Antique Silhouette of Young Woman in Blue Dress Attributed to the Puffy Sleeve Artist

Peggy McClard Antiques

Americana & Folk Art

	This fabulous American folk silhouette is attributed to the Puffy Sleeve Artist. We don't know who the Puffy Sleeve Artist was, but he or she left behind a wonderful legacy of unique naïve silhouettes with hollow cut heads atop watercolor bodies. The profiles are all three-quarter length with women always facing left and men always facing right. The heads of women sit high above their bodies with long necks that give room to highlight their necklaces and fichus. Hair is added above the head with India ink or watercolor. The dresses are always painted, usually blue or black. The women's hair combs are cut into the hollow cut and sit high above their head. The right hands of the women rest at waist length and the left hands hold an accessory such as a book, purse, parasol, or flower. Books often bear the initials or age of the sitter and a date. Like the women, men have their hair painted around the hollow-cut head. The left hand is frequently in the man's pocket or resting at hip length. The right hands of the men holds a decorative object such as a hat, book, cane or even a trumpet. Hands of both women and men appear to be gloved. Many have been found in gilded frames with an inset rope, leading some to believe that these were the only original frames used by this artist. I believe that enough have been found in originally sized period frames that this artist may have used a number of different frames. Itinerant artists often bought frames from different frame-makers as they worked their way along their routes. All recorded dated examples bear the dates of 1830 or 1831. Work by the Puffy Sleeve Artist is so desirable that unknowledgeable (or unscrupulous) sellers often mislabel silhouettes in which women wear leg-o-mutton sleeves as work by this artist. This artist's work is unique and there is only one other anonymous artist who did work similar to this. Don't be fooled by ebay exclamations of grandeur. This lovely lady is a wonderful example of the work of the Puffy Sleeve Artist. Her dress is vibrant blue. The book she holds is inscribed "Aged / 18 / 1830". She wears a long necklace that is wrapped twice around her neck and then trails almost to her waist. The bust-line of her dress is scalloped with points up to her white fichu that is lightly outlines in graphite. There is a light moisture stain starting at the level of her mouth and going up into the top of the paper. The photos (both framed and the scans below of the unframed silhouette) show the moisture stain to a much greater degree than it actually shows in person. The 4 1/2" x 5 1/4" brass over wood frame is of the same period as the silhouette. The unframed scan shows that the paper is more toned where light shone through the oval opening of the frame....meaning the silhouette has been in this frame for a long time. The frame may be original. The glass is early and nicely bubbled. The white speck you see just below her first hair comb is actually a glass bubble. This is a great piece of folk art and a great contribution to any silhouette collection. (#4749) Price on Request Please see the Silhouettist Biographies page for more information about the Puffy Sleeve Artist.



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