from his dorm with seventy-five other men to the communal washroom, where he would brush his teeth with his own labeled toothbrush. He was not allowed to have razors, so the techs would shave him, shower him, and, if necessary, cut his hair. Then he would sit at a table and wait for his breakfast, usually of oatmeal. There were three techs during a twenty-four hour period to take care of seventy-five men.

In note form, here are some flashes of information (my notes in parentheses): Ramirez made a pot out of oatmeal. He dried it out on a radiator and when it was ready, used it to grind down crayons, pencils, and colored pencils to make pigments, which he then applied to paper with wooden matchsticks. He used paper from magazines and waste-paper cans, and a tongue depressor as a ruler. (How tantalizing this is...and the questions this raises as to whether he used other modes later on.)

He rolled and unrolled the paper he was working on a section at a time. He rolled them because he was fearful of losing them to the cleaning crew and to other patients, so he also hid them in his shirt and behind

the radiators. Even so, many drawings were taken and lost. If they were on the wall they were torn down, or sometimes just washed over.

Sometimes he worked serially. Durfee observed that once he did "about twenty" of the men on horseback in a row.

He pored through magazines all the time.

The one time Durfee remembered Ramirez smiling and almost laughing (this is a sad implication that Ramirez was serious most of the time) was when a Vargas calendar of nude ladies was given to Ramirez. Ramirez drew flowers (Durfee said roses) on their private parts. There were always magazines in the ward.

Durfee remembers how gentle Ramirez was.

He does not remember anyone speaking to the artist in Spanish. Ramirez did not speak but would make animated body gestures and would motion for art supplies. Most of his art supplies came later, from Dr. Pasto and the aides. He was passive and never tried to escape, unlike some others in the ward. He wore a jean-type, tan khaki uniform. (The famous picture of Ramirez shows him in pajamas and a bathrobe. He must have been sick or awakened early that morning, and posed before he could get dressed.)

He mixed and moistened the colors in the pot with spit and applied them mostly with matchsticks. He crouched under a table when he drew because he was afraid of the others on the ward, some of whom were quite violent.

The ward was a converted army barracks.

There was a general room, a dorm, an eating area, a TV, when there were TVs. There was no privacy, and it was very crowded. There were suicides and constant escape attempts.

Supervision of the ward came in the form of housekeeping, observation, and limited nursing care. (It was a place where the government experimented on TB patients with antibiotics, and then after curing them of the disease, warehoused them without any attempts at psychiatric care.)

Ramirez came to DeWitt in 1949. Before that he had been in Camarillo, since 1930.

He seemed mute but was not beyond communication. He understood English, but Durfee believes his comprehension of the language was limited to his medications and his daily living rituals.

Dr. Pasto was not Ramirez's doctor. He was a visiting lecturer who took an interest in the artist. Durfee gathered at least forty drawings for him in his time there. Dr. Pasto came by and picked up drawings once or twice a year. (It seems to me this is significant information.)

One of the more surprising outcomes of the first article was the ferociousness of some of the responses to my conjectures. Some felt that by giving Ramirez back his Mexican life and by proposing an intentionality on his part I was turning him into a "folk" artist. It seems to me that I did place him in an environment that still relied heavily on its folkways, but I merely exposed what was not previously acknowledged. We know where Jackson Pollock or William Edmondson came from. The information enhances our understanding of their great work. I explained Ramirez's heart language and my need to unconfine himâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in the history booksâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from his hospital prison.

It was too easy to merely call him an outsider in a mental institution. He was so much more than that. "Culture" is at best a controversial word in the world of self-taught artists.

Knowing where he came from or what his cultural context was in no way downplays his formal grandeur, his sense of epic surprise, his artistic heroism, or his aesthetic iconoclasm. Erasing the life of a man in order to justify what some in the artworld have made him to be in his "outsiderness" is merely the mirror image of using his biography as a justification for looking at his art. Both approaches are simply wrong. The only reason we are discussing Martin Ramirez in the first place is because of the greatness and timeless power of his art.

The real story of Martin Ramirez is going to unwind with the next generation of researchers and curators. Once again, neither this article nor the one it updates are meant to be the last word on his circumstances. Questions raised are questions that hopefully will someday be answered. We should never stop trying to answer them, but at the same time we must accept that the questions stemming from the work itself may never be answered.

They are like looking at petroglyphs on a mesa. It is enough sometimes to be near them and see them. We know they mean something. We are engaged with them on many levels. That sense of mystery itself is an ongoing aesthetic, intellectual, and spiritual experience. It will perpetually enrich us.*

Author's note: I would like to thank Jorge Durand and Douglas S. Massey, who first told me about Los Altos.

James Durfee made it all worthwhile again. Later, Durfee's story was also told to me by independent scholar Victor Espinosa. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Anne Hill Blanchard.

Randall Morris is a collector and writer, and the co-owner of Cavin-Morris Inc. He has written many essays and has lectured widely on contemporary self-taught art. Morris' work has been represented in many exhibition catalogs as well as in this publication.

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 59

Nathaniel Seymour Potter

60 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

here was a saying, 'There's no mud like West Hartford mud.' Its gluey clay stuck fast to boots, shoes, and stockings. West Hartford's first settler, Stephen Hosmer, complained about the kneedeep [sic] mire."' Hosmer settled in the West Division, as it was then called, in the year 1679. His observation about the characteristic quality of this abundant local resource, though an annoyance to some, was surely recognized and capitalized upon. This led to the establishment of at least two potteries in the late eighteenth century and as many as five by the mid-nineteenth century. This is a significant number considering the small geographic area (22.2 square miles)2 that is West Hartford. Ebenezer Faxon established the first pottery in the area, on the South Road,in the year 1770.3 Faxon was followed by Nathaniel Seymour, who built his kiln about 1790, at the intersection of Park Street and Quaker Lane, on the southeast corner.4 It appears that Seymour himself recognized the opportunity as well as the quality of the local clay, and held it in high regard. Seymour was thoroughly convinced that from Connecticut clays alone pottery could be made as good as any in the world.'Though it has been suggested that the Seymour Pottery produced stoneware,6 this essay is an inquiry into the earliest of Nathaniel Seymour's production, and focuses solely on his manufacture of red earthenware, hereafter referred to as "redware."

By Vincent DiCicco

BROWN PITCHER WITH YELLOW AND GREEN SPLASHES c. 1800-1825 Glazed red earthenware 6%>< 5/ 1 2 4/ 1 2" Collection American Folk Art Museum, promised gift of Ralph Esmerian, P1.2001.89

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 61

— NATHANIEL SEYMOM Of WO-Horifna, TNFORMS the people of Conne&itut, that 1 he has purchafed of Mr. Santee! Bartlett, the origin& Patentee, the right of 'conkeding, Ming, and vending to others, in the State of Connoflicut (Windham conety escrikled) his new invented Conduit of Clay. intends to eflahlifh the bnincfs at Weft-Hartford, nut Spring; where applicants may Be fupplied upon Short notice.

The Pipes • Se Tubes, may be convoyed to a confiderable cliftance by land or water, whitenna much cis:mu*.

He would further ;awns the public the this mode of conveying water has bean pzsioedlta nine different places in this State and Mai. chufets, each of which have anfwered the torelation of the purcheferi. The Clay COnthat In figaCrinr to any other for conveying water, loafer keeping It cle54 and is judged to be way durable.

Feb. 5.

94 Connecticut Courant advertisement, Feb. 11, 1807, page 2

Marridges.

In thi. city. Feb. 25th, by the Ben. Mr. Tomball, Mr .14 on W. Lacs,of Hanford, and !dies Nancy W.Bisle). 1, am Hanford.

111 catIj. In this city, au the morning of Feb. 23d. Mn,, Polly C' y. aged Hi. In this tows.Feb.26th. Nathaniel Boymovr,Bact.,eged 14.

At Neer Hisses, Feb. 20th. Jame. Miller, aged 27. aged M. At Birmingham, Feb. 20th, Mrs. Jane De Foseat.

At Derby. Feb. 11th, Hrs. Mary Radford. aged 71. etia E..

Munat Hamphreyswille.

Feb. Mrs. , lath.

At harlots Hide.aro M. Tuttle, aged el.

At Guilford. Feb. 22d, Miss

potty

116. I. Reantorlal loves TutA Convention of Delegates from the aeveral V. f prising the First Senatorial District.will be held sidle Bennie?. cf city the Committee Room,in Jane's' Building, in of February instant, at it o on Wednesday the A. M.for 126 pcepee of nominating a candidate for 8.'"' for said District District.

The Whigs in the eeveral towna is seta linal Hanfocd, Boathington, Berlin, Wethersfield and Hill. IR, iiioneetni to elect Delegetes to said C•111.101101111-111Narlet

who

Hartford Daily Courant, Feb. 27, 1849, vol. XIII, No. 49, page 2 Nathaniel Seymour's gravestone

"Because of the competition inherent in a market area with many potteries and many consumers, potters in the mid-Atlantic coastal region decorated their wares distinctively to attract and keep buyers, the decoration acting as a trademark. Through many years of study, students of American redware have been able to assign certain characteristic slip decorations to particular potteries or localities," according to author Ellen Paul Denker.7 This would have been especially true had there been a considerable number of potters working in a small geographic locality, such as West Hartford. And, this was true not only of potters but of many American craftsmen, creating objects from fine to country furniture and painted decorated boxes to painted tin. In the eyes of a journeyman, an appealing decorative motif or a style of ornamentation obviously spoke to the maker's aesthetic; as a result it is not surprising that the designs or decorations repeat themselves. The pottery owned and operated by Nathaniel Seymour was no exception, creating a style of decoration unique to his work. The embellishment with "... fat brushed, slip decoration with green spotting is

62 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

a signature of Seymour's work," according to author Brian Cullity.8 Not a single signed piece of Nathaniel Seymour's redware has been documented. Without a signed example available to us, the foundation for all Seymour attributions is based on a single well-documented example, which employs the signature glaze. This extraordinary object, a large ovoid pitcher, part of the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum, was acquired directly from a descendant of Nathaniel Seymour's, Major Seymour, grandson of the potter.9 Albert Hastings Pitkin, an early collector, scholar, and former curator of the Wadsworth Atheneum, met with Major Seymour and interviewed him in the Seymour ancestral home.

Along with the pitcher, Major Seymour provided information about the pottery, stating that it produced a variety of domestic wares until about 1825, and that all wares were "made entirely of Connecticut clay, colored by the use of cobalt, iron, manganese, copper, etc., mixed with various clays."'° His sand for glazing was acquired from a nearby area called Rocky Hill. The kiln's interior diameter was approximately ten feet, and a

firing lasted anywhere from twentyfour to thirty-six hours. The cooling of the kiln took about the same amount of time. Generally, four potters turned out earthenware in such quantity that the kiln was fired approximately every seven days."

Nathaniel Seymour's pottery is decorated with slip (liquid clay), in this case kaolin, which produces a white body that appears yellow when applied under a lead glaze. The slip is randomly brushed onto the already leather-hard redware body. The desired green dotted effect, which only appears on the brushed slip area, may have been accomplished by either introducing raw or possibly calcined copper filings to the liquid slip, or by dusting the still wet slip with copper oxide. The metallicoxide colorant would then stick only to the wet slip area, and the excess would fall away. Once the brushed embellishment had completely dried, the vessel would then be coated on all sides, except the bottom surface, with a clear lead glaze. The glaze makes the vessel impervious to liquids and enriches the overall appearance, emphasizing the brushwork, which contrasts beautifully against the nat-

OVOID PITCHER c. 1800 Lead-glazed red earthenware, brushed sup decoration punctuated with green 12V.," high Collection of Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, gift of Mrs. Albert Hastings Pitkin in memory of her husband, 1918.1256

ural red-clay body. In Seymour's case, the calligraphic strokes in which the brush moves across the hollowware body is an important characteristic when identifying his work.

The application of the brushed glaze decoration varies but appears to be applied by someone right-handed, starting the stroke from the left and moving either right or upward. In many cases this observation reveals a concentration of glaze at the point where the brush first strikes the object, followed by a swift, confident stroke, exercising some degree of pressure, and finally ending in an uneven feathered edge. The brushed strokes often present themselves side by side, in many instances occurring and recurring in attached sets sharing a particular space. Both daubs and strokes often appear on a single object.

The decoration, generously applied, appears playful and energetic. The same decorative attention is almost always paid to the entire object, including handles and lids. Though the group illustrated here share a related glazing technique, I am not suggesting that this is the only style of decoration employed by the Seymour Pottery. On the contrary, it simply illustrates a variety of forms that share the "signature" glaze decoration. In addition to the flamboyant manner in which the brush decoration is applied, there are other characteristics of the glaze that have been observed and should be considered when attempting an attribution.

The first consideration is that the brushed slip does not completely obliterate the area where it was applied. In other words, the slip decoration is not entirely opaque but streaky, exposing the redware body underneath to different degrees.

It appears that the streaks were the result of a stiff-bristled brush or a dirty brush, which may have contained fragments of dried slip.

Second, the overall lead glaze (a combination of red lead and finely ground sand) appears to contain another component (possibly iron oxide), which tends to obscure some areas of the red-

ware body. When it does make its appearance, it often occurs in close proximity to the brush decoration.

The redware body's color varies and may be a result of fluctuations in both the temperature and duration of the firing. Colors range from caramel to dried apricot and cinnamon. The vessel interiors are always simply lead-glazed; brushed decoration never appears on the inside.

The study of the glaze alone is not enough to make an attribution.

Idiosyncrasies in construction must also be considered. Using the

Wadsworth Atheneum's ovoid pitcher as our touchstone, one should look for a robust, well-potted vessel. The foot on the pitcher has a very pronounced flare and is consistent in design and execution with the small pitcher from the American Folk Art Museum's collection as well as the porringer in my collection. Handles are strong and appropriate to the size of the vessel and intended service. Handles are slightly higher on the left side, with more pronounced ribs, and lower on the right side, with shallower ribs. The handle on the porringer,

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART U

JAR c. 1800-1830 Lead-glazed red earthenware, brushed slip decoration punctuated with green 133/8 5/ 1 2" Formerly in the collection of Lewis W. Scranton

JAR c. 1800-1830 Lead-glazed red earthenware, brushed slip decoration punctuated with green 1 4" 8 5/ Collection of the Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, Connecticut, 1971.97.8

however, is slightly extruded on the grinding down was an early make-do inner surface. Straight-sided vessels, attempt at salvaging a damaged vesincluding a jar from the Litchfield sel or an effort at restoring the vessel Historical Society, a jar formerly in for presentation. In either case, a third the collection of Lewis W. Scranton, example has been recorded in another and a jar in my collection, have some museum collection.12 form of tooled edge at the base.

