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An adorable folk watercolor portrait of a young boy in a blue skeleton suit with a frill that was narrow and high at the neck.  His red hair is short and combed to the front.  The reverse bears an inscription written in 19th century ink that says "George James Johnson / about 1819-20 / sketched by his uncle / Tom Richards".  The point that I think is most charming about this portrait miniatures is that the head of George Johnson is cut and paste.  My best assumption is that Uncle Tom was not happy with his first rendering of George and, rather than start over, repainted the head, cut it out and pasted it onto the finished body.  The paper is the same as the original and dates to the same period.  The paint flows smoothly flows smoothly from one level to the next.  Uncle Tom must have painted the cross-hatched background after giving George a new head because it flows easily across both levels.  This little portrait makes a real folk art statment!  The period hardwood frame (oak or chestnut) measures 4" x 5".  Found in New York.  Circa 1820.

I attempted to do some genealogy research on young George.  I did find a George Johnson born in Keene, NY in 1810 to Timothy Johnson and Dimis (or Demmis) Welch Johnson.  I followed the parents Timothy and Dimis Johnson as far as I could but did not find that either had a sister who married Tom Richards.

(#4450)     $875    

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