Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Wishing everybody a wonderful holiday season and many good things to come in the new year! Apologies for the silence - I've been working on a very large project (portraiture, naturally) which is still very much incomplete, but, I hope, will be worth the wait. Until then: it's been a pleasure to get to know so many incredible people in the world of American folk art - collectors and experts and curators alike. I appreciate each and every one of you, so very much. See you all in 2025 :)  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Eyes of the Prior-Hamblins: Part 1 (Blake, Prior, Hartwell, Hamblin, Kennedy)

Image
The members of the so-called “Prior-Hamblin school” weren’t a school at all. Colleagues? Competitors? We still barely know. The five usual suspects - W.M. Prior, S.J. Hamblin, G.G. Hartwell, W W. Kennedy, and E.W. Blake - are constantly compared, mixed up, and conflated. However, despite their profound similarities, they all had their own quirks - especially when it comes to a pair of eyes. Part 1 of this post will address, illustrate, and explain the PHS's five unique methods for the so-called windows to the soul. The PHS problem has been tackled by exceptional folk art scholars for generations before me, so I don't expect this post to solve it. However, I hope that it will offer some useful clues.  Read on for the Eyes of the Prior-Hamblins.  - - -
READ MORE »

Misattribution Musical Chairs (Various Artists)

Image
What's your favorite Joseph Whiting Stock portrait? Maybe his charming niece and nephew? How about the one he painted after his death? - - - The girl on the left was sold as “Attributed to Joseph Whiting Stock (American, 1815-1855)” with much pomp and circumstance. It provides some wonderful catalog copy analyzing Stock’s difficulty with perspective, which I’m still very fond of, even if the attribution is dead wrong. Pun not intended. Guess what: the auction record for the identical companion portrait, the girl on the right , surfaced recently.
READ MORE »

The Eyes of the Prior-Hamblins: Part 2 (The Sixth Hand)

Image
One of the most vexing questions of the Prior-Hamblin School is how to tell five artistic hands apart. Now we have six. Recent research has revealed there's a particular version of the “flat style” face that doesn’t conform to any of the five known and documented Prior-Hamblins. After compiling and comparing many dozens of paintings, it has become obvious: we have a new artist on the horizon. Many thanks to Dr. Paul D'Ambrosio of Fenimore Museum for proposing that there is another unknown painter! I had gathered together a compilation, but was uncertain what to make of it. I consider this an incredibly exciting development. Like the rest, this artist paints highly distinctive eyes, which can serve as an attribution guide. Read on for the Eyes of the Sixth Prior-Hamblin. - - - 
READ MORE »

"In Behalf of Oppressed Humanity" Transcript (Deacon Robert Peckham)

Image
Here's the transcript of my talk for the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace about Deacon Robert Peckham, "In Behalf of Oppressed Humanity." Many thanks to Whittier Birthplace director  Kaleigh Paré Shaughnessy, and everyone who attended.  Links are available here: Presentation Slides / Video . The transcript is verbatim (made with Turboscribe ); brackets indicate edits for clarity. This is a bit longer than most blog articles - thanks for reading, if you do! - - -
READ MORE »

Deacon Robert Peckham Virtual Lecture: “In Behalf of Oppressed Humanity”

Image
I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been asked to give an online lecture on Deacon Robert Peckham’s life and works, by the Whittier Birthplace, home of John Greenleaf Whittier, Peckham’s famous portrait subject. Among other new discoveries, I will be unveiling Peckham’s letters to John Quincy Adams, America’s 6th president. It is on February 27, 7pm Eastern time. Zoom registration is required, but it is free. I hope to see you there! - - - Sign-up link: http://bit.ly/peckhamwhittier or https://www.whittierbirthplace.org/events/zfj3f4a5ezsbsc7f5ba847cb7wp277   
READ MORE »