Regarding genealogical inforIncised lines are often encountered at mation, Nathaniel's father, John, various locations on the vessel. They "was a brave soldier and officer"" appear as single or multiple lines. The who fought in the American Revoluribs that appear at the juncture of the tion as a lieutenant, under Capt. Noah collar and the body of the large ovoid Webster. John Seymour later attained pitcher are consistent with the rib the rank of captain, and his sword decoration on the lip of the flask has been preserved at the Historical shown on page 66. This form of rib- Society at Hartford.14 Nathaniel, bing is far more refined than the son of Capt. John and Lydia (née incised line decoration.

Wadsworth) Seymour, was born in Regarding the variety offorms, West Hartford on August 23, 1763, it should be noted that the Litchfield and died there February 26, 1849, at jar has been altered. In the eyes of a the ripe old age of eighty-six." It is nineteenth-century viewer, this form interesting to note that Nathaniel Seywould have appeared odd, as it does mour's death notice denotes esquire, to us today. The collar has been com- which is placed in abbreviated form pletely ground away and the edge after the surname. This does not necworn smooth, possibly covered with essarily mean that Nathaniel was a some varnish-like sealer. This is also lawyer. The common use of esquire the case with the small pitcher. during that period was as a title of Before I was able to look at the respect, or it was applied to a workpitcher up close, the form did not ing man who was thought to have appear quite right to me, with the achieved the social status of a gentlehandle rising up above the collar. man. Nathaniel is buried at the Old After getting permission to physically North Cemetery on North Main Street examine it, my suspicions were con- in West Hartford, just south of the firmed; a portion of the collar had First Baptist Church. His grave is been ground away. It is not com- located south of the entrance gate, pletely clear at this time whether this several rows back from the street.

64 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Nathaniel married Sarah Kellogg, also a West Hartford resident, probably about 1789. Sarah was born on December 6, 1761, and would have been about twenty-eight years old at the time of their marriage. Together they had five children, Emma (January 18, 1790—August 24, 1882), Horace Kellogg (October 21, 1791—April 6, 1866), Edwin (June 23, 1793—March 23, 1854), Mason (December 5, 1794—December 31, 1864), and Nathan (September 8, 1798—October 18, 1842).16 The 1790 census for Hartford County lists only one Nathaniel Seymour. The record of that year indicates that he was "head of family," with a household consisting of a total of three males and two females.'7 Estimating that Nathaniel and Sarah wed about 1789, and that Emma was born in 1790, accounts for Nathaniel and his wife and daughter. Perhaps the additional two males, one "upwards of 16 years" and the other "under 16 years," were apprentices.

There is also a census category recording the number of slaves associated with each family. While other area entries record slaves living in some neighboring households, Nathaniel's enumeration shows none." By 1810 the census indicates a total of nine "free" persons, including Nathaniel, living in

JAR c. 1800-1830 Lead-glazed red earthenware, brushed slip decoration punctuated with green 1 4" 8/ 1 4 5/ Collection of the author

PORRINGER c. 1800-1830 Lead-glazed red earthenware, brushed slip decoration punctuated with green 3% x 5%" Collection of the author

his household.'9 The numbers correspond perfectly with the addition of his five children, and the relative age categories listed on the separate columns on the census correspond with the births of those children. The two additional (unknown) persons, previously cited in the 1790 records, were obviously still living with Nathaniel's family at the time of the 1810 enumeration. The 1820 census lists Nathaniel as having four "persons engaged in agriculture" and two "persons engaged in manufactures [sic]." The later reference most assuredly relates to the manufacture of redware pottery. In addition, it lists his sons Horace, Edwin, and Mason separately as heads of their respective families/households.20 It has been suggested that Nathaniel Seymour's son Edwin continued the operation of the pottery business established by his father.2 ' The active participation of any of Nathaniel's other children at this point in time remains unknown.

Nathaniel and Sarah Seymour had eighteen grandchildren, one of whom was Major Frederick Alexander Seymour. Major Seymour, born in 1819, was one of ten children and is the second son of Edwin and Fanny (nĂŠe Merrills) Seymour.22 It is this grandson whom we may thank for providing us the magnificent ovoid pitcher

at the Wadsworth Atheneum and the first-hand information about his grandfather's pottery. Major Seymour was in fact a potter in his own right, learning the trade from his grandfather and ultimately becoming his successor.23 In order to paint the broadest picture possible, some final abstracts of uncovered family information include the fact that Major Seymour spent his years as a young man in Ohio, joining the Seventh Ohio Volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil War. After the war, he returned to West Hartford, first serving as selectman, then as representative from West Hartford in the General Assembly of 1871, and finally as a deputy sheriff.24 Second, it appears that two of Nathaniel's sons ran for positions as elected officials in 1858, losing to the Republican opposition. Shown on the Democratic ticket for that year were Mason Seymour, "For Selectmen," and listed among the candidates "For Constables" was Horace K. Seymour.25 A check of the census index for the year 1850 listed only one Mason and only one Horace K. Seymour living in Hartford County, which suggests that the men in question were Nathaniel's sons. A search of probate records for Nathaniel proved fruitless, but several land transactions took place in 1849,

shortly after Nathaniel's death. Those land deeds show Horace K. Seymour selling parcels of land in West Hartford, one for $20 and another for $150, to his brothers, Edwin and Mason, his sister, Emma, and nephew, Frederick Alexander.28 And finally, while it has been suggested by some that a potter named Israel Seymour working in Hartford in the eighteenth century may have been related to Nathaniel, a review of the Seymour genealogy tracing back six generations does not list a single Israel." This suggests that their brotherhood was that of clay and the potter's wheel, not of blood.

Throughout nineteenth-century America, the public often called upon the village potter to supply all sorts of necessary items. Besides the obvious everyday kitchenware necessities such as jars and jugs, pitchers, milk pans, bowls, and cake molds, to name a few, redware potters may have made any number of other forms.

Roach traps, trivets, soap dishes, fat lamps, toys, gifts, mantle decorations, banks, smoking-pipe bowls, doorknobs, birdhouses, and even buttons would offer only a sampling of the variety of objects that have been documented.28 Beyond the scope of your average country pottery whose output may include any or all of the objects mentioned above, materials for house

WINTER 200212003 FOLK ART INS

construction were often made of redware. Bricks, roof tiles, stovepipes, and clay pipe for transporting water were some of the building-related consumer goods offered. Again, recognizing the quality and abundance, "early residents founded a large industry on the bed of fine clay which extended from Hartford to Berlin."29 This brings us back to Nathaniel Seymour, who not only made hollowware but also in 1807 bought the rights to make, use, and sell Mr. Samuel Bartlett's "new [sic] invented Conduit of Clay."3° This was a fastgrowing business, and in 1811, another West Hartford potter, Seth Goodwin, who started his pottery before 1800, is said to have included in his business the manufacture of redware water pipe.3'Mrs. W.J. Craig, great-great-granddaughter of Seth Goodwin's, found just such redware pipe on the grounds of the Goodwin homestead, which is located at 1198 New Britain Avenue, in the Elmwood section of West Hartford.32 Research of this kind presents itself much as a puzzle—to be assembled one piece of information at a time. As more pieces of the proverbial puzzle are located and joined together, the picture becomes clearer.

The intent of this essay was to bring forth facts about a person who is often mentioned in pottery-related literary text but when cited is accompanied by few details. From one volume to the next, those same meager details are repeated again and again. That has changed; here is a collection of new information—brought to the table for the very first time—from Nathaniel Seymour's genealogy and our ability to trace it back six generations, to his wife Sarah Kellogg, and the names and vital records of their five children, and, ultimately, to the discovery of Nathaniel's grave. These fragments of information, along with others cited, assist us in a better understanding of Nathaniel Seymour as a person. With regard to a better recognition of his artistry, a body of work attributable to Seymour's pottery has been assembled for discussion and comparison, giving us the ability to note a variety of forms that share his particular decorative approach.*

06 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Author's note: The author would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance during the preparation of this essay: Thomas Denenberg, Trina Evarts Bowman, Judith Livingston Loto, Sharon Steinberg, and Martha Smart. He would also like to offer special thanks to Lewis W. Scranton for sharing his extraordinary expertise in the field of New England redware.

Vincent DiCicco, a student at the American Folk Art Museum's Folk Art Institute, is presently working toward a museum certificate infolk art studies. Previously published in Folk Art magazine, DiCicco's essay "Silhouette Portraiture in America: A Fully Developed Form ofFolk Expression" wasfeatured in thefall 2001 issue.

NOTES 1 Nelson R. Burr, From Colonial Parish to Modern Suburb: A BriefAppreciation of West Hartford(The Noah Webster Foundation and Historical Society of West Hartford,Inc., revised ed., 1982), p. 81.

2 Connecticut Capital Region Growth Council Town Profile, 1998.

3 Burr, op. cit., p. 54.

4 Lura Woodside Watkins,Early New England Potters and Their Wares(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, Inc., 1950), p. 193.

5 John Spargo,Early American Pottery and China(New York/London: D. Appleton-Century Company Inc., 1938), p. 107.

6 Ibid., p. 119.

7 Ellen Paul Denker,"Ceramics at the Crossroads: American Pottery at New York's Gateway, 1750-1900," Staten Island Historian (Staten Island Historical Society, Winter-Spring, 1986), p. 23.

8 Brian Cullity, Slipped and Glazed: Regional American Redware(Sandwich, Mass.: Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, 1991), exhibition catalog, p. 40.

9 Albert Hastings Pitkin, Early American Folk Pottery, Including the History ofthe Bennington Pottery (Hartford, Conn.: The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1918), p. 84.

10 Ibid, p. 84.

11 Ibid, pp. 84-85.

12 The Brooklyn Museum, A.W. Clement Collection: Covered Jar, New England, 45.1.38.

13 Donald Lines Jacobus,compiled and arranged under the direction of George Dudley Seymour,A History ofthe Seymour Family: Descendants ofRichard Seymour ofHartford, Connecticut,for SLY Generations(New Haven,Conn.: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, printer, 1939), pp.

120-121.

FLASK c. 1800-1830 Lead-glazed red earthenware, brushed slip decoration punctuated with green 5/ 3 4 3/ 1 2" Private collection

14 Ibid., p. 121.

15 Ibid., pp. 120 and 200.

16 Jacobus, op. cit., pp. 200-201 and 293-296.

17 National Archives, U.S. Census microfilm reference #.1498,reel #1, p. 47.

18 Ibid., p. 47.

19 National Archives, U.S. Census microfilm reference #M252,reel #1, p.426.

20 Ibid., microfilm reference #M33,reel #2, p. 90.

21 J. Garrison Stradling,"Historical Society Gets Down to Earth: Redware Makes It in Connecticut," Maine Antique Digest (Waldoboro, Maine: February 1984), p. 13-C. 22 Jacobus, op. cit., pp. 293-296.

23 Pitkin, op. cit., p. 84.

24 Jacobus,op. cit., p. 295.

25 Burr,op. cit., p. 46.

26 Connecticut State Library, microfilm reference #183-184, Hartford Vols.

78-79,Deeds 1849-1850. Box #662.

27 Jacobus, op. cit.

28 William C. Ketchum Jr., American Redware(New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1991), pp. 15-45.

29 Burr, op. cit., p. 53.

30 Connecticut Courant, newspaper advertisement, Feb. 11, 1807, p. 2.

31 Burr, op. cit., p. 54.

32 Watkins, op. cit., pp. 192-193.

AMERICAN FURNITURE &_ DECORATIVE ARTS featuring the Tramp Art Collection ofSam and Myra Gotoff February 23, 2003 63 Park Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts

Heron Molded Copper Weather Vane, America, late 19th century, height: 45 in.

Provenance: The summer home ofA.H. Davenport, Squirrel Island, Maine.

STUNNER Auctioneers and Appraisers ofAntiques and Fine Art

The Heritage On The Garden,63Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116 Tel: 617.350.5400â&#x20AC;˘357 Main Street, Bolton, MA 01740 Tel: 978.779.6241

www.skumermc.com

AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP • • • RECEIVE A FREE GIFT FROM US! Purchase a gift membership and receive the American Folk Art Museum 2003 Weekly Planner!

Telephone the membership office at 212. 977. 7170 or e-mail membership@folkartmuseum.org

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS Senior or Student $45 (with ID) Individual $55 Dual/Family $75

IMENECI

LEAPING STAG AND ROCKY KNOLL / possibly W.A. Snow & Co. or Harris & Co. / New England, possibly Boston /1870-1900 / molded and gilded sheet copper / 27 x 35Zi x 3Z" / collection American Folk Art Museum, New York; gift in memory of Burt Martinson, founder and first president of the American Folk Art Museum, by Cordelia Hamilton, 1985.14.1

0

Chriehe's Inc. 2002 Pena

opher Burge #761543

CHRISTIE'S

SHELDON PECK (1797-1868) Double Portrait of Frances Almira Millener (b.1828) and Fanny Root Millener(1804-1878) oil on panel 30 x 26'b in.

ESTIMATE $200,000-400,000

-Important American Furniture, Silver, Prints, and Folk Art Auction January 16 and 17

Inquiries 212 636 2230

Viewing January 11-16

Catalogues 800 395 6300

New York 20 Rockefeller Plaza New York, New York 10020 www.christies.com

Drawings, paintings, and sculptures by long-term asylum inmates, mediums, isolates, and religious visionaries as well as inspired plumbers, housekeepers, miners, and shopkeepers. "abcd: a collection of art brut" is organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York City

THE of

900 East Princeton St. • Orlando, Florida 32803 407.246.4278 • Fax: 407.246.4329 www.mennellomuseum.com crtyoforlandoart@mindspring.com Tues.—Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. noon-5 p.m.

Closed major holidays

The MenneIto Museum of American Folk Art is nt,,rod and operated by the City of Orlando.

