Folk Art

Five (5) drawings by self-taught African American folk artist John Henry Toney (Alabama, 1928-2019), multicolored marker and pencil on heavy paper, including one (1) titled "A Jint (Giant) Looking for Food" depicting a dinosaur, one (1) titled "Scales of Justice" depicting a balance with a multicolored base, one (1) titled "A Black Western Man" depicting a figure attired in chaps and a brimmed hat holding a gun with a blue image, possibly an enlarged bullet, to his right against a plain background with metallic dots, one (1) titled "She's on her Way to Work" depicting a female figure attired in elaborate clothing walking forward with metallic and blue dots surrounding her upper body, and one (1) titled "A Windmill' depicting an industrial windmill rendered in pink and blue with metallic dots surrounding the wheel. All works signed in the upper margins "Mr. John H Toney 69" and most signatures followed by "31 C D Seale Ala 8552479". All works titled on labels en verso. Ranging in size from 12" H x 11" W to 15" H x 11" W. Note: Also includes a booklet with information about the artist. Biography (from the Encyclopedia of Alabama): "Russell County, Alabama native John Henry Toney was a self-taught folk artist who began painting late in life. He worked in farming and briefly in a cotton mill but claimed that he was fired for drawing an unflattering portrait of his boss. In 1994 he was plowing a field for the Anthony family and unearthed a turnip on which he discerned a "face." He took it home, made a colored-pencil drawing of it, and then brought the drawing to Butch Anthony, who put the drawing up for sale in an antique store in nearby Pittsview. Renowned Alabama chef Scott Peacock purchased the painting, so Toney painted more, choosing subjects that ranged from everyday life to the fantastical. Created with paint pens or markers on posterboard and cardboard, Toney's drawings featured animals, exaggerated female forms in fanciful clothing, vehicles, and other subjects. He also often included personal information in the works, such as his birthdate and phone number. The inspirational turnip is now among the exhibits at Anthony's Museum of Wonder in Seale, Alabama. Toney's work also became a prominent part of the "Doo-Nanny," a folk-art and cultural festival that Anthony held on his family's property from 1996 until 2015 to showcase his own art and that of his friends."

PROVENANCE: Private Southern Collection, acquired directly from the artist several years ago.

CONDITION: Some with toning and errant staining, otherwise overall good condition. [See more photos →]

Six (6) Purvis Young outsider art works (some double-sided) on found paper including one (1) mixed media drawing of a figure holding onto a horizontal rail against a colorful background, one (1) mixed media drawing of an industrial scene with figures working at a train car adhered a reproduction detail of Adam in the Garden of Eden en verso, one (1) double sided work with a painting of black figure against a printed letter from the artists doctor on one side and a mixed media collage featuring a central abstract painting rendered in brown en verso, one (1) double-sided work depicting an abstract painting of figures rendered in purple and yellow on a music sheet with penciled song notes on one side and a mixed media collage featuring a central painting of abstract figures in shades of pink, purple, and yellow on notebook paper en verso, one (1) double-sided work with a mixed media collage featuring multicolored pen and marker drawings composed of an envelope, drawing, paper, and found paper on one side and a industrial pen and marker drawing depicting two figures working at a train car en verso, and one (1) painting depicting a horizontal row of abstract multicolored figures. Most signed "Young" within works. Ranging in size from 6" W x 10 1/2" H to 12" H x 9" W.

PROVENANCE: The Collection of Jay Justice, South Carolina.

CONDITION: All with fraying to edges, small tears and losses, possible errant material, toning and stains to paper that may have existed prior to artist use. [See more photos →]

