Exhibited North Carolina watercolor landscape on paper by Charles Krutch (Charles Krutch, Tennessee, 1849-1934) depicting a landscape with a stream or river and large rocks in the foreground, a wide lush green valley and tree covered rolling hills to the center, with distant mountains visible in the background. Pen inscription en verso identifies the scene as "Old Fields of the Toe – near Linville, NC" and identifies the artist ""Unsigned Krutch Watercolor". Unsigned label en verso reads "The Dulin Gallery of Art on loan from Mr. Charles Krutch". Housed in a dark wood frame with ebonized sight edge. Sight: 7 5/8" H x 9 5/8" W. Framed: 13 3/8" H x 15 3/8" W. Artist Biography (Courtesy Knoxville Museum of Art): Krutch is regarded as one of East Tennessee's first painters to specialize in scenes of the Smoky Mountains. Krutch earned the nickname "Corot of the South" for his soft, atmospheric watercolor and oil paintings of the mountain range that served as his sole focus. Totally untrained as an artist, he often applied thick layers of oil paint with brushes as well as his fingers. Krutch's goal was to capture the changing "moods" of the mountains. Note: Before its founding, the town Newland, NC and the surrounding area, now Avery County, was known as "Old Fields of Toe". It was an early muster ground in the campaign against Indians and before the Battle of Kings Mountain. On November 9, 1783, the land was granted to Colonel Waightstill Avery. Toe refers to the name of the river that runs through the area. Avery County borders North East Tennessee.

CONDITION: Scattered foxing to sky area and lower right corner. Frame with scattered losses.