Carlo Z nelli, Verona, Italy, Untitled, c. 1960, gouache on paper, 135/8 x 19/ 1 2inches

DENYSE

Midnimagyat • t Bt Tra or (detail),

111:117171WWI

SCHMIDT

70 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

QUILTS

Modern handcrafted quilts made to order. www.denyseschmidtquilts.com 800.621.9017

CHRISTIE'S

HENRY DARGER (1892-1973) 'They Await Developments..."(detail) C. 1960-65 watercolor, pencil, carbon tracing on newsprint 2314 x 107'/2 in.

ESTIMATE $40,000-60,000

20th Centu-ry Self-Taught and Outsider Art including works from the Robert M. Greenberg Collection Auction

Inquiries

New York

January 27

212 636 2230

20 Rockefeller Plaza New York, New York 10020

Viewing

Catalogues

January 22-27

800 395 6300

www.christies.com

tA)WW.gahlaChOlaheUlt.00134 CePebttattng the enjoyment ot TIAN to-012 and c0t-taught artt tort °vett 2 decades!

• /11111"1"

Mary Whitfield

Janice Kennedy

Harriet Wiseman

Lois Collins

Regine Gilbert

Anne Strasberg

Odekte Tot/thew( St. ot,ti.s, Aissouiti Thom 214-992-9251 q'cty: 992-9260 emat0: gbonheuead.cotin Outsider Art Fair: Booth 29 National Black Fine Art Show: Booth 18

and introducing

John Barton

and others: Ralph Auf der Heide Milton Bond Minnie Evans Amos Ferguson Niktfor Nellie Mae Rowe Sandra Sheehy Voodoo Flags Cuban Haitian Latin American Polish Russian Venezuelan

outsider art fair eleventh annual

January 23 - 26 2003 thursday friday saturday sunday

noon - 8pm noon - 8pm 11am - 7pm 11am - 6pm

opening night preview wednesday,january 22 6:50 - 9pm benefiting the american folk art museum

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

visionary intuitive

uncommon artists XI symposium saturday january 25 presented by the american folk art museum and new york university preview and symposium information: 212.977.7170

self-taught outsider art brut •

•••

•

s

" • •••

•as • sot

" I o osn ••• ••• ••• ••

• on.

•.

. • i" Iwo

•.

os la Is ono ...•

II — _

101

1..1

I I

101

1111 _

11

MI

11 la

I. 101 •• • •

I I

101

I.e.

1•1 .

Os"

I. 1. •••

101

I :.• •••1 •••11=st• •B;

• o

II. • •

•

s

I

I I •=1.11,70

.. 1.

11

I.

II

se

an evening of outsider music hosted by irwin chusid author of songs in the key of z friday,january 24, 8pm fez, 380 lafayette street

se

,A•11,.1•1 • • •••Zi•••11••• •••

.

t I • •

.1

••••

-

.1 II 11 1.

II

.

I . •...

1,,•••

1. 1. IF 11 11 _

;.• ••• • ••

• 1

11 II

'.... — I. II I

II _• 1211 11

Illirrit rin ...r. 77; 1 I

1 1-71-1-1

....

1 0 •I

a •••••

2 I .1

sanford I. smith & associates 212.777.5218 fax: 212.477.6490 info@sanfordsmith.com

' itTr. " . itt .7,7. • j;

•••,

v! .1 •—

a. . S. 11

211 . 111

www.sanfordsmith.com

S. •• Vor - .. S.

1,

OV. 114.1

ea

I

william I. hawkins, courtesy ricco/maresca gallery chris murray, courtesy k. s. art

WINTER

PROGRAM

HIGHLIGHTS

Unless otherwise specified, all programs are held at the American Folk Art Museum,45 West 53rd Street, New York City. Programs are open to the public, and admission fees vary. For more information and reservations, please call the education department at 212/265-1040,ext. 102, or pick up the museum's Public Programs brochure.

THE AMERICAN ANTIQUES SHOW (TAAS) For more information on TAAS programs, see pages 36-37.

Walking Tours: In the Company of Experts Jan. 16 and 18 9:30-11:00 Am Lunch & Learn: Digesting Antiques Jan. 16-19 12:30-1:30 PM Teatime Talks Jan. 16-19 3:00-4:00 PM In the Company of Objects: What Is It Worth?

Jan. 17 8:30-11:00 AM American Anthem: Exhibition Tour Jan. 19 10:00-10:45 Am (45 West 53rd Street) 11:00 AM-NOON (America Eats CafĂŠ at TAAS) OUTSIDER ART FAIR WEEK Conversing with Contemporary Masterworks Jan. 22â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Jan. 26 3:00 PM Guided tours at the American Folk Art Museum 45 West 53rd Street Led by curators and educators during the Outsider Art Fair Free with museum admission Uncommon Artists XI Symposium Saturday, Jan. 25 10:00 AM-NOON For more information on Outsider Art Fair programs and events, see pages 38-39.

EVENING EVENTS Architectural Utopias Wednesday,Feb.5 7:00-8:30 PM John Beardsley,senior lecturer in the department oflandscape architecture at Harvard University Rosemarie Bletter,professor of 19th- and 20th-century European and American architecture and theory at CUNY,New York Celene Ryan,curatorial assistant, American Folk Art Museum $20 general $15 members, seniors, students Ms. Bletter and Mr. Beardsley will discuss and contrast the visionary architect Le Corbusier and the self-taught artist Achilles G. Rizzoli.

Organized in collaboration with The Bard Graduate Centerfor Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture The Schwenkfelders: From Persecution to Tolerance Friday, Feb. 21 6:30 PM Rev. David W.Luz, executive director, Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center $10 general $5 members, seniors, students Rev. David W.Luz will introduce the Schwenkfelders, a little-known yet significant Pennsylvania German group.

Calculation of Interest: The Response to Adolf WolflPs Work Wednesday,Feb. 26 6:30 PM Daniel Baumann, curator, Adolf Wolin Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland $10 general $5 members, seniors, students Mr. Baumann will speak on both

the early and contemporary receptions of Adolf WOlfli's work by psychiatrists, art historians, and artists.

Why Wolin After All These Years?

Friday, March 21 6:30 PM $5 general Free to members, seniors, students Phyllis Kind,art dealer Some brief remarks on the dedication of curator Elka Spoerri to artist Adolf Won for more than 25 years.

OUTSIDE THE FRAME: SELFTAUGHT ARTISTS ON FILM A series featuring premier screenings and documentary films and videos,followed by discussions with filmmakers, scholars, and artists.

Wednesdays at 6:30 PM $10 general $5 members, seniors, students The winter series will include films by folklorist William Perris, new and classic films on Adolf Won,and more. Please callfor details.

LET'S TALK FOLK ART Tuesdays at 12:30 PM This slide/talk series takes place at the Donnell Library Center 20 West 53rd Street Free admission Feb. 11, March 11, and April 8 Please callfor details.

TAKE A BREAK FOR FOLK ART Informal and Informative Lunchtime Talks with Curators Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 PM Free with museum admission Highlighting Masterworks Dec. 19, Jan. 9,23

Jacob Kass: A Closer Look Feb. 20, March 13, April 24 Free Eva and Morris Feld Gallery Two Lincoln Square Columbus Avenue, between 65th and 66th Streets FOLK ART FUN FOR FAMILIES For Ages 6 and Up To introduce families to the museum's collection through tours, discussions, and workshops.

One Two-day Session: $15 per family $10 per member family Entire Program Series: $80 per family $40 per member family Tickets include museum admission.

Please callfor details.

Jan.: Folk Art Toys Feb.: Folk Art Hearts March: Folk Art Painting: Folk Art Still Lifes April: Folk Art Puzzle Books May: Beginning Quilts See-Saw Workshops Free at the museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery View the saws of artist Jacob Kass and then create your own unique paper saw.

Saturdays, 2:00-4:00 PM Jan. 11, Feb. 10, March 15, April 12, May 10 WEEKEND TOURS African American Artists of the 20th Century Feb. 8,15,22 at 2:00 PM GROUP TOURS To book a school or group tour, please call the education department at 212/265-1040, ext. 119.

The museum's public programs are funded in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Citigroup Inc.; Consolidated Edison Company of New York,Inc.; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and New York State Council on the Arts.

74 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

r r or over two decades my family and I have supported the American Folk Art Museum.

Now, by including the museum in my estate planning, I am helping to ensure their continuing success in the decades to come." Mrs. Daniel Cowin For more information on the ways you can impact the museum's future through planned giving, please call the development office at 212. 977. 7170, ext. 346.

MUSEUM

REPRODUCTIONS

PROGRAM

ALICE J. HOFFMAN

FOLK ART

Representing more than 300 years ofAmerican design,from the late 1600s to the present, the American Folk Art Museum CollectionnA brings within reach ofthe public the very best ofthe past to be enjoyedfor generations to come.

COLLECTION New Directions * Crossroads Accessories, Ltd.

A bag for all reasons! Crossroads Accessories, a leading manufacturer and distributor of quilted fabric totes, handbags, travel cases, and cosmetic bags is the museum's newest licensee.

Crossroads is creating an entire line of quilted products from fabrics featuring designs inspired by the museum's collection of textiles, quilts, coverlets, samplers, and needlepoint masterpieces.

Look for this collection to be available in spring 2003.

News from Museum Licensees

Share our legacy; look for new products from our family of licensees, featuring unique designs inspired by objects from the museum's collection. *Concord Fabrics, Inc. Sew, sew,sew! Andover Fabrics, a division of Concord Fabrics, continues to create exclusive designs for home sewing projects as part of its series of printed fabrics inspired by the museum's permanent collection. This October, Andover introduced three new design groups at the International Quilt Market in Houston, Texas: Broderie Perse, Heirloom Portraits, and Peaceable Kingdom.

Broderie Perse takes its inspiration from the museum's collection of cut-out and appliqued chintz quilts. Heirloom features images from portraits currently on exhibition at the museum, and details from painted furniture designs and heart-and-hand watercolor valentines in the

75 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

museum's collection. The Peaceable Kingdom series includes images from two icons of American folk art, the museum's Bird ofParadise quilt top and Edward Hicks' painting The Peaceable Kingdom. Additional inspiration for this group comes from the painting View ofthe Church Family, Alfred, Maine. Visit Concord's website to view the complete line and to find out where you can purchase these fabrics, at www.concordfabrics.com.

and we will let you know when to tune in to QVC in March.

Doer Customer Your purchase of museumlicensed products directly benefits the exhibitions and educational activities of the museum. Thank you for participating in the museum's continuing efforts to celebrate the style, craft, and tradition of American folk art. If you have any questions or comments regarding the Museum of American Folk Art Collection,Tm please contact us at 212/977-7170.

*Available in the American Folk Art Museum Book and Gift Shops. Please visit our website at www.folkartmuseum.org.

*Galleon No more excuses!

Galison has created a magnetic notepad for your home or office.

Perfect for jotting down telephone messages,important dates, and "to do" reminders, this new licensed product, both practical and decorative, features the museum's magnificent Fame weathervane. Available this spring nationwide and in the museum's Book and Gift Shops.

Galison notepad and card

*PDK Worldwide Enterprises, Inc. A show for all seasons! PDK Worldwide has created a series of everyday bedcovers for spring, summer,fall, and winter. Eight new designs—Radio Days, Nantucket Needle, Rockingham, Weathervane,Lovely Labyrinth, Medallion, Village Appliqué, and Ellie Ma.e's Star—will be featured in March on the museum's QVC hour. Inspiration for this first series comes from the museum's textile collection of bed rugs, quilts, coverlets, and samplers.

Please contact us by e-mail at licensing@folkarUnuseum.org,

Family of Licensees Cars in Folk Art Designs, Inc.(212/755-6474) gold-plated and enameled jewelry.* Concord Fabrics, Inc.(212/760-0343) printed fabric by the yard and prepackaged fabric craft kits.

Crossroads Accessories, Ltd.(800/648-6010) quilted fabric totes, handbags,travel cases, and cosmetic bags.* Denyse Schmidt Quilts (800/621-9017)limited-edition quilt collection, decorative pillows, and AFAM eye pillows.* Fotofolio(212/226-0923)art postcard books, wooden postcards, boxed note cards, and magnets.* FUNQuilts(708/445-1817) limited-edition quilt collection.* Galison (212/354-8840) boxed note cards and jigsaw puzzle.* LEAVES Pure Teas(877/532-8378) loose tea in decorative tins.* Mary Myers Studio(800/829-9603) wooden nutcrackers, nodders, and tree ornaments.* On The Wall Productions,Inc.(800/7884044)Magic Cubes.* Organic Lands(607/544-1090) organic deli items. Ozone Design,Inc. (212/563-2990)socks.* PDK Worldwide Enterprises,Inc.(508/676-2155) bedcovers, quilts, coordinated pillows and rags, and throws.

Talcashimaya Company,Ltd.(212/350-0550) home furnishings and decorative accessories (available only in Japan). Wild Apple Graphics,Ltd.(800/756-8359)fine art reproduction prints and posters.*

Simply thefinest in American Craftsmanship Today

THE

DESIGN CRAfTSMEN SHOW JANUARY 24, 25 & 26, 2003 Valley Forge Convention Center King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

OPENING NIGHT PREVIEW PARTY FRIDAY,JANUARY 24,2003 6:00p.m.-9:00p.m.

Admission: $35.00 per person

SATURDAY,JANUARY 25, 2003 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m.

SUNDAY,JANUARY 26,2003 11:00a.m.-4:00p.m.

Saturday and Sunday Admission: S12.00 per person,($10.00 with this ad) ADMISSION PRICE INCLUDES ADMISSION TO

The Greater Philadelphia Historic Home Show".

THE

DF,SIGNER CRAFTSM FN SHOW ofMoeston MARCH 7,8 & 9, 2003 Colonial Center, Sheraton Colonial Hotel

Wakefield, Massachusetts

OPENING NIGHT PREVIEW PARTY FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2003 6:00pm — 9:00pm Admission: $40.00 per person Produced by Goodrich & Company Promotions, Inc. 717-796-2380.

For travel accommodations, call Priority Travel toll-free at 1-888-796-9991.

Visit our website at www.goodrichpromotions.com

SATURDAY, MARCH 8,2003 10:00am — 5:00pm SUNDAY,MARCH 9, 2003 11:00am — 4:00pm Saturday and Sunday Admission: $12.00 per person,($10.00 with this ad) Children under 15 are admitted for free_ Strollers are not permitted on the show floor.