Bessie Harvey (Georgia/Tennessee, 1929-1994) abstract folk art sculpture depicting a standing figure, comprised of painted driftwood mounted onto a 2 x 4 wood base with additional paint and bead decorations throughout. Unsigned. 13" H x 10" W x 3 1/4" D. Biography: Bessie Harvey was born in Dallas, Georgia, the seventh of thirteen children. She attended school through the fourth grade. In her early twenties she moved to Tennessee, living briefly in Knoxville and then permanently in nearby Alcoa, where she secured a job with Blount Memorial Hospital in order to help provide for her children and grandchildren. Although aware of her own creative gifts as a child, Harvey did not devote her full-time energies to making art until in her late forties. Seeking solace from life's challenges, she found strength and comfort in her faith and began to discern spirits in seemingly ordinary pieces of gnarled wood. In her makeshift basement studio, Harvey added paint, wood putty, shells, hair, cloth, and other items to each piece of wood in order to give vivid physical form to the spirit she perceived within. Her earliest creations tended to be small, simple figures decorated only with black paint, human hair, and shells or beads. Collectors began to recognize the raw expressive power of her strange, dark figures, and Harvey's reputation soared by the early 1980s. Troubled by local rumors that her work was the product of voodoo, Harvey one day in 1983 burned the contents of her studio. After a few weeks of self-reflection, however, she went back to work with the newfound realization that her sculptures were important messages from God to a troubled world. Her works became increasingly large, colorful, and elaborate and enriched by glitter, cloth, beads, and jewelry. She also embarked on a loosely autobiographical series, Africa in America, which she intended as a teaching tool for children in her community. By the time of her death in 1994, the series included more than twenty sculptural dioramas depicting the African American experience and race relations during and after the era of slavery. (source: The Tennessee Encyclopedia).

PROVENANCE: The collection of Cindy Spangler, previous Collections Manager for UT Ewing Gallery in Knoxville, Tennessee. Obtained directly from the artist in the late 90s, during a visit to her home in Alcoa while reviewing works to be exhibited in the gallery.

CONDITION: Overall very good condition with expected light wear. [See more photos →]

Group of six (6) small tramp art folk art wood boxes with chip carved decoration, including one (1) miniature chest of drawers with one large drawer topped with two smaller drawers on four raised feet, the whole with applied geometric decoration throughout; one (1) polychrome painted box with sliding top opening to interior compartment and one drawer to front, the whole with raised decoration; one (1) small folk art coin bank with dark stain having a glass bulb interior compartment, coin slot to top, and cork plug to underside; one (1) small lidded horizontal box with applied chip carved stepped decoration to each side on a stepped pyramidal base and felt-lined interior; one (1) small round apple form red-painted box, lidded, with removable stem handle; and one (1) small black plaster coated square wood box with chip carved rim, base, and lip, and brass latch. Items ranging in size from 3" H x 4 3/4" W x 4 3/4" D to 8 1/2" H x 9" W x 6" D. All items American, late 19th/ early 20th century.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: 1st item: Four losses to applied decoration on feet. 2nd item: Slight use wear and brown varnish coat. 3rd item: Slight surface wear. 4th item: Remnants of red paint to body, possibly replaced lid. 5th item: Losses to red paint, red paint is unstable and flaking. 6th item: Natural wood shrinkage and separation to plaster coating, some slight losses to coating. [See more photos →]

Three (3) Tramp Art carved wooden items. 1st item: Wall pocket or hanging magazine rack with a star medallion pediment and geometric chip carved decoration throughout, lined with a velvet interior. Front with an opening holding a restrike of an English print depicting dogs in an interior scene, under glass. 22" H x 16 1/4" W x 3 1/2" H. 2nd item: Miniature tramp art dresser or jewelry chest with applied diagonal chip carved line decoration throughout. Topped with a scalloped arch pediment having two shelves and a central rectangular mirror, two glove boxes with hinged lids and brass decorative ring pulls over a rectangular overhanging walnut top, plain walnut sides, and three drawers with brass ring pulls and a serpentine skirt. Back with old paper lining and printed cigar box wood. 19 1/2" H x 10" W x 6 1/4" D. 3rd item: Small tramp art cabinet with arched openings to body and chip carved risen decoration to top and base, applied carved designs to each side, with one drawer to bottom and stationary key pull. 15 3/4" H x 8" W x 4 1/4" D. All items American, Late 19th/Early 20th Century. Lot also includes two (2) Tramp Art books, TRAMP ART: A FOLK ART PHENOMENON by Helaine Fendelman & Jonathan Taylor, 1999; and A LEGACY IN TRAMP ART by Clifford A. Wallach, 2012.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: 1st item: Hinged front has become detached except by velvet lining. Some overall use wear and loss to decoration, especially at the corners. 2nd item: Scratch to mirror, mirror has been replaced, small loss to overhanging top at corner, slight scattered decoration loss. [See more photos →]

