Melinda Kirkpatrick Folk Art Painting of a Whale and Ship, “Whale at Harbor”

Details

Description

Melinda Kirkpatrick Folk Art Painting of a Whale and Ship, “Whale at Harbor”
Contemporary

A great black sperm whale swims … Read more Melinda Kirkpatrick Folk Art Painting of a Whale and Ship, “Whale at Harbor”
Contemporary

A great black sperm whale swims straight across the foreground of this contemporary folk painting, close enough inshore that the whole width of the panel belongs to him. His jaw is open on a row of white teeth, one round eye set forward on the head watches the viewer, and the sea behind him is laid in flat bands of blue and green that give the whole picture its calm, graphic pull.

Further off, a three-masted ship stands by under shortened sail, the American ensign at her bow and a long pennant lettered “Nantucket” streaming from the mainmast. A red-banded lighthouse rises from a grassy headland at the right, and a wide blue sky with scattered cloud closes the scene. The oil on panel is set in a molded and carved giltwood frame with a foliate outer edge and a gilt slip, so it arrives ready to hang.

At just over two feet wide it is an easy piece to place. Hang it above a painted chest or a low bookcase in an entry, over the mantel in a study or a den, or in a stair hall where the gilt frame catches the light. It has the charm and directness of nineteenth-century whaling pictures without the fragility or the price, and it sits happily with antique furniture, coastal blues and whites, or a plain modern room that needs one warm, characterful thing on the wall.

Dimensions (framed):
Height: 21½ inches (54.6 cm)
Width: 25 inches (63.5 cm)
Depth: 1½ inches (3.8 cm)

Marks: Signed “Melinda” on the reverse of the panel.

Provenance: Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge

Historical Context: Melinda Kirkpatrick is a contemporary American folk artist based at Flowerness Farm in Brimfield, Massachusetts, which she founded with her partner Doug Kirkpatrick, a writer. She grew up in central Massachusetts, the daughter of an artist and gardener, and has painted full time since about 2013. Her subjects come out of New England history, literature, and coastal life, and she often works on reclaimed materials and antique boards, so that the support carries an age of its own beneath a modern image. Her paintings frequently include lettered captions or lines of verse.

Ref: NY11219-nmll See less