BOOKS

OF

INTEREST

he following recently published titles are great gift-giving ideas. All titles are available at the American Folk Art Museum's Book and Gift Shops, at 45 West 53rd Street and Two Lincoln Square(Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets), New York City. To order, please call 212/265-1040. Museum members receive a 10 percent discount.

T

/coder/.e rse 111111 ' !â&#x20AC;˘jg

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;44 ' =A-

American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum, Stacy C. Hollander, Brooke Davis Anderson, and Gerard C. Wertkin, American Folk Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001,432 pages, $65

0 r.)

Andover Fabrics, in cooperation with the American Folk Art Museum in New York City, is pleased to introduce a new line of antique reproduction fabrics

ndover 'Fabrics-

Based on textiles found in the Museum's collection of "broderie perse" quilts, these quilter's cottons and flannels will evoke quilting traditions of times past.

1359 Broadway NY, NY 10018 (800)223 5678 www.andovertabrics cam

Look for this stunning collection of rich period colors and authentic patterns at your local quiltshop soon.

78 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, Stacy C. Hollander, American Folk Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams,Inc., 2001, 572 pages, $75 American Vernacular: New Discoveries in Folk, Self-Taught, and Outsider Sculpture, Frank Maresca and Roger Ricco, 2002, 304 pages, $75 American Wall Stenciling, Ann Eckert Brown, University Press of New England, 2002,224 pages,$60 The Art ofthe Game:A Collection of Vintage Game Boards, Tim Chambers, Shaver and Chambers,2001,218 pages, $100

The Art ofthe Quilt, Ruth Marler, Courage Books, 2001, 128 pages, $19.98 Coverlets and the Spirit ofAmerica, Joseph D. Shein and Melinda Zongor, Schiffer Publishing, 2002,224 pages, $69.95 Darger: The Henry Darger Collection ofthe American Folk Art Museum, Brooke Davis Anderson, American Folk Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams,Inc., 128 pages,$29.95 Decoys: North America's One Hundred Greatest, Loy S. Harrell Jr., Krause Publications, 2000, 208 pages,$49.95 Drawn Home: Fritz Vogt's Rural America, W.Parker Hayes Jr., Fenimore Art Museum,2002, 96 pages, $19.95 Found Object Art, Dorothy Spencer, Schiffer Publishing, 2002, 240 pages, $49.95

CELEBRATING AMERICANA WEEK IN NEW YORK

Henry Darger:In the Realms of the Unreal, John MacGregor, Delano Greenidge Editions, 2001, 680 pages,$85 Home Sweet Home: The House in American Folk Art, Deborah Harding and Laura Fisher, Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 2001, 160 pages,$50

Self-Taught & Outsider Art: The Anthony Petullo Collection, Anthony Petullo, University of Illinois Press, 2001, 224 pages, $50 Sins and Needles: A Story of Spiritual Mending, Raymond and Melanie Materson, Algonquin Books,2002,214 pages, $20.95

ANTIQUES at the ARMORY

JANUARY 17-18-19 FizipAy & SATURDAY 11-8 â&#x20AC;˘ SUNDAY 11-5

Legacies: Collecting America's History at the Smithsonian, Steven Lubar and Kathleen M. Kendrick, 2001,256 pages, $39.95 Let It Shine: Self-Taught Artfrom the T. Marshall Hahn Collection, High Museum of Art, University Press of Mississippi, 2001, 175 pages,$30 Long May She Wave: A Graphic History ofthe American Flag, Kit Hinrichs and Delphine Hirasuna, Ten Speed Press, 2001,223 pages,$60 Mississippi Quilts, Mary Elizabeth Johnson, University Press of Mississippi/Mississippi Quilt Association, 2001,224 pages, $30 Painted Ponies: American Carousel Art, William Maims, Marianne Stevens, and Peggy Shank,Zon International Publishing, 1999,256 pages,$40 Painted Saws/Jacob Kass, Lee Kogan, American Folk Art Museum,2002,56 pages, $14.95 Ralph Fasanella's America, Paul S. D'Ambrosio, New York Historical Association, 2001, 176 pages,$39.95 Red & White: American Redwork Quilts and Patterns, Deborah Harding, Rizzoli, 2000,two volumes, 144 pages and 64 pages, boxed, $39.95

Souls Grown Deep:African American Vernacular Art ofthe South, Volume One, Paul Arnett and William Arnett, eds., Tinwood Books, 2000,568 pages, $95 Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art, Volume Two, Paul Arnett and William Arnett, eds., Tinwood Books,2001,612 pages,$100 Spiritually Moving: A Collection ofAmerican Folk Art Sculpture, Tom Geismar and Harvey Kahn, Harry N. Abrams,Inc., 1998, 176 pages, hardcover. Autographed

by Harvey Kahn. Limited quantity available, $250 Spongeware: 1835-1935, Henry E. Kelly, Arnold A. and Dorothy E. Kowalsky, Schiffer Publishing, 2001,244 pages, $59.95 Stars and Stripes: Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art, Deborah Harding, Rizzoli, 2002, 256 pages,$75 Traveling the Rainbow: The Life and Art ofJoseph E. Yoakum, Derrel B. DePasse, University Press of Mississippi, 2001,166 pages,$28 Treasure or Not? How to Compare and Value American Quilts, Stella Rubin, Miller's-Mitchell Beazley, Octopus Publishing Group, Ltd., 2001, 176 pages, $24.95

69TH REGIMENT ARMORY LEXINGTON AVENUE @ 26TH STREET, NEW YORK CITY 100 SELECT EXHIBITORS

SELLING FINE & AFFORDABLE AMERICAN & EUROPEAN ANTIQUES, PERIOD FURNITURE, AMERICANA, FOLK ART, ARCHITECTURAL ARTIFACTS, TEXTILES, FINE ART & PRINTS. SHOW ADMISSION 812 Complimentary Shuttle to & from TAAS, The Winter Antiques Show and Antiques @ The Piers

STELLA*S

ANTIQUES @ THE PIERS Over 300 Different Antiques Dealers Each Weekend Selling

FORMAL, AMERICAN & MODERN Furniture, Art, Folk Art, Jewelry & Objects

JANUARY 18-19 25-26 AND

PASSENGER SHIP TERMINAL PIERS 12th Avenue @ 48th to 55th Streets, NYC Sat. & Sun. 10-5 Admission $12 Complimentary Shuttle to Midtown, The Winter Antiques Show and Antiques at the Armory

STELLA SHOW MUT CO. 212455-0020* WWW.STELLASHOWS.COM

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 79

ART • FRAMES •

MORE

Confemporary Soufliern colk arf, North carolina wood-cired poffery, jewelry, knives, cusfom picfure Crames more.

64 BILTMORE AVENUE • Asheville, NC 28801 www.amerifolk.com • 828.281.2134

Stacey Lambert, Tattooed Lion, PAINTED CERAMIC

AUDIO COMPANIONS TO THE BOOK

BY IRWIN CHUSID, PRODUCER OF

IN STORES

WITS 111-Mq •. • .. .........,n, % .7 Captain Beefhta0t ‘ , 4.•• 11 ..— " ..

-. ; v .. .. .- .

-.... _,

The Sham

Iv:,

Daniel Johnston \ — • o\:••••,. _ Joe Meek

.._

eoesih....•• ••, ,:.....,-, "..... ..-

Wesley Wilt Lucia Fame!

ors I I j Shooby Taylo Tony Tim ,„„and mots k Cii Its

A O.

OM Aide ,11,(ric

la

LANGLEY SCHOOL MUSIC PROJECT AVAILABLE ON VINYL Gammon

GAMMON RECORDS 111 EAST 14TH STREET SUITE 179 NEW YORK NEW YORK 10003 WWW.GAMMONRECORDS.COM • WWW.KEYOFZ.COM

80 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

2.C., GA

ON RECORDS

CROUCHING MAN Milton Moore lb. 19091 Pittsfield, New York c. 1970s Wood and glue with traces of paint 39" high Collection American Folk Art Museum, gift of Edward A. McCabe, 1999.10.1

Crouching Man Artist Found pon entering the museum's spacious atrium, one is faced with an arresting, larger-than-life-size sculpture of a crouching man standing on a platform above a stairwellâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a good eight feet above the ground. Some say,"He looks as if he's about to leap."

U

Moore looking up at Crouching Man

The sculpture is made out of layers of wooden disks, seemingly just piled one on top of the other. Up until this past August the caption cited the artist as "unknown," and the label read,"Not much is known about this sculpture. Sometime in the late 1970s and/or early 1980s a number of objects like this one were purchased at the Brimfield Antiques Show in Massachusetts. The grouping included this crouching figure, a cat, a sphinx, and a number of other animals. It was purported that the works were created by a farmer from the village of Unadilla in upstate New York. It is believed that they were created in the 1940s or fifties.

The weathered quality of the wood supports the notion that these figures were placed out of doors as a sculptural environment

ber of Commerce, which turned and an idiosyncratic example out to be run by just one man of yard art." from his home. He agreed to post In 1999 the museum's senior pictures of the sculpture and to curator, Stacy C. Hollander, make inquiries into its origin. This received a phone call from Edward McCabe. He was eager to past June a letter arrived from an properly place works of art that he antiques dealer near Cooperstown, N.Y., who claimed to have had collected, because he was moving from his home. Hollander purchased the work from its maker some 20 years ago. The met with him to view the collecartist's name,he said, was Milton tion and was immediately drawn Moore,a 93-year-old retired to a large sculpture that could fanner living in New Berlin or only be described as a "disk Pittsfield, New York. man," crouching with his hands on his knees. McCabe could tell her nothing about the figure. Hollander, impressed with its enormous presence, took pictures of it and presented them to the museum's Collections Committee; the committee loved the piece.

McCabe signed the papers, generously donatand wagon In yard ing the work,and Crouch- Horse

Milton Moore and Brooke Davis Anderson

Birdhouse in backyard

ing Man was brought into the museum's collection.

Our research yielded only the information about the Brimfield Antiques Show, which we listed on the label. Efforts were made by the museum staff to locate the artist, but none of them were successful. Later, as curator and director of the museum's Contemporary Center, Brooke Davis Anderson took up the challenge.

She contacted the Unadilla Cham-

Anderson was able to get a phone number and made several calls to Moore's home. She finally arranged for him and his friend Ms. Pat Gifford to make the trip to New York City to see the work in the museum.

Moore's comment when he saw the Crouching Man was "That's it? Oh, my goodness,I didn't think I'd ever see it again."

Anderson, Hollander, Director Gerard C. Wertkin, and other

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART Si

museum staff members were on hand to greet Mr. Moore. Lauren MacIntyre, a reporter from The New Yorker, was also present to record the story. Her essay,"Lost and Found: Real Folk," appeared in The New Yorker on September 23,2002,on page 36. Moore and his friend Gifford talked about the difficult trip, his home,his lily pond, and the birdhouses he makes."They're notjust ordinary," Moore said. "They're four and five feet high.""They're so big we call them bird stations," Gifford added. She described some of his other projects as well: windmills, rose arbors, corner cabinets, and more.

When asked about how he felt as an artist represented in a wellknown museum,Moore said,"I don't think I amount to much of anything.""He doesn't think he's an artist," Gifford interjected, "He raised chickens. He was a chicken farmer." Anderson quickly commented,"Of the 250 pieces currently on exhibition, only seven were made by living artists. And of those seven artists, only one of them is from New York State. That's why it's so special to have Mr. Moore here, and to be able to talk to him."

Shortly afterward, Anderson followed up with a visit to the artist's home, where she was treated to a lovely meal, cooked

by Moore, and a tour of the many artworks placed around his property. He is, needless to say, happy knowing that his art is respected and cared for and will be shared with the public for many, many years to come. And, as a footnote, there is almost nothing that makes a museum curator happier than finding out the true attribution of a work of art. And Stacy C. Hollander and Brooke Davis Anderson are indeed two happy curators.

82 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Folk Art Enthusiasts Take Wisconsin Tour hirty-two museum members from many parts of the country joined the Folk Art Explorers' Wisconsin Tour(September 24-29). Beautiful weather and gracious hosts made this trip to the Dairy State a memorable one.

From their hotel in Milwaukee,the group set out by bus to explore the southwestern corner of the state, with visits to several folk environments and Frank Lloyd Wright's private residence at Taliesin. At Nick Engelbert's Grandview in Hollandale, which has been beautifully restored by the Kohler Foundation, volunteer Bob Negronida spoke about the artist. Next on the tour was the Dickeyville Grotto, an amazing sculptural environment built by Father Mathias Wernerus and his parishioners between 1925 and 1930. Near the town of Baraboo, the group stopped to visit Dr. Evermore's Forevertron. The property is filled with magical creations built from discarded metal. The Forevertron is a massive sculpture designed to take its imaginary occupants to heaven.

Wisconsin native Tony Rajer, an art conservator and instructor at the University of Wisconsin, accompanied the group as they toured the environments.

The second tour day revolved around several private collections in Milwaukee and a tour of the Milwaukee Art Museum.Curator Margaret Andera took the group through the museum's exciting new wing, designed by Spanishborn architect Santiago Calarava, and then conducted a guided tour of the museum's folk art collection. The day ended with a tour arranged by the Kohler Foundation of the home and grounds of artist Mary NohL An early morning visit to the

Museum member Margaret Schmidt and Tony Rajer in front of the Forevertron

T

Explorers Lois Rosenthal, Penny Nagel, and Richard Rosenthal in Jon and Diane Balsley's garden

John Michael Kohler Art Center was next on the itinerary. Curator Leslie Umberger led the group through several exhibitions and the storage area. Visits to the Rudy Rotter Museum and the studio of artist Norbert Kox were followed by a lively visit to White Pine Antiques in Algoma, where artist Cher Shaffer showed her work. A cocktail party at the waterfront Door County home of museum members Orren and Marilyn Bradley was a highlight of the day. The final touring day included several more visits to

private folk art collections and a trip to the Dean Jensen Gallery.

Tour leaders Beth Bergin and Lauren Potters would lace to thank Anthony Petullo, Sheldon and Marianne Lubar, Dale and Arlene Luchsinger, Steve and Patti Brinks, Jon and Diane Balsley, and especially Orren and Marilyn Bradley for their help and gracious hospitality during the tour.

Information on spring Folk Art Explorers tours to Atlanta and Ireland is available from the membership department (212/977-7170).