Three (3) tramp art folk art carved wooden boxes. 1st item: One (1) large lidded box with applied chip-carved stepped pyramidal decoration to each side mounted to a stepped base with a round pull to lid, lid opens to reveal a veneer-lined interior compartment, old paper lining to underside of base. 2nd item: One (1) hinged box with carved-chip decoration in geometric patterns to top and stepped decoration to sides, lid opens to reveal a velvet-lined compartmented interior, fitted with a brass latch. Third item: One (1) lidded box with applied chip-carved stepped pyramidal decoration to each side, lid with paper lining to interior and brass ring pull. Stamped to underside "Factory No. 220/ Dist Conn./ 100" and old label reading "..ng Hill or Mill, Conn." to underside. Ranging in size from 4 1/2" H x 11" W x 7" D to 16" H x 14" W x 15" D. All items American, late 19th/early 20th Century.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: 1st item: Slight surface wear and scattered losses to applied decoration, losses to veneer in interior compartment. 2nd item: Overall good condition with loss to wood near latch on lid, causing latch to be unfunctional. 3rd item: Possible loss of hinges, light surface wear to exterior. [See more photos →]

Andrew Clemens (American, 1857-1894) patriotic sand art bottle with the original label. Apothecary style glass bottle with round flat-top stopper and a cylindrical body filled with multicolored, layered sand in decorative stripe, swag, wave, and geometric patterns, one side with vignette of a 30-star American flag, the alternate side with a banner enclosing the name MRS. A. HARRIS. The base retains the original paper tag reading PICTURED ROCK SAND PUT UP BY A. CLEMENS DEAF MUTE McGREGOR, IOWA. 5 5/8″ H. Note: Andrew Clemens was born in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1857 and later moved to the town of McGregor. At the age of five, he contracted an illness (possibly encephalitis) which caused him to become deaf and mute. Clemens lived his entire life in Iowa, near Pikes Peak State Park. He and his brothers frequented an area of the park called Pictured Rocks, which was famous for its sandstone bluffs that were veined with iron and mineral deposits, resulting in over forty different shades of stone. He attended the Iowa School for the Deaf and as an adult he began working with this sand to form detailed pictures in glass bottles. His brothers helped to gather the sandstone and grind it into fine powder which Andrew used for his designs. Clemens created his designs using self-made tools, including “brushes” of tiny hickory twigs and bent fish hook tools; no glue was used. Clemens secured the sand with a scrap of velvet near the stopper, then sealed the lid in place with wax. The bottles were well received by the public – particularly riverboat travelers to McGregor, seeking souvenirs – and he was able to earn a livelihood selling sand art bottles until his death in 1894 at the age of 37. While many were sold, few have remained intact over the years. (Source: the Des Moines Register & The Smithsonian Institution).

PROVENANCE: Private Illinois collection.

CONDITION: Both the stopper edge and bottle rim with slight scattered chipping. [See more photos →]

Four (4) unframed Mexican folk art retablos on tin. 1st item: A half-length depiction of the bereaved Virgin Mary following the death of Christ. The tools of the Passion of Christ including flail, nails, sponge, and ladder accompany her. Written label with title "Madre de Dolores (Mother of Sorrows)", en verso. 10" H x 6 3/4" W. 2nd item: A depiction of the Virgin Mary's mother, Saint Anne, teaching young Mary to read by sharing a book with her; described with strong, linear brushwork. 10" H x 7" W. 3rd item: A half-length painting of a radiant Joseph affectionally embracing the Christ Child and holding his iconographic marker, the budding staff. Written label with title "San Jose {St. Joseph}", en verso. 7" H x 5" W. 4th item: A full-length depiction of Saint Boniface in a red cloak and soldier's helm, with martyr's palm and holding a cross. 9" H x 6" W.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: All items with some loss to paint and oxidation throughout. 4th item has significant paint loss, especially in lower left and on the body of the figure. [See more photos →]

Three (3) Mexican Folk Art retablos painted on tin depicting saints. 1st item: Painting depicting Saint Anthony of Padua holding the Christ-child and a lily with a book to his right. 2nd item: Painting depicting Our Lady of Light with the Virgin Mother holding the Christ-child in her left handing and holding onto a man with her right hand to keep him from falling into the abyss of sin, symbolized by the mouth of a monster. On her left, the Christ-child is being offered a basket of hearts by an angel. 3rd item: Painting depicting Saint Teresa of Avila holding a cross and skull in penitence and standing in an interior scene with a vase of flowers. All works with heights ranging from 9 1/2" H to 10" H and widths ranging from 6 1/2" W to 7" W. All late 18th/early 19th Century.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: All with significant oxidation, scattered losses, and warping cohesive with age. [See more photos →]

