Jack Kerouac's Personally Used Art Supplies, from his Estate

Art supplies personally owned and used by Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), the famous American writer who brought us On The Road (1957), and the little-recognized amateur artist. Provenance: The pieces will be accompanied by an estate certification signed by John Shen-Sampas, executer of the Kerouac Estate by descent. John Shen-Sampas is the son of John Sampas, who was the brother-in-law of Jack Kerouac, and the brother of Stella Kerouac, Jack's wife.

According to John Shen-Sampas, Kerouac's artistic aspirations first emerged when he attempted a self-portrait at nine years old. Kerouac later said that he would rather be a painter than a writer, and when he was writing, he filled his notebooks and journals with sketches and doodles. While Kerouac was never really known for “his artistic endeavors in painting and drawing”, when he died, Kerouac “left a trove of portraitures, drawings and sketches behind”. These are some of the art supplies that Kerouac used to complete his artwork.

The lot is comprised of:

1. A "Fanny Farmer French Mint Squares" box containing Yello-Jacket markers, oversized Staonal waterproof general marking crayons, Crayola crayons, an Empire bi-colored colored pencil, and a hand-held pencil sharpener.

2. Weber Fine Artists' Pastels box containing whole pieces and fragments of Devoe and Weber brand pastels. Also including several tortillons (rolled paper drawing tools used by artists to smudge and blend.)

3. Hand-decorated wooden box with slide lid (possibly decorated using the Yello-Jacket markers mentioned above) stuffed with assorted Crayola crayons and chalk.

4. Steven's Kaleidoscope, still containing its multicolored mosaic pieces but with some apparent internal damage, 9" long.

5. An oval-shaped wicker basket with a plastic poinsettia flower tucked into the rim.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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