Poet Galway Kinnell Leads Workshop nSaturday, September 14, in conjunction with the museum's series of programs,"Reflections on September 11," Pulitzer prize-winning poet Galway Kinnell led a poetry workshop at the museum.Experienced writers and non-writers alike attended the afternoon program, which began with a critique of poems that participants brought from home. It soon became, however, a forum for discussing personal reactions to September 11 and its anniversary,just a few days prior to the workshop. Attendees were primarily New York residents, and many had been unable to write or speak about

O

their thoughts on September 11 until this moment at the museum, a year later. Following the workshop and open discussion, Kinnell recited his response poem, which had been published in The New Yorker the week of the workshop.

Galway Kinnell is co-director of New York University's creative writing program in poetry and is a MacArthur Fellow. He is a National Book Award recipient and was recently named the 2002 recipient of the Frost Award,the top lifetime achievement award given by the Poetry Society of America. Kinnell is currently a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

fine art SHOW

The only art show of its kind, bringing together the finest work produced in the last two hundred years' Gala Charity Preview hosted by Susan L. Taylor, Editorial Director of ESSENCE magazine.

Thursday — Sunday, Jan 30 — Feb 2, 2003 THURSDAY, NOON - 5:00 PM FRIDAY, NOON - 8:30 PM SATURDAY, 11:00 AM - 8:30 PM SUNDAY, 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Gala Charity Preview WEDNESDAY, JAN. 29, 2003, 6:00-9:30 PM

The Gala benefits the New York Urban League (212) 926-8000 ext. 24 and the Jack & Jill of America Foundation, toll free (800) 839-6026.

Lecture Series

Sragow Gallery, NYC

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.NATIONALBLACKFINEARTSHOW.COM.

The Puck Building 295 LAFAYETTE ST. AT HOUSTON ST., SoHo, NEW YORK CITY FOR SALE • PAINTINGS • PHOTOGRAPHY • SCULPTURE • MIXED MEDIA • OUTSIDER ART • TRIBAL ART • TEXTILES • LIMITED EDITION PRINTS

Martha Henry Inc.Fine Art, NYC • Sragow Gallery, NYC • Avisca Fine Art, Atlanta

Co-SPoNsoRS:

ESSENCE

Mr Newijork Zime$ 0000

LEGACY

KEELING WAINWRIGHT ASSOCIATES • 301.263.0783 • WWW.NATIONALBLACKFINEARTSHOW.COM

Tod Williams, Billie Tsien, Riccardo Salmona, and Naomi Stung°

CultureFest in New York City n September 27 and 28, the American Folk Art Museum participated in CultureFest 2002, a two-day event in Bryant Park sponsored

by NYC & Company. Eighty arts and cultural organizations came together in the midtown Manhattan park to distribute their promotional literature and talk to visitors about New York's cultural organizations and their programs. More than 60,000 people attended the event.

As CultureFest 2002's organizers, NYC & Company provided each participating institution with a free 10-by-10 foot tent, equipped with three tables and folding chairs. The institutions, which included museums,theaters, and botanical gardens, were asked to decorate their booths to attract the public's attention. The American Folk Art Museum staff and volunteers decorated its booth with huge blowups of Folk Art magazine

O

Two young CultureFest participants, concentrating on their coloring work

CultureFest in Bryant Park, N.Y.C.

84 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

covers and ran all-day children's coloring workshops. The workshops were organized by Madeleine Gill and featured quilt and fraktur designs. Staff members and volunteers—Wendy Barbee, Virginia Chakejian, Sue Conlon, Diana DeJesus-Medina, Eleanor Garlow, Madeleine Gill, Alice Hoffman, Katie Hush, Suzannah Kellner, Lee Kogan, Jane Lanes, Naomi Mirsky, Micky Nadel, Judith Ruthenberg, Robert Saracena, Diana Schlesinger, Katya Ullman, Emily Wertkin, and Gerard C. Werticin—helped organize the event or were on hand to answer questions and distribute information about museum programs and events. The weekend was pronounced a huge success and provided an excellent opportunity for the American Folk Art Museum to introduce its programs and collection to tourists, neighbors, and friends.

The museum's booth, staffed by Susan Conlon, assistant to the director, and Katie Hush, special events coordinator

Simply the Best—Again n the last issue of Folk Art, we reported that Tod Williams and Bille Tsien won top awards as architects of our new museum building,from the Municipal Art Society of New York and GVA Williams. At a glittering ceremony held on Friday evening, July 26,in Berlin, the American Folk Art Museum, designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, was selected as "Best New Building in the World for 2001" by World Architecture magazine, coming out ahead of nearly 300 international projects completed that year.

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, accompanied by Museum Deputy Director Riccardo Salmona, were present for the gala festivities.

The husband and wife team of Williams and Tsien accepted the award and a $30,000 cash prize.

In addition, the museum won awards for "Best North American Building" and "Best Cultural Building in the World."

Entries came from 45 countries and were judged by a panel of leading architectural experts from around the world. Awards

/

were presented for the best residential projects, the best public/cultural building, the best education development, the best office/retail scheme,the best sports/leisure facility, and the best "green" building. Awards were also given to the best buildings in the following regions: North America, Central/South America, Europe, Middle East/Africa, Asia, East Asia, and Australia/Oceania/Pacific Rim. Summing up the selection of the American Folk Art building for the top honor, World Architecture editor Naomi Stungo called the project a very worthy winner."This may not be a big building—by American standards—but it is a magnificent one. The design is a very interesting response to New York, where buildings are usually so glassy; here there is real weightiness. It suggests a different take on contemporary architecture."

The American Folk Art Museum extends its thanks and gratitude to all those whose tireless and generous contributions made this possible.

Folk Art Is in Fashion

F

Bergdorf Goodman graciously included the museum's name and address right up front on the plate glass, directing window shoppers and passersby to the museum,just four blocks away.

This very special event was arranged by the museum's Special Events Coordinator, Katie Hush,and by Public Relations Director Susan Flamm. The museum wishes to thank Alex Green, Alice Hoffman, Dorothea and Leo Rabkin, Ann-Marie Reilly, John and Barbara Wilkerson, as well as Bergdorf Goodman's David Hoey, Creative Director—Windows,and Window Production Manager Jennifer Boc for their great efforts on this project.

Participants immersed in creations—Education Director Diana Schlesin (center) • -"4111

Hands-on Workshops with Mr. Imagination nJuly 12 and 13, the museum's education department sponsored two hands-on workshops led by artist Gregory "Mr. Imagination" Warmack, whose work,Button Tree, is included in the museum's current exhibition, "American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk

0

Bergdorf Goodman's display window, August 2002

Art Museum." Mr.I, as he prefers to be called, shared his creative vision and use of nontraditional art materials with adults and children. Museum Director Gerard C. Werticin participated, taking time out to model Mr. I's one-of-a-kind bottle-cap hat and scepter.

The Brendan Gill Prize Awarded to Williams and Tsien 10,2002—The American Folk Art Museum er is pleased to announce that its new building at 45 West 53 Street, designed by architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, has been awarded the prestigious Brendan Gill Prize by the Municipal Art Society of New York.

The 15th annual Brendan Gill Prize was awarded jointly this year,to the design of the American Folk Museum's new building and to "Here Is New York: A Democracy of Photographs," a traveling exhibition of photographs taken in the aftermath of September 11.

At the award ceremony,juror Kinshasha Holman Conwill commented,"In different ways each is a testament to the democratic process that terrorism put at risk on September 11,2001."

Octob

Zehavi & Cords

or two weeks in August, the American Folk Art Museum was featured in five of Bergdorf Goodman's 5th Avenue display windows. The world-famous store, situated between 57th and 58th Streets on 5th Avenue, welcomed the American Folk Art Museum to the neighborhood by including folk sculpture to set off their fabulous fall fashion preview. Window display designer David Hoey created stunning effects by combining weathervanes, whirligigs, Indian clubs, and carvings of animals and giant lumberjacks with haute couture. The featured fashion designers included Roberto Cavalli, Chlo,Oscar De La Renta, John Galliano, and Andrew Gn.

Mr. Imagination and Director Gerard C. Wertkin

The Brendan Gill Prize is the third major award the new building has received. Opening on December 11, 2001,to great critical and public acclaim, the American Folk Art Museum's new building represents progress, growth, and renewal during a citywide effort to revitalize New York's cultural, social, and economic life. "Its very presence underscores the cultural importance that art plays in the life of New York City," continued Ms. Conwill.

Members of The Brendan Gill Prize Jury include Chairman Randall Bourscheidt, Jessica Chao, Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Tom Finkelpearl, Jane Gullong, Paul Gunther, John Haworth, Phillip Lopate, and Helen S. Tucker.

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 85

MUSEUM

NEWS

Quilt Weekend he American Folk Art Museum held its ninth annual Quilt Day on Saturday, October 5,but the celebration started on Friday with a trip to Harlem and lasted through the entire weekend. Visitors from as far away as Japan came to participate in the Quilt Day activities, which included lectures, tours, and workshops. Lee Kogan, director of the Folk Art Institute and

T

Museum member Ann Baranco Lee with artist Michael Cummings in his studio

1

curator of special projects for the museum's Contemporary Center, conducted a tour of all of the textile and quilt selections in the museum's current exhibition, "American Anthem." In the afternoon, area quilt guilds representing more than 2,000 members demonstrated quilting techniques and met with visitors. This year's guests included the Empire Quilter's Guild, Quilters of Color, Long Island Quilter's Society, Quilters' Guild of Brooklyn, Northern Star Quilter's Guild,the Smithtown Quilters, the New York chapter of the Women of Color Quilters Network, and licensees Denyse Schmidt Quilts and Concord Fabrics.

"Steps to Xanadu," a children's quilt workshop conducted

by Empire Quilters and based on the design and quilt philosophy of the late Margit Echols, took place on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Participating families learned how simple construction techniques could be used to create dazzling patterns, and sewed quilt blocks of their own.

17-5 • :1— 7

Suzannah Kellner

I

Kathy Crawford at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery

86 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Quilt Day activities included events at the museum's Eva and Morris Feld Gallery on Columbus Avenue, between 65th and 66th Streets, where an exhibition of Double Wedding Ring quilts from the museum's collection is on display along with the September 11 memorial quilts— Message Quilt from Brother Industries, Ltd., and the National Tribute Quilt from the Steel Quilters of Pittsburgh (see Folk Art, fall 2002, page 81). Steel Quilter Kathy Crawford spoke to Quilt Day visitors about putting together the massive project. Annie-Laurie Hunter of Empire Quilters conducted a demonstration on machine quilting techniques.

Museum members toured Harlem on Friday, October 4, as part of the Folk Art Explorers' "Fabric of Harlem" day trip that was run in conjunction with Quilt Day. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the home and studio of artist Michael Cummings. Cummings is a contemporary art quiltmaker who lives in Harlem. He graciously discussed his work with the group and explained how his appreciation for African art and American jazz has influenced his art. The tour also included visits to two African fabric shops, a stop at the African Market on 116th Street, and lunch at Sylvia's Restaurant on Lenox Avenue. The day trip ended back at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, with a poignant viewing of the National•Tribute Quilt.

For information about day trips and other museum travel tours, please contact the membership department at 212/977-7170, ext. 306, or send an e-mail to membership@folkartmuseum.org.

Celebration and Book Signing he Ricco/Maresca Gallery, in conjunction with the American Folk Art Museum, hosted a reception and book signing party on October 10 to celebrate the publication of American Vernacular: New Discoveries in Folk, SelfTaught, and Outsider Sculpture.

For more than 20 years, the Ricco/Maresca Gallery has published books that are widely regarded as important resources on the work of self-taught artists.

Frank Maresca and Roger Ricco were on hand to welcome invited guests, museum trustees, staff members, and friends, and to sign copies of their book, which was available in the museum's gift shop. Museum Director Gerard C. Werticin introduced the hosts and talked about their many accomplishments in the field.

Guests enjoyed wine and hors d'oeuvres accompanied by the music of the Palor BergrenChrisman Trio.

American Vernacular: New Discoveries in Folk, Self-Taught, and Outsider Sculpture, a Bulfinch Press Book published

by Little, Brown and Company, is a stunning 305-page volume, featuring 450 full-color illustrations of sculpture drawn from some of the most renowned collections, including that of the American Folk Art Museum.

It is available at the museum's Book and Gift Shops at 45 West 53rd Street and at 2 Lincoln Square on Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets.

Museum members receive a 10 percent discount. For mail order information, please call 212/2651040,ext. 124.

T

SHIPS BY JOHN TAYLOR Step Right Up, Folks or one brief moment,the American Folk Art Museum was magically transformed into the razzledazzle of Coney Island—complete with hot dogs, egg creams, and beer. Coney Island Night, a thoroughly high-spirited and fun evening, was inspired by Ralph Fasanella's painting, Coney Island, which has recently come into the museum's collection as a gift from Maurice and Margo Cohen of Birmingham, Michigan.

More than 150 members and friends came to support the museum,talk about their collections, and just have fun. Professional conservators Barbara Appelbaum, Andrea Pitsch, and Karen Yager answered questions about art conservation, and staff members made and served hot popcorn. The menu,inspired by the famous Brooklyn amusement park, included mini classic potato knishes, corn dogs, bite-size hamburgers,fried clams, traditional black-'n'-white cookies,individual key lime pies, egg creams, other soft drinks, and beer.

Helium balloons and live music helped to keep the conversation light and spirits high... and—

F

like any good amusement park— many prizes were awarded, including dinner for two at Citarella's, an Angela Cummings wristwatch, and a trip for two to France. Trustees Frances Martinson and Barbara Cate drew the winning names. Cheryl Rivers, a Brooklynite, recent graduate of the museum's Folk Art Institute, and museum volunteer, won the trip to France and will join the museum's Explorers spring 2004 French tour.

The safekeeping of the museum's many treasures is an ongoing concern and expense.

Events like Coney Island Night help ensure that the museum is appropriately able to protect and care for the art in its charge. Special thanks go to the staff members and volunteers, who made the evening a success, and to the following sponsors for their generous support: Angela Cummings, the Steve Blanco Trio, Brooklyn Brewery, Citarella's, Dean and Deluca, Katrina Parris Flowers, Metamorphoses on Broadway, Organic Lands,Party Rentals Ltd., Real Simple magazine, the Sharper Image, Steve's Key Lime Pies, Kathleen Ullman, and Zabars.