Five (5) Mexican folk art ex-voto retablo paintings on tin. All unframed with text in Spanish in the lower register. 1st item: Retable depicting a kneeling figure who holds a candle and looks upwards at the Virgin Mary, depicted as Our Lady of Solitude with iconographic markers, including crown (faintly visible), blue cape, and the cloud atop which she stands. 4 1/4" H x 6" W. 2nd item: A painting depicting five men, one of whom holds a burning candle and kneels in prayer before Our Lady of Solitude. Two soldiers ride on horseback and two farmers walk along beside them. 6" H x 8" W. 3rd item: A scene in which two kneeling men flank a kneeling woman in black, likely a widow, while one holds a candle with Our Lady of Solitude appearing before them. Behind the figures a train rushes forward, its black smoke trailing into a distant landscape. 7" H x 10" W. 4th item: A painting of a domestic space with eight figures, including Our Lady of Solitude. Several figures kneel in prayer while others attend to a person in a bed who is presumably ill. 10 1/4" H x 7" W. 5th item: A three-paneled painting in the first panel of which a group of men surround a child whom one holds in the air by its feet. In the second panel a family group with candles kneels before Our Lady of Solitude. In the third and largest panel a procession makes its way through a landscape with a church. Illegible text is faintly visible throughoutl. All five items likely early/middle 20th century.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: 1st item: Good condition with minute scratches and a half-circle indention to the tin, likely original, in the lower right. 2nd item: Very good condition with minute scratches. 3rd item: Fairly good condition with paint loss throughout, most noticeably on one of the kneeling figures, in the upper left corner, and on the sculptural element beneath the Virgin Mary. 4th item: Significant loss to paint throughout the image. 5th item: Some staining and residue throughout the image although most paint is intact, aside from along the lower edge. Linework in pencil may be a later addition. [See more photos →]

Two (2) Mexican folk art retablo paintings, both on tin. 1st item: Retablo depicting "Our Lady of Refuge" image, including Mary and Christ Child crowned in majesty and rising above heavenly clouds. Float mounted under glass in shaped tin frame with painted glass. Sight: 3 1/2" H x 3" W. Frame: 9 3/4" H x 6 1/2" W. 2nd item: A half-length painting of the Virgin Mary as "The Soul of Mary" ("Our Lady of the Incarnation") with iconographic markers, including dove (the Holy Spirit), radiant light, and roses on her arm and crown. Housed under glass in a shaped tin frame with painted glass depicting pink, blue, and white flowers. Sight: 5" H x 3 1/2" W. Frame: 9 1/2" H x 6 1/2" W. Both items are late 19th/early 20th century.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: Both items have paint loss, including scratches throughout the painted image and some cracks and scratches on the painted glass frames; both with scattered oxidation to tin frames commensurate with age. 2nd item also shows smudging of paint, including on Mary's arms and the left wing of the dove. [See more photos →]

Two (2) framed Mexican retablos painted on tin. 1st item: Painting depicting Our Lady of Sorrows with the Virgin Mother standing on a pedestal with her hands folded having the sacrificial lamb below and attired in an ornate blue garment. Inscribed "N. Sra de los Delores, de la Mision de Soriano" or "Our Lady of Sorrows, from the Mission of Soriano". Housed in a pressed tin frame with an arched top with foliate relief imagery, triangular wings, and a hinged glass door. 15" H x 8 1/2" W x 1 1/2" D. Late 19th century housed in a 20th-century frame. 2nd item: Painting depicting a woman kneeling with her hands folded in prayer with a devotional candle and a rosary facing the image of our Lady of Guadalupe surrounded by roses. Housed in a pressed tin frame with an arched top, foliate wings, and a hinged glass door. 16" H x 11" W x 3" D. Early 20th Century.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: 1st item: Oxidation and paint loss to image, light wear and rust to frame. 2nd item: Very good condition with fleabite rust oxidation throughout. Heavy rust oxidation to frame, areas of separation and warping. [See more photos →]

