NEW YORK – Once again, trusted expert Clifford Wallach has curated an Americana, Folk Art, and Outsider Art auction for Jasper52, which means its contents will be a richly panoramic representation of rural American life from decades if not centuries ago. Starting at 6 pm Eastern time on June 3, it contains more than 550 lots of paintings, textiles, and decorative objects. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
The first standout is an 1845 sampler stitched by Susan Locke of Lexington, Massachusetts. She was definitely not a schoolgirl. When she finished the sampler, she was Mrs. Locke, not Miss Locke. The 34-year-old woman married a widower with five children and went on to give him five additional daughters. The 1845 sampler records Locke family lore, but it does not focus on the artist’s children. Instead, the silk-on-linen work enumerates her 11 siblings as well as herself, all born between 1811 and 1834. Curiously, Locke did not see fit to include her parents in the sampler–just herself, followed by her brothers and sisters: Joseph, Lavinia, another Lavinia, Sylvester, Abigail, Artemas, Matilda, Almira, Albert, Ali, and Benjamin, who was born in the same year she created the piece. Each name appears within a pear that hangs on a literal family tree. While the name Lavinia appears twice, Locke pointedly avoided incorporating any death dates in the sampler, which measures 19 by 18 in with its frame and carries an estimate of $3,000-$3,500.
Another interesting piece is an oil on canvas of Sir Thomas Pope Blount as a child. The portrait was painted sometime between 1711 and 1749, and is credited to an R. Dellow. The question is, which Thomas Pope Blount does it depict? Judging by the dates, it is probably the third of the three. The first Thomas Pope Blount earned the title of baronet in 1679. Upon his death in 1697, his son, also Thomas Pope Blount, became baronet. The third baronet–presumably also named Thomas Pope Blount–was the last; the title died with him in 1757. Of course, the portrait contains no hint of what is to come, and no hint that the child represents the end of his family line. He is shown holding a bow, swathed in a Venetian pink drape, and wearing what appear to be gladiator sandals. In the foreground, a young hunting dog growls at a pair of ducks that ignore its threats. The Blount portrait is estimated at $8,000-$10,000.
The final highlight of note is a circa 1910 cotton quilt top, estimated at $1,000-$1,200. Measuring 76 by 78 in, the quilt top features hand-appliqued eagles, moons, and stars that have managed to retain their bright, cheerful colors for more than a century.
[av_button label=’ Click to view the auction catalog and sign up to bid’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ link=’manually,https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/204725_americana-folk-art-and-outsider-art/’ link_target=’_blank’ size=’small’ position=’center’ label_display=” title_attr=” color_options=” color=’theme-color’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ btn_color_bg=’theme-color’ btn_custom_bg=’#444444′ btn_color_bg_hover=’theme-color-highlight’ btn_custom_bg_hover=’#444444′ btn_color_font=’theme-color’ btn_custom_font=’#ffffff’ id=” custom_class=” av_uid=’av-7ga8nvz’ admin_preview_bg=”]
View top auction results on LiveAuctioneers here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/pages/recent-auction-sales/