GARDE RAIL GALLERY TEL. 206.721.0107

WWW.GARDE-RAIL.COM

LESLIE MUTH GALLERY Contemporary American Folk Art SINCE 1981 AND NOW ON LINE A sample of artists on the website: Minnie and Greg Adkins Eddie Arning "Uncle Pete" Drgac Jake Harwell William Hawkins Greg Pelner "Alex" Sandoval Derek Webster and Navajo Folk Artists www.lesliemuthgallery.com 221 E. de Vargas Sante Fe New Mexico 87501 phone 505-989-4620 fax 505-466-2816 lesliemuth@aol.com By appointment or chance

Cheryl Rivers (center) with Trustee Frances Martinson and Director Gerard C. Wertldn

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 87

Burlon B. Craig 1914-2002 urlon B. Craig of Vale, North Carolina, hailed as the best-known potter of the Catawba Valley, died on July 7 of cardiac complications following a broken hip. According to scholar Charles G."Terry" Zug III, Craig's "dedication to his craft has served three generations and will continue to inspire North Carolinians for generations to come." For more than a decade, Craig's kiln openings were legendary—the pieces that he created and fired were sold in a matter of minutes after the kiln was opened, and in the 1990s, numbers were issued to potential buyers to control the crowds.

Craig used techniques and materials rooted in a 200-year-old folk tradition that was introduced to this country by its early German settlers. Characteristic was the use of wood-fired kilns and alkaline glazes. Craig dug his own clay from local pits and ground glass for his homemade alkaline glazes. He produced churns, crocks, pickle jars, flower pots, and storage containers, as well as decorative pieces that included

o courtesy Mary Sue Heavner

B

88 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Curtis Cuffie 1955-2002 popularly collected face jugs and wig stands. He also produced swirlware—made using a technique accidentally created during the 1920s by mixing light and dark burning clays to produce a variegated clay body.

Born in Hickory, North Carolina, Craig began to fashion pots at age 14, when he was apprenticed to a seasoned potter, his next-door neighbor Jim Lynn.

Following a stint in the Navy during World War II, Craig settled in Catawba County, married, and raised a family. He worked for the North Hickory Furniture Factory for 20 years, and made pottery in the evenings and on weekends.

Craig was a recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1984 and the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1991. His work was the subject of a one-person exhibition,"Burlon Craig: An Open Window into the Past," presented at the Foundation Gallery: Visual Arts Center, North Carolina State University, in 1994. His work is represented in Turners and Burners: The Folk Potters ofNorth Carolina, by Charles G.Zug III(University of North Carolina Press, 1986), and Catawba Clay: Contemporary Southern Face Jug Makers, by Barry Huffman(A.W. Huffman, 1997), and in the permanent collections of the American Folk Art Museum,the North Carolina Pottery Museum,in Seagrove, North Carolina, and the Meadow Mount Museum,in Richmond, Virginia.

Craig is survived by his children, Roy Lester, Dale Everette, Burlon Donald, Colleen Alexander, and Mary Sue Heavner.

Craig's son Burlon Donald and grandson Dwayne are also potters.

—Lee Kogan

riends of self-taught artist Curtis Cuffie and admirers of his lively assemblage sculptures were shocked and saddened to learn of his death on September 11, 2002,from apparent heart failure in his East Village apartment, where his body was found. He was one of three artists featured in my article, "Street Savvy," in the fall 2002 issue of Folk Art, which had just been printed when news of his death reached the magazine.

Cuffie was born and spent his first 15 years in Hartsville, South Carolina, then went to live with an older brother who had settled in Brooklyn, New York. Dropping out of high school one year before he would have graduated, Cuffie supported himself through the late 1970s and into the early 1980s by working at a series of manual labor jobs. Seriously depressed in the wake of his mother's death in 1983, he lost his job and residence, and spent the next 13 years roaming lower Manhattan without a fixed address or regular source of income.

Soon after he lost his home, Cuffie began collecting cast-off objects, using them to create assemblages that he displayed near the Cooper Union and on the Bowery. These inspired creations captured the attention of many passersby, and especially that of visual artists who lived in or regularly visited the neighborhood. As did much of the audience for his street-side displays, Cuffie took conspicuous delight in the witty, whimsical aspects of his assemblages. But when talking about them at any length, he also made clear his sense of their ultimate function as talismans for personal healing—and for healing a society that relegates so

F

many of its citizens to secondand third-class status.

Several galleries exhibited Cuffie's works during his years on the streets, and the resultant publicity helped him regain a social footing. In 1996 he moved into the small apartment that he shared until last year with art historian Carol Thompson, now curator of African Art at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. In recent years he had supplemented sporadic income from gallery sales of his art with ajob in the buildings and grounds department at the Cooper Union. Increasing recognition manifested itself in the form of grants and stipends from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, which had provided him with a studio since May of this year.

Curtis Cuffie was buried in Hartsville, South Carolina, on September 18. A memorial installation of Cuffie's art, curated by Brooke Davis Anderson and Celene Ryan of the American Folk Art Museum, under the auspices of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, opened on October 30 at the World Financial Center, and will be on view through January 17, 2003. A memorial gathering in Cuffie's honor was held on December 12, 2002,in the Foundation Building Great Hall at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York City.

—Tom Patterson

TRUSTEES/DONORS

AMERICAN

FOLK

ART

MUSEUM

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Executive Committee Ralph 0.Esmenan Chairman ofthe Board L. John Wilkerson President Frances Sirota Martinson, Esq. Executive Vice President and Chairman, Executive Committee Lucy C. Danziger Executive Vice President Joan M.Johnson Vice President Barry D. Briskin Treasurer Jacqueline Fowler Secretary

Joyce B. Cowin Samuel Farber Members Paul W.Caan Barbara Cate David L. Davies Jonathan Green Susan Gutfreund Robert L. Hirschhom

Kristina Johnson, Esq. David Krashes Taryn Gottlieb Leavitt Nancy Mead George H. Meyer, Esq. Cyril I. Nelson Laura Parsons J. Randall Plummer Julia T. Richie Margaret Z. Robson

Selig D. Sacks, Esq. Bonnie Strauss Nathaniel J. Sutton Richard H. Walker, Esq.

R. Scott Bromley The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston.

Curtis F. Brown, Hayden Goldberg Mr.& Mrs. Edward James Brown Gail Brown Marc Brown & Laurene Krasny Brown J. Bruce Antiques Fred & Theresa Buchanan in memory of Sybil Gibson Charles & Deborah Burgess Jim Burk Antique Shows The Burnett Group Marcy L Burns/American Indian Arts Joyce A. Burns Paul & Dana Caan Lewis P. Cabot Elinor B. Cahn Mr.& Mrs. Donald Campbell Bliss & Brigitte Camochan Caterpillar Foundation John W.Castello in memory of Adele Earnest Donald N. Cavanaugh & Edward G. Blue Edward Lee Cave Virginia G.Cave Shari Cavin & Randall Morris Peter P. Cecere Sharon S. Cheeseman Christie's Richard & Teresa Ciccotelli Barbara L Claster Lori Cohen Alexis & George Contos In memory of Daniel Cowin Mrs. Daniel Cowin Jeanne D. Creps Mr.& Mrs. Edgar M. Cullman Elissa F. & Edgar M.Cullman Jr. Joe & Joan Cullman Susan R. Cullman Catherine G. Curran Kendra & Allan Daniel David & Sheena Danziger Lucy & Mike Danziger Peggy & Richard M. Danziger David L. Davies Darwin/Carolinn Pocher & William Woody Vincent & Stephanie DiCicco H. Richard Dietrich Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Charles M.Diker Patricia McFadden Dombal Colette & Jim Donovan Doyle New York/Kathleen M. Doyle Deborah & Arnold Dunn Ray & Susan Egan Gloria Einbender Sharon & Ted Eisenstat Elitzer Family Fund in honor of Anne Hill & Monty Blanchard David & Doris Walton Epner Joyce & Klaus Eppler Ralph 0.Esmerian Susan H.Evans In Memory of Heila D. Everard

Sam & Betsey Farber Nancy Farmer & Everette James Mike & Doris Feinsilber Bequest of Eva & Morris Feld Elizabeth C. Feldmann M. Finkel & Daughter Fireman's Fund Insurance Company Deborah Fishbein Alexander & Enid Fisher Laura Fisher/Antique Quilts & Americana Jacqueline Fowler Beverly Frank Gretchen Freeman & Alan Silverman Mrs. Albert D.Freiberg Susan 0. Friedman Alvin E. Friedman-Kien, M.D. Furthermore, the publication program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund Galerie St. Etienne, Inc. Gallery of Graphic Arts, Ltd. Rebecca & Michael Gamzon Judy & Jules Gavel Garth's Auctions, Inc. Rich & Pat Garthoeffner Sidney & Sandra Gecker Nancy Gerber Morad Ghadamian Sima Ghadamian Merle & Barry Ginsburg James & Nancy Glazer Mr.& Mrs. Merle H. Glick Carla T. Goers Edith H. Goldberg Russ & Karen Goldberger Mrs. Toni L Goldfarb Tracy Goodnow Art & Antiques Ellin & Baron Gordon Howard Graff Jonathan Green Nancy M.& Ben S. Greenberg Greene & Mays American Antiques Marion E. Greene Blanche Greenstein & Thomas Woodard William & Shirley E. Greenwald Peg & Judd Gregory Audrey Elkinson Griff Bonnie Grossman/The Ames Gallery Pat Guthman Alan & Elaine [laid Robert & Linda Hall Cordelia Hamilton Ken & Debra Hamlett Nancy B. Hanson Jeanne & Herbert Hansen Deborah Harding Marion Harris & Jerry Rosenfeld Harvey Art & Antiques Audrey Heckler Donald Heller, Heller/Washam Nina Hellman Jeffrey Henkel Mr.& Mrs. George Henry Mr.& Mrs. Samuel Herrup

Ann Hickerson & Martha Hicicerson Antonio Hidalgo The High Five Foundation Frederick D. Hill Pamela & Timothy Hill Kit Hinrichs The Hirschhorn Foundation, Robert & Marjorie Hirschhorn, Carolyn Hirshhom Schenker Historical Society of Early American Decoration Arlene & Leonard Hochman Mr.& Mrs. Joseph C. Hoopes Jr. Carter G. Houck Sr. Evelyn Houlroyd Ellen E. Howe Mr.& Mrs. Philip Howlett Allen & Barry Huffman Peter D. Hynson Antiques Paul Ingersoll In the Beginning Fabrics Thomas Isenberg In memory of Laura N. Israel Thomas & Barbara Israel The Jamison Williams Foundation Johnson & Johnson Joan & Victor Johnson Kristina Johnson, Esq. Louise & George Kaminow Julie & Sandy Palley and Samuel & Rebecca Kardon Foundation Allan & Penny Katz Edwin U. Keates, M.D. Steven & Helen Kellogg Jolie Kelter & Michael Make Richard Kemble & George Korn, Forager House Collection Mrs. David J. Kend Leigh Keno Amy Keys Jacqueline & Jonathan King Phyllis Kind Joe K. Kindig ifi Susan & Robert E. Klein Nancy Knudsen Nancy Kollisch & Jeffrey Pressman Greg K. Kramer David & Barbara Krashes Dr. Robert & Arlene Kreisler Sherry & Mark ICronenfeld Robert A. Landau Bruno & Lindsey LaRocca Michelle & Lawrence Lasser William & Karen Lauder Jerry & Susan Lauren Wendy & Mel Lavin Mark & Taryn Leavitt The Edith and Herbert Lehman Foundation, Inc. In Memory of Henry J. & Erna D.Leir John A. Levin & Co., Inc. Bertram Levinston, M.D. Levy Charitable Trust

Trustees Emeriti Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Cordelia Hamilton George F. Shaskan Jr.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS The American Folk Art Museum announced a $34.5 million campaign to construct and endow its new home on West 53rd Street. As of October 15, 2002 the following donors have contributed $33,800,000 Marjorie W.Abel James & Gail Addiss Dr. & Mrs. Karl P. Adler Alconda-Owsley Foundation Judith Alexander George R. Allen/Gordon L Wyckoff-Raccoon Creek Antiques American Capital Access American Folk Art Society Barbara Anderson Ingrid & Richard Anderson Mama Anderson Judy Angelo Cowen Foundation Marie T. Annoual Aame Anton Barbara Ardizone Marion Armstrong R.R. Atkins Foundation Lois S.& Gad Avigad Joan & Darwin Bahm Marcia Bain Lori Ann Baker, Baker & Co. Designs Ltd. Marianne E. Balazs Denny Beach Judy & Barry Bell in honor of Alice & Ron Hoffman Bankers Trust Company Barn Star Productions, Inc. Didi & David Barrett Jimi Barton-Rhinebeck Antiques Fair Joyce & Ron Bassin/Bird In Hand Patricia Beatty Mary F. Beck Ellen Stone-Belie Philip & Leah Bell Laurine Hawkins Ben-Dov Mrs. Arthur M. Berger Julie M. Bemson Big Apple Wrecking & Construction Corporation Mrs. George P. Bissell Jr. Diana H. Bittel Edward V. Blanchard & M. Anne Hill Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund Lenore & Stephen Blank Bloomberg L.P. The Bodman Foundation Booth Ferris Foundation Robert, Katharine & Courtney Booth Catherine & Chris Botta Marilyn W.Bottjer Edith S. & Barry D. Briskin/Shirley K. Schlafer Foundation Susan Brodish Florence Brody Sheila & Amon Brog

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART WO

DONORS

America's Premier Show ofOriginal American Furniture to 1840 & Appropriate Accessories

the3oth .

