Self-Portrait of The Artist at Work, c. 1960's. Paint on board. Image is 23.5" w x 14" h. Frame is 29.5" w x 19.5" h. Est. $8,000 - $10,000. Ship: $50 (air shipping) Provenance: Francois Mignon. Francois was the literary assistant to "Miss Cammie," the owner of the Melrose Plantation where Clementine lived. Mignon provided Hunter with paints and she, in turn gave Mignon a gift of this painting. The piece has a newspaper article, entitled "Bucket Lillies" affixed on the back that was written by Francois Mignon in a Natchitoches newspaper article (Sept. 5, 1967) after receiving the work from Clementine. The article opens with, "Today I find myself the proud posssessor of a new painting slap off the easel of the Can River atleier of Clementine Hunter. Its wet paint still glistened as the artist 'marked' her initials and handed the canvas to me. Once glace sufficed to provide the caption for the picture: "Bucket Lillies." The consignor purchased this piece and then proceeded to do research on the background. First he ordered the DVD that was a tour of Melrose completed in 1968 by Dr. Due Eakin (released by the Cane River Historical Society). To the consignor's delight he discovered that Eakin, using a reel to reel tape recorder and a black and white camera, had captured footage of Francois Mignon setting in a room of Melrose Plantation with Bucket Lillies displayed over his shoulder (the photo shown here is from the DVD. The consignor's research also revealed that the painting hung in a Melrose room used by Francois for several years. It was his pride and joy. It was auctioned during the Melrose auction and purchased by an individual from Los Angeles, a noted fashion designer by the name of Rudi Gernreich (famous for designing topless swimsuits and movie costumes). Upon the death of Mr. Gernreich, the painting was sold in his estate and disappeared until resurfacing at this auction.

Mint condition. This piece comes with an appraisal from Shelby Gilley of Gilley's Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA. authenticating this piece as an original work by Clementine Hunter.