Three (3) Mexican folk art ex-voto retablo paintings on tin, all with text in Spanish in the lower register. 1st item: A two-paneled painting with a depiction of Jesus Christ in an outdoor setting and embellished with gold paint at left and a market scene with a woman selling fruit at right. 7" H x 10 3/4" W. 2nd item: A scene with the Archangel Michael at left, standing with sword atop a cloud, and a farmer fighting a man on horseback in the center. In the background, a farm landscape and orange sun are visible. 6 1/2" H x 9" W. 3rd item: A painting set at either sunrise or sunset and depicting a woman dressed in black kneeling in a verdant field filled orange and white flowers. In the upper right, a vision of Christ on the cross appears in the sky. Illegible text is scratched into the paint in the lower right. 6" H x 7" W.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of James Lewis, Carthage, Tennessee.

CONDITION: All three items with some staining throughout. 1st item has tape en verso to stabilize a crack forming along the right edge. 2nd item with scattered embrittlement in horzontal lines. 3rd item shows some oxidation throughout. [See more photos →]

Brass mortar and pestle, together with a blue folk art carved and painted pine wall bracket or holder. Holder: 18 1/2" H x 9" W. Mortar: 3" H. Pestle: 7 1/2" L. All pieces likely American, 19th century.

PROVENANCE: Private Urbana, Illinois collection.

CONDITION: Overall good condition. Frame with general expected use wear, losses and abrasions. [See more photos →]

1st item: Large wood Shaker style two-finger oval band basket or handled tray with copper rivets and an interior divider. 14" H x 19" W x 13 1/4" D. 2nd item: Miniature split white oak buttocks basket with a handle secured by nails at the rim. 5 1/2" H x 6" W x 6 3/4" D. 3rd-4th items: Two (2) carved wooden duck decoys, one (1) with hand-painted plaster coating and one (1) unpainted and assembled with separate head and acrylic eyes. Both with weights mounted to underside. Ranging in size from 5 1/2" H x 5" W x 14" D to 7 1/4" H x 6 1/2" H x 16 1/2" D. All items 20th Century.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of Donley and Eunice Hill, Andersonville, Tennessee.

CONDITION: 1st item: Surface scratching and splitting around nails. 2nd item: Overall very good condition. 3rd item: Craquelure and losses to paint decoration, one area of loss to head. 4th item: Natural wood shrinkage, use wear, and chip to one eye. [See more photos →]

Eight (8) Purvis Young (Florida, 1943-2010) outsider art paintings on paper depicting abstract figures, including one (1) depicting a group of red and black figures on an envelope; one (1) depicting a group of blue, yellow, and green figures on notebook paper; one (1) depicting a single abstract figure on narrow notebook paper; one (1) depicting a group of green figures on notebook paper; two (2) depicting a group of black figures on found paper; and two (2) depicting groups of yellow figures on found paper. All works signed. Ranging in size from 6 3/4" H x 5" W to 12" H x 8 1/2" W.

PROVENANCE: The Collection of Jay Justice, South Carolina.

CONDITION: All items in overall good condition. Some with toning, staining, and small tears present to paper, may have existed prior to artist use. [See more photos →]

Purvis Young (American/Florida, 1943-2010) yellow legal pad containing twenty-two (22) pen ink and marker on paper drawings featuring a variety of subjects including figures on horseback, portraits of people, abstract figures and animals. Most signed 'Young" in upper right corner. 11 3/4" H x 8 1/2" W.

PROVENANCE: The Collection of Jay Justice, South Carolina.

CONDITION: Some with errant paint, oil, and staining. [See more photos →]

Eddy Mumma (Florida/Ohio, 1908-1986) Folk Art/Outsider Art painting on cardstock depicting a half-length figure with orange skin and brown hair, rendered in gestural brush strokes over exposed white support. Identified as "Lori Justice" on sticker attached to verso: "$400 / Eddy Mumma / Lori Justice." Unsigned and unframed, includes general informational print-out. After 1969. 16" H x 10 1/8" W.

PROVENANCE: The Collection of Jay Justice, South Carolina.

CONDITION: Condition is excellent, with miniscule creasing to two corners of cardstock. [See more photos →]