Portraits

Antique Folk Portrait of Balding Gentleman Holding A Clay Pipe
  • Wonderful folk art portrait of a man seated in a stick-backed chair and holding a clay pipe.  This is one of those great pieces of folk art that you always hope for and seldom find.  The man is seated sideways on the chair, with his arm draped over its back.  Its seems as if the artist didn't quite get the perspective of the chair right--the front legs of the chair seem to angle off to the right while the seat on which he sits seems to angle to the left.  The gentleman is bald with a fringe of fairly long grey hair.  Like many older people of the day, this man is a bit old-fashioned for the first quarter of the 19th century, when his portrait was painted.  He wears eighteenth century-styled striped pants, stopping at the knees and buttoning there to keep them tight to his legs.  Below his pants, we see his blue stripped stockings.  He wears a black weskit (or vest) under a black jacket.  His white shirt and cravat are more in keeping with the time period of 1810.  He holds his clay pipe in a naïvely-drawn hand.  The artist painted a border around the card and painted a background of blue cloud-like brushstrokes with grey hatching toward the bottom of the painting.  This fabulously folky portrait is housed in a period painted decorated frame which may be original to the painting.  The 7 1/2" x 9" frame is definitely American and has a wonderful crusty surface.  The portrait could either be American or English.  This is a great find!

    (#4451)     $1250