Connedicut spring cAntiquesjhow c7Viarc7'22-23,2002

cliartford CT Expo Center

1

265 Rev. Robert A.Moody Overpass 1-84 to 1-91 North; Exit 33 Show Opening: Sat. 9-10:30Am • 9115 Saturday, 10:30-5 • $8• Sunday, 10-4 A Benefitfor the Haddam Historical Society

A Forbes &Turner Show

207-767-3967 www.forbesandturneccom

AMERICAN STONEWARE COLLECTORS "AUCTION AND APPRAISAL SERVICES"

Richard C. Hume P.O. Box 281 Bay Head, N.J. 08742 732-899-8707

90 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Judy Lewis The Liman Foundation Lipman Family Foundation The 2000 Lipman Fellows Bruce Lisman In Memory of Zeke Liverant Nancy MacKay Nancy & Erwin Maddrey Anne & Vincent Mai Maine Antique Digest The Jane Marcher Foundation Harriet Marple Plehn Trust Paul Martinson, Frances Martinson & Howard Graff in memory of Burt Martinson Mr.& Mrs. Christopher Mayer In honor of Nancy Mayer Mrs. Myron Mayer Kerry McCarthy Milly McGehee Nancy and Dana Mead Mary 0. Mecagni Robert & Meryl Meltzer Charles W. Merrels Evelyn S. Meyer George H. Meyer Jim & Enid Michelman Mrs. E.J. Milano Mr.& Mrs. Samuel C. Miller Judith & James Milne Jean Mitchell Sandra Moers JP Morgan Chase & Co.,Inc. Keith & Lauren Morgan Morris Levinson Foundation, Inc. Alden & Jane Munson Lucia Cirino Murphy Drew Neisser Cyril Irwin Nelson New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York State Margaret & David Nichols Thurston Nichols Mr.& Mrs. Frank N. Norris Jr. Northeast Auctions, Ronald Bourgeault Susan Nova Sally W. O'Day Odd Fellows Antiques Bequest of Mattie Lou O'Kelley Olde Hope Antiques Cheryl Oppenheim & John Waters The Overbrook Foundation Patsy Palmer & Talbot D'Alemberte Virginia Parts Paternostro Investments Eloise Paula Rolando & Karin Perez Jan Petry Philip Morris Companies Inc. Elizabeth A. Pile Harvey S. Shipley Miller & J. Randall Plummer Frank & Barbara Pollack Lucile & Maurice Pollak Fund Pook & Pook Inc./Ronald & Debra Pook Wayne Pratt, Inc. Fran Puccinelli Jackie Radwin Teresa Ranellone Christopher T. Rebello Antiques Ricco/Maresca Gallery Julia & Leroy Richie Jeanne Riger Marguerite Riordan John & Margaret Robson Foundation Le Rowell Miss Virginia Carolyn Rudd F. Russack Antiques & Books, Inc. Selig D. Sacks

Judith Sagan Mary Sams-Ballyhack Antiques Jack & Mary-Lou Savitt Peter L. Schaffer Carol Peden Schatt Shirley K. Schlafer Memorial Fund In memory of Esther & Sam Schwartz Marilyn & Joseph Schwartz The Schwarz Gallery, Philadelphia Phyllis & Al Selnick The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation Jean S. & Frederic A. Sharf In honor of George Shaskan The George and Myra Shaslcan Foundation, Inc. Roz & Steve Shaw Arthur & Suzanne Shawe Elle Shushan Jo Sibley John Sideli Eleanor R. Siegal Francisco F. Sierra Elizabeth Silverman Skinner, Inc., Auctioneers and Appraisers of Antiques and Fine Art Sanford L. Smith & Patricia Lynch Smith Sarah Barr Snook Elliott & Grace Snyder Mr.& Mrs. Peter J. Solomon Sotheby's Maxine Spiegel The Splendid Peasant/Martin & Kitty Jacobs Nancy T.& Gary J. Stass Frederick Stecker Stella Show Mgmt. Co. Su-Ellyn Stem Tamar Stone & Robert Eckstein Rachel & Donald Strauber Bonnie & Tom Strauss The R. David Sudarsky Charitable Foundation Nathaniel J. Sutton Leslie Sweedler John & Catherine Sweeney William Swislow Takashimaya Co., Ltd. Connie Tavel Richard & Maureen Taylor Nancy Thomas David Teiger Tiffany & Co. Jeffrey Tillou Antiques Peter Tillou Pamela P. Tisza Jean I. & Raymond S. Troubh Fund Tucker Station Antiques Karen Ulfers John & Kathleen Ullmann Joseph Del Valle Lee & Cynthia Vance Jacob & Ray Van Gelder Bob & Ellie Vermillion Joan & Clifford Vemick Joseph & Meryle Viener Robert E. Voelklg David & Jane Walentas Jennifer Walker Clifford A. Wallach Irene N. Walsh Don Walters & Mary Benisek Warburg Pincus The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Elizabeth & Irwin Warren Nani S. Warren Martha Watterson Weeden Brothers: Bill, Alan,lack & Don Mr.& Mrs. Alan N. Weeden Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Frederick S. Weiser David M. Weiss Jay & Meryl Weiss Julia Weissman Ed Weissman Mr.& Mrs. Peter Wells Ben Wertldn David Wheatcroft Harry Wicks Donald K. Wilkerson, M.D. John & Barbara Wilkerson Nelson M. Williams John Wilmerding

Charles & Phyllis Wilson Robert N. Wilson & Anne Wright Wilson Dr. Joseph M.& Janet H. Winston Susan Yecies J. Evelyn Yoder Valerie Young Shelly Zegart Antique Quilts Malcah Zeldis L H.& Birgitta XL. von Zelowitz Bernadette Mary Zemenick Steven J. Zick Jon & Rebecca Zoler 27 Anonymous Donors

RECENT DONORS FOR EXHIBITIONS AND OPERATIONS-

as of October 15,2002 The American Folk Art Museum appreciates the generous support of the following friends: $100,000 and above Samuel & Betsey Farber John & Margaret Robson Carnegie Corporation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Two anonymous donors $99,999450,000 Lucy C.& Frederick M. Danzinger William Randolph Hearst Foundation Frances Sirota Martinson, Esq. Swiss Peaks Festival Corporation Two anonymous donors 849,999-S20,000 Burnett Group Paul & Dana Caan Cahill Gordon & Reindel Joseph F. Cullman 3rd David L. Davies & Jack Weeden Deutsche Bank Ralph 0. Esmerian Jacqueline Fowler Robert & Luise Kleinberg Barbara & David Krashes Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence J. Lasser Latham & Watkins Taryn & Mark Leavitt Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund Nancy and Dana Mead National Financial Partners J. Randall Plummer Selig D. Sacks Sidley Austin Brown & Wood Barbara & Thomas W.Strauss Fund The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. John & Barbara Wilkerson Two anonymous donors $19,988410,000 Bear Stearns Companies,Inc. Dr. & Mrs. Alex Berenstein Edward V. Blanchard & M. Anne Hill Edith S. & Barry D. Brislcin Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Brooklyn Digital Foundry Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft Citigroup, Inc. Con Edison Mrs. Daniel Cowin Credit Suisse First Boston William Doyle Galleries Douglas E. Ente in memory of Ellin Ente FleetBoston Financial Foundation Furthermore, the publication program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund

Mr.& Mrs. John H. Gutfreund Joan M.& Victor L. Johnson Johnson & Johnson Companies The Robert and Luise Kleinberg Fund at the Jewish Communal Fund Leir Charitable Trusts The Lipman Family Foundation, Inc. Mr.& Mrs. Vincent Mai I.P. Morgan Chase & Co.,Inc. Mr.& Mrs. Keith Morgan National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts Mr.& Mrs. Richard D.Parsons The Parsons Family Foundation Pfizer, Inc. Philip Morris Companies Inc. Julia T.& Leroy Richie Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Rose The Judith Rothschild Foundation The Shirley Schlafer Foundation Sotheby's Nathaniel J. Sutton The Tomorrow Foundation One anonymous donor

Pain+ings on Sa(vage www.m.shaw-fotkart.colvt 73*-it2.8.-71t95 I ,

Promoting exceptional,

$9,99944,000 ABC,Inc. AOL America Online Inc. AOL Time Warner,Inc. Molly F. Ashby & Gerald M. Lodge Jessica & Natan Bibliowicz The John R.& Dorothy D.Caples Fund The Jay Chiat Foundation Peggy & Richard M.Danziger Debevoise & Plimpton Steven Ente in memory of Ellin Ente Evelyn Frank in honor of Myra & George Shaskan Barry & Merle Ginsburg Stephen M. Hill The Magazine Group Marstrand Foundation The Mattie Lou O'Kelley Memorial Trust MBNA America, N.A. George H. Meyer, Esq. New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Paul & Judy Patemostro Ricco/Maresca Gallery Robert and Dale Rosen Charitable Foundation Schulte Roth & Zabel The William P.& Gertrude Schweitzer Foundation, Inc. The George F. and Myra Shaskan Foundation, Inc. Louise M.Simone/ Manoogian Simone Foundation David Teiger Verizon Gerard C. Wertkin Wilkie Farr Gallagher

contemporary folk art from Florida & the Deep South.

lst%

Specializing

.

in residential

I N.4.%â&#x20AC;˘401.44,41641114

& corporate placement.

"Pear" by Mary Klein, 2002 21" x 20" Acrylic on wood, with antique ceiling tile frame

Jeanine Taylor FOLK ART GALLERY ORLANDO, FLORIDA

www.JTfolkart.com

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 91

DONORS

Painted low relief woodcarvings since 1973 cc L.0 co

OT

cs CD CI) °_C (I) o " Cri

EL? >: CNI

>

Co

TRADING COMPANY www.tesoros.corn FOLK ART & OTHER TREASURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD RETAIL: 209 CONGRESS AVENUE•AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701•512 /419-8377 WHOLESALE: 512 /479-8341

92 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Robert N. Wilson/ Pheasant Hill Foundation Three anonymous donors $3,999-$2,000 Deborah & James Ash Aventis Pharmaceuticals Alvan & Claude Bisnoff Robert & Kathy Booth Brenda Brody Edward J. & Margaret Brown Mr.& Mrs. Edgar M.Cullman Charles E. Culpeper Fund Kendra & Allan Daniel Maureen D. Donovan The Charles Edlin Family Charitable Foundation Gloria G. Einbender Fastsigns Eric J. & Anne Gleacher Elise Goldschlag & Kevin Lundeen Terry B. Heled Mr.& Mrs. Richard Herbst Pepi & Vera Jelinek Kristina Johnson, Esq. Allan & Penny Katz Jerry & Susan Lauren Lehman Brothers Mary & Stephen Meadow Merrill Lynch Mr.& Mrs. J. Jefferson Miller R Joan & Martin Messinger Donald & Cynthia Murphy Neuberger Berman,LLC Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Mr.& Mrs. Keith Reinhard Paige Rense Marguerite & Arthur Riordan John R. Robinson,Esq. Derald & Janet Ruttenberg Carol P. Schatt Richard & Stephanie Solar Irwin H.& Elizabeth V. Warren The Zankel Fund One anonymous donor 81,999-$1,000 Mr.& Mrs. A. Marshall Acuff Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Ted Alfond Jamie Davis Anchin Jeremy L. Banta Didi & David Barrett Marvin & Jill Baten Mr.& Mrs. Barry Beil Daniel Berman Mark C. Biderman Mrs. Peter Bing Rhoda & Gerald Blumberg Betsy Bogner Bernard & Judy Briskin in Honor of Barry Briskin Marvin & Lois P. Broder/ Lucile & Maurice Pollak Fund Marc & Laurie Krasny Brown Charles & Deborah Burgess Citicorp Foundation Matching Gifts Program Coach Dairy Goat Farm Aaron & Judy Daniels Michael Del Castello James Asselstine & Bette J. Davis Louis Dreyfus Foundation Dunphy Family Foundation, Inc. The Echo Foundation Jill Gallagher Daniel M.and Llama Gantt Mr.& Mrs. Bruce Geismar Mrs. Bruce Gimbel Dr. Kurt A. Gitter & Ms. Alice Yelen

Barbara Gordon & Steve Cannon Susan Zises Green Cordelia Hamilton Mr.& Mrs. James Harithas The Hirschhom Foundation Thomas Isenberg Theodore J. Israel Mr.& Mrs. Thomas C. Israel J&B Auto Body & Repairs Betty Wold Johnson & Douglas F. Bushnell Richard T. Kanter Mr.& Mrs. Abraham Krasnoff Robert A. Landau JoCarole & Richard Lauder Glorya & Fred Leighton Barbara S. Levinson Robert A. Lewis Mr.& Mrs. Carl M.Lindberg Ronnie Livia Carl D. Label!& Kate Stettner Mary's East Margolis Gallery Michael T. Martin The Helen R.& Harold C. Mayer Foundation Mrs. Myron L. Mayer Michael & Gad Mendelsohn Judith & Bernard Newman New York Yankees Foundation Victor & Susan Niederhoffer David O'Connor Philip V. Oppenheimer & Mary Close Mr.& Mrs. Francis C.Parson Jr. Anthony J. Petullo Foundation Robert & Marianne Polak Mr.& Mrs. Mortimer Propp Jack & Roberta E. Rabin Jean Rather Irene Reichert Cheryl Rivers & Steve Simons William D. Rondina Mr.& Mrs. Jeff T. Rose Paul J. Schatt Paul & Elizabeth Schaffer Peter L Schaffer Mr.& Mrs. Marvin Schwartz Philip & Cipora Schwartz Harvey S. Shipley Miller Myron B.& Cecile B. Shure Hardwick Sinunons Donna & Elliott Slade Patricia & Robert Stempel Elizabeth & Geoffrey A. Stern Su-Ellyn Stern Donald & Rachel Strauber Maryann Sudo Doris & Stanley Tananbaum Dennis Thomas Ms. Karel F. Wahrsager Jennifer Walker Linda Waterman Donald & Pat Weeden Janis & William Wetsman Mrs. Joseph M. Winston Ms.Teri Wilford Wood & Mr.John Busey Wood In Honor of Gerard C. Wertkin Four anonymous donors $999-8500 The Acorn Foundation Grace Allen Robert & Wendy Adler Anthony Annese Joel Banker Frank & June Barsalona Deborah Bergman Mrs. George P. Bissell Jr. Dena Bock Mr.& Mrs. James A. Block

is0,8310 5

15

711.11_161

Mr.& Mrs. Leonard Block Jeffrey & Tina Bolton Miriam Cahn Marcy Carsey Gabrielle & Frank Casson The Chase Manhattan Foundation Matching Gift Program Marjorie Chester Kathleen Cole Mrs. Phyllis Collins Stephen H.Cooper & Prof. Karen Gross Simon Critchell Susan R. Cullman Kathryn M. Curran Gary Davenport David & Sheena Danziger Dr. Janet L. Denlinger Michael Donovan & Nancye Green Richard and Barbara Donsky Foundation Nancy Druclanan Arnold & Debbie Dunn Shirley Durst Mr.& Mrs. James A.Edmonds Jr. Gloria Einbender Ross & Gladys Faires Jessie Lee Farber Thomas K. Figge Lawrence Fink Jane Fonda Gail Furman,Ph.D. Gemini Antiques, Ltd. Margaret A. Gilliam William L.& Mildred Gladstone Henry Goldstein & Linda Broessel Kelly Gonda Ellin & Baron J. Gordon Mariko Gordon Howard M.Graff Peter T. & Laura Grauer Robert M. Greenberg Nanette & Irvin Greif Stephen Hessler & Mary Ellen Vehlow Leonard & Arlene Hochman Mr.& Mrs. Robert Hodes John & Laima Hood Pamela J. Hoiles John & Sandra Horvitz Michael T.Incantalupo Mr.& Mrs. Ken Iscol Guy Johnson Todd & Paige Johnson Mr.& Mrs. Austin Kalish Kandell Fund Mr.& Mrs. Martin Katz Steven & Helen Kellogg Ms. Joan E. Kend Mary Kettaneh John J. Kirby, Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Michael Klein Barbara S. Klinger Mr.& Mrs. Stuart Krinsly Mr.& Mrs. Theodore A. Kurz Nancy Lasalle Laura Lauder

