"Big Ear": 19th Century American Folk Painting of a Gentleman

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Folk Artists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were often commissioned to do portraits of individuals or families. Many … Read more Folk Artists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were often commissioned to do portraits of individuals or families. Many artists were untaught. Their work was often characterized by a lack of sophisticated perspective, odd angles or viewpoints, and special attention to details.
This portrait exemplifies these characteristics of folk art.: First, it is not a typical, straitght portrait but it is done in profile, suggestive of the silhouettes that were popular in the nineteenth century. Second, it has great immediacy as it is done from a position unusually near the subject. The viewer feels him or herself to be a close observer, And thirdly, the artist has especially focused on the sitter's features -- his hair, his mustache, the sharp fold of his color. All is carefully in place, even the exceptionally bushy eye--brows. Similar to other portraits of the period, which were intended to document the sitter and reflect this/her status, this one ----so carefully coifed -- tells us that he was aware of his standing and stature,
The portrait is done on a hard board, placed in a decorative, stenciled, 19th century frame, the gold of which contrasts well with the darker tones of the with image.

This is both a typical portrait of the mid to late 19th century, and an unusual one, in the use of the profile angle. It could even have been done by an itinerant artist who may have used simlar elements in other portraits. It was found in upstate New York, not far from Albany. There is no signature. it would add a wonderful dimension to a folk art collection. See less