- Bid Now Online
- Low Estimate: $3,000.00
- High Estimate: $3,400.00
- Share this:
Helen La France (American/Kentucky, 1919-2020), "Fancy Farm Picnic" oil on canvas painting depicting figures gathering at a large, patriotic picnic in a wooded area, with a combination of both representational imagery and surrealistic elements. Signed and dated 2006 lower right and floated in a plain black frame. Canvas: 30" H x 36" W. Frame: 32" H x 38" W. Note: Since 1880, the small Kentucky town of Fancy Farm, near the artist's hometown of Mayfield, has been the home of the annual Fancy Farm Picnic. Held on the grounds of what was originally the Saint Jerome Parish School on the first Saturday each August, it draws a very large crowd and has become a traditional venue for political campaigning. The 2006 date makes this one of LaFrance's late career paintings, executed when she was 87 years old. Biography: "Self-taught African American artist Helen LaFrance was born on a Kentucky farm and began painting in her 40s. She is known for her "memory paintings" drawn from her recollections of life growing up in the rural South. Several museums and private collectors, including Oprah Winfrey, own examples of her work." (Source: "Helen LaFrance Folk Art Memories" by Kathy Moses). Helen LaFrance died November 22, 2020 in a Mayfield, Kentucky nursing home at the age of 101.
PROVENANCE: Private Ohio collection; ex-Duff Lindsay Gallery, Columbus, OH; ex-Gus Van Sant, Sr. Collection.
CONDITION: Overall excellent condition. Small area of wear to upper right corner of canvas, and a few minor spots of wear to the frame.
