Two (2) Werner Wildner (Nashville, Tennessee, 1925-2004) works on paper. 1st item: Watercolor and gouache painting with graphite depicting the profile of an elderly man with flowing white hair and beard. Initialled "W." to left of neck. Johnson's Lamp Shade Shop, Nashville, TN black ink stamp, en verso. Housed under glass in a giltwood frame with off white linen liner and giltwood fillet. Sight: 8 3/4" H x 7 3/4" W. Framed: 12 1/4" H x 11 1/2" W. 2nd item: Graphite on paper drawing depicting a rotund gnome with a feather in his hat, holding a jug in his left hand and a cup in his right hand. Initialled "W." lower right. Housed and matted under glass in a wooden frame with bead course running pattern. Sight: 7" H x 5 3/8" W. Framed: 16 1/2" H x 14 3/8" W. Biography: Nashville painter Werner Wildner, known for his fantastical paintings and drawings of whimsical, sometimes grotesque creatures, was known to joke that he was "the reincarnation of Hieronymus Bosch." Wildner was born in Germany but emigrated to America with his family as a child and, as by his teenage years, was living in Nashville. He served in the Army in 1944 and studied art briefly at the Meinzinger Art School in Detroit. He practiced commercial art in Nashville for awhile, but by the mid-1950s had decided to pursue his own art career. A 1962 exhibit of his art at the Nashville art institution now known as Cheekwood led to greater renown as well as critical and commercial success. However, the death of his parents and collapse of his marriage in the 1970's led him to become reclusive in the last two decades of his life.

PROVENANCE: Private Nashville, TN Collection.

CONDITION: Overall very good condition. Not examined outside of frame.