Wendy & Mel Lavitt Sam & Stephanie Lebowitz Judith Lewis Frances & James Lieu Sherwin & Shirley Lindenbaum Billie & Phil Logan Nancy Maddrey Jane Marcher Foundation Esperanza G. Martinez Chriss Mattsson Grete Meilman Evelyn S. Meyer Michael & Pamela Miles Jonathan Miller & Phyllis Winstral Judith & James Milne Museums New York Ann & Walter Nathan Cyril I. Nelson Olde Hope Antiques, Inc. David Passennan Bob Patton & Busser Howell Dr. Burton W.Pearl Mr.& Mrs. Terry Pillow Daniel & Susan Pollack Mr.& Mrs. F.F. Randolph Jr. Toby & Nataly Ritter Dr. & Mrs. Roger Rose Abbey Rosenwald Frank & Nancy Russell Riccardo Salmona Mr.& Mrs. Robert T. Schaffner Margaret Schmidt Mr.& Mrs. Carl J. Schmitt Mr.& Mrs. Joseph D. Shein Mr.& Mrs. Ronald Shelp Raymond & Linda Simon Arun & Barbara Singh Arthur M.Sislcind & Mary Ann Siskind Stephanie Smither Theresa Snyder Karen Sobotka Mr.& Mrs. David Stein Donald & Rachel Strauber Jane Supino Mr. Frank Tosto Milton Trexler & Lisa Carling Mr.& Mrs. David Walentas Brenda Weeks-Nerz Mr.& Mrs. John L. Weinberg Bennett & Judie Weinstock Herbert C. Wells Judy & Harold Weissman Richard &Margaret Wenstrup Mr.& Mrs. C. A. Wimpfheimer Cyria & Melvyn Wolff Family Foundation Rosalie Wood J. Evelyn Yoder Tim & Nina Zagat Diana Zanganas Louis & Susan Zinterhofer Jon & Rebecca Zoler Benjamin & Barbara Zucker Mr.& Mrs. Donald Zuckert Two anonymous donors

ANNE HILL BLANCHARD MEMORIAL FUND—as of October 28,2002 Donations may be sent to: Cheryl Aldridge, Development Office, American Folk Art Museum,1414 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019 Cheryl Aldridge The Bachmann Strauss Family Fund Employees and Directors of Bankrate, Inc. Monroe & Shalvo Berkowitz Edith S. & Barry D. Briskin Carolina Designs Realty

Barbara Cate The Chapin School, Families of Class 7 The Chapin School, Class of 2004 Hyunbae Chun Barbara Crohn Patty J. Dawson Department of Economics, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey Department of Political Science, Queens College, C.U.N.Y. Jane & Paul Dietche

11455,' I I .3 4 12

16 I 15

„

If

1915

26

4-

s; 24 1 1 75 t 23 92 ' i 124 22'4 7 ,

20

6.6E7i52,U0Q111' 5, 29 52631807R 63 2,035930 111115:i3 B4136 [t:3

56 57 get 4-7 41 4G

490,1

q-

149505

47

igg

4.95 so

9 41 42

4313 14 44: 5 34;' '46 5 45 it42 3 4- 4 5

rrn7

344563 g6378, 551 51$:2,

574 44 5 43

4:4,

5a€ ,[kR2994., 0931

455K

5i2

5^^ _2 3 24- 22 23 2. 25 2 t, 8 23

ta

ti

18 1Q 15

11 5

15

14-

F

fc

f7

W 18

of

11— 029g98292/11264,8238 2, 6[ri8 514,0 1013 41422 g_ 251

26 27 21 23 so 31 3233 34.

20 2 1

37 38 3.9

4^

5

2

2

40 4

y

i

-

g

50

Spitalgasse 10, CH 8001, Zurich Tel 01/251 23 42 Fax 01/261 23 49 or visit us at www.susibrunner.ch

UNCOMMON EXAMPLES of ARTBRUT SELF-TAUGHT, FOUND, and PUEBLO ART

BEVERLY KAYE 15 LORRAINE DRIVE WOODBRIDGE, CT

203.387.5700

artbrutcom by appointment

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART 93

DONORS

147:r.t PAINTS

MUSKOKA view

MENDELSON JOE'S glorious folk art paintings represented by

Karen S. Robinson 5 Duncan St. E.• Huntsville, Ontario, Canada Gallery 12-6, Wednesday-Sunday, June-October November-May open by appointment (705) 787-1664• www.ksrobinson.com

Tony & Phyllis Dreyspool Mary & Bob Edmondson Linda N.Edwards Mr.& Mrs. Peter Eilbott Laura Ford Elizabeth H.& Hamilton F. Forster Mr.& Mrs. Thomas Frazier M.E. Freeman, Mel Tarr & Elizabeth Tarr The Barry Friedberg & Charlotte Moss Family Foundation Lawrence I. & Devra L. Golbe Jacquelyn R. Grisdale Michael Grossman Haynes Neurosurgical Group PA Babette Solon Hollister Mr.& Mrs. James P. Jenkins Joan M.Johnson Constance L. Jones & Karen E. Semenuk Mr.& Mrs. Zachary Julius Thomas L. Kempner, Jr. & Katheryn C. Patterson Mark R. Killingsworth Christopher F. & Catherine R. Kinney Carol L. Kinder Ernest Kohn Mrs. D.F. Kovarik Mark & Taryn Leavitt Judith Lehman & Dallas Moore Linda Lee Lowry

Eva M. Mattina Jane & Saleem Muqaddam Orestes & Amalia Paizes Richard & Laura Parsons Mr.& Mrs. Peter J. Pettibone Nina Pinksky J. Randall Plummer Cynthia & Ovide Pomerleau Ruth Proffitt Queens College Department of Anthropology Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Margaret Z. Robson Jeffrey Rubin Riccardo Salmona & Bill Doyle Lois & Charles Sawyer Stephanie Titus Schley Donald Scott The William B. Simmons Family Lorri Sippes & Margaret Hosteler Mr.& Mrs. David A. Stewart Betty M.Stagg Helene Tarnarin Akinori Tomohara Marree & John Townsend Thomas M.Urquhart Dr. Sid von Reis Gerard C Wertldn Ilene S. Wittner

JEAN LIPMAN FELLOWS Jeremy L. Banta Mr. Ronald Bourgeault Mary Benisek & Don Walters Edith S. Briskin Edward & Margaret Brown Virginia G.Cave Marjorie Chester Nancy Drucicman Andrew EcIlin Gloria Einbender Peter & Barbara Goodman Howard M.Graff Mr. Richard W. Herbst Harvey Kahn Susan Kleckner Susan & Jerry Lauren Mr.& Mrs. Gerald M.Lodge Eric J. Maffei

Anne & Jeff Miller Keith Morgan Wendy Nadler J. Randall Plummer Cheryl Rivers Luise Ross Carol Peden Schatt Donna & Marvin Schwartz Jean S. & Frederic A. Sharf Harvey S. Shipley Miller Linda & Ray Simon Mr.& Mrs. R.L Solar Mr. William W. Stahl Jr. Su-Ellyn Stern Donald & Rachel Strauber Tracy Goodnow Art & Antiques Dr. Sini von Reis

RECENT DONORS TO THE COLLECTIONS

ANTON HAARDT GALLERY 2858 Magazine St. NewOrleans, LA 70115 (504)891-9080 t (504) 897-2050 f www.antonart.com

94 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

Rebecca Alexander Larry Amundson & Gordanna Amundson Cole Brother Industries, Ltd. Barbara & Tracy Cate Nek Chand Maury Cohen Creative Growth Art Center Herbert 8c Dolores Danska Ralph 0. Esmerian Jane Ferrara Josh Feldstein Jane Fonda Charlotte Frank Jack L. Goldstein Mr.& Mrs James Goodman Lewis & Jean Greenblatt Jerry Grossman Nicholas Herrera Marion Harris & Jerry Rosenfeld Dr. Jean Ellen Jones & Alan Pieper Ivan & Marilynn Karp J.M. Kaplan Fund Ray Kass & Dr. Jerrie Pike

Steven & Helen Kellogg Ed & Lee Kogan Gad & Michael Mendelsohn Kathryn Morrison Alan R. Moss & Robert D. Walsh Cyril I. Nelson Setsuko Obi Palley Family Pauline C. Pharr Claudia Polsky Dorothea & Leo RabIcin Frances Rasmussen Joe P. Rhinehart Gleaves Rhodes John & Margaret Robson Cheryl Rivers Margaret Hardy Sachter Steven Scudder Smith The Steel Quilters Unilever United States, Inc. Thea Westreich & Ethan Wagner David B. Wiggins Sharon Yenter Miriam Troop Zuger

ANNOUNCEMENT

john

nelson

Museum Hours and Admissions AMERICAN

0 LL_ MUSEUM

American Folk Art Museum 45 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212/265-1040 Admission: Adults

$9

Students

$5

Seniors

$5

Children under 12

Free

Members

Free

Friday evening Free to all

6:00-8:00 PM

eye to the dioine,

r,1

100 works"

vanier Museum Hours: Tuesday-Sunday

10:00 Am-6:00 PM

Friday

10:00 Am-8:00 PM

Monday

Closed

Shop Hours: Daily

10:00 Am-6:00 PM

Friday

10:00 Am-8:00 PM

jan 1 - jan 30

galleries

7106 E. Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

(NDtqo ARTS ii

American Folk Art Museum Eva and Morris Feld Gallery Two Lincoln Square Columbus Avenue Between 65th and 66th Streets New York, NY 10023 Phone: 212/595-9533 Admission: All

Free

Museum and Shop Hours: 11:00 AM-7:30 PM Daily

800.890.9559

111

AP' .4.446tok 4gw4441111" saiso.4 Jose Garcia Montebravo (Cuba), 1999

Popular and Folk Art from Asia, Africa and the Americas Cuban Self-taught Art •Latin American Folk Art Haitian Paintings6-Vodou Flags •African Barber Signs Ethnographic Sculpture, Furniture &Textiles 151 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 215-922-4041

Monday

11:00 Am-6:00 PM

www.incligoarts.com

WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

95

EPSTM/POWEILL 66 Grand St., New York, N.Y. 10013

By Appointment(212) 226-7316 e-mail: art.folks@verizon.net

Jesse Aaron Rex Clawson Donovan Durham Antonio Esteves Victor Joseph Gatto (Estate) Lonnie Holley S.L. Jones Charlie Lucas

Justin McCarthy Old Ironsides Pry Popeye Reed Max Romain Bill Roseman Jack Savitsky Clarence Stringfield Mose Tolliver and other American outsiders

INDEX

Allan Katz American Folk American Primitive Gallery American Stoneware The Ames Gallery Andover Fabrics Anton Haardt Gallery Barbara Ardizone Beverly Kaye Brant Mackley Gallery Carl Hammer Cavin-Morris,Inc. Charles P. Regensburg Charlton Bradsher Cherry Gallery Christie's Clifford A. Wallach Folk Art Connecticut Antiques David Wheatcroft Antiques Denyse Schmidt Epstein/Powell Fleisher/011man Gallery Galerie Bonheur Galerie Susi Brunner

96 WINTER 2002/2003 FOLK ART

9 80 16 90 12 78 94 34 93 26 19 10 32 29 23 69,71 31 90 2 70 96 11 72 93

Gammon Records 80 Garde Rail Gallery 87 Gemini 34 Gilley's Gallery 40 Ginger Young 26 Gold Goat Antiques 25 Goodrich Promotions 77 Hill Gallery 27 Indigo Arts 95 J Crist 3 Jackie Radwin Back Cover Jan Whitlock 29 Jeanine Taylor 91 Jeff Bridgman American Antiques 33 Jeffrey Beal Henkel 22 John Nelson 95 Judy Saslow 40 Karen S. Robinson 94 Keeling Wainwright Associates 83 Kentucky Folk Art Center 24 Laura Fisher Antiques 21 Leslie Muth Gallery 87 Lindsay Gallery 18

Margaret Shaw 91 Mary Michael Shelley 92 Mennello Museum 70 Northeast Auctions Inside Back Cover Odd Fellows 17 Olde Hope 14 Outsider Art Fair 38,39 Raccoon Creek Antiques, L.L.C. 30 Ricco/Maresca Gallery Inside Front Cover,41 Sanford Smith 73 Sidney Gecker 21 Skinner 67 Splendid Peasant 35 Stella Show Management 79 Steve Miller 1 Tesoros Trading Company 92 The American Antiques Show 36, 37 Thomas Schwenke Inc. 5 Thurston Nichols American Antiques 13 Trotta-Bono 4 Walters/Benisek 6

Prior-Hamblin School

NORTHEAST AUCTIONS Ronald Bourgeault, Auctioneer 93 Pleasant Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801 Tel:(603)433-8400 Fax:(603)433-0415 www.northeastauctions.com

AWL • 111

JACKIE RADWIN

Rare Full-bodied Cow Weathervane with Horns.

Wonderful thin body with stylized form and twisted tail.

New England circa 1870-80. 33" long.

By appointment • San Antonio, Texas •(210) 824-7711 Visit us at our website www.jackieradwin.com