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“Mills” – The Last Supper – Original Folk Art Painting – Signed and Dated 1939 – Depression Era American Art. There are paintings that stop you in your tracks. This is one of them – and it has been waiting nearly ninety years for the right person to find it. This is an original hand-painted interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, signed “Mills” in the lower right and dated 1939 in the lower corner. It was painted by the uncle of the previous owner – a direct family attribution that gives this piece the kind of human provenance story that serious folk art collectors prize. It is one of a kind. There is no other like it. The Great Depression was not yet over. America was searching for its cultural identity, and artists across the country – trained and untrained alike – were responding to that search in deeply personal ways. The Works Progress Administration was commissioning murals. Regionalism was at its peak. Self-taught artists working outside the mainstream were producing some of the most powerful and personal images in American art history – images that the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the American Folk Art Museum now actively collect and exhibit. Mills was one of those artists. We know nothing about him beyond his name and this painting. But the painting tells us a great deal – that he was someone who looked at one of the most painted subjects in Western art history and decided to paint it his own way, in his own colors, with his own graphic sensibility. And that sensibility is remarkable. Rather than the warm browns and golds of the traditional da Vinci interpretation, Mills has painted his Last Supper in a bold, flat palette of deep teal green, terracotta red, cream, and dark navy – colors that feel simultaneously ancient and startlingly modern. The composition follows da Vinci’s arrangement faithfully – Christ at center, the twelve apostles grouped around the long table, the coffered ceiling receding into the background, the arched windows beyond – but the treatment is entirely Mills’ own. The figures are rendered in broad, confident flat shapes. The decorative carpet in the foreground – a geometric pattern of teal, cream, and terracotta diamonds – is a masterstroke of folk art design, grounding the composition and adding a decorative richness that the original da Vinci never attempted. This is exactly what serious folk art collectors look for – what one leading dealer described as aesthetic sensibility and especially graphic power. This painting has both in abundance. The flat graphic style, the bold color choices, the confident signature, and the 1939 date all point to a self-taught artist working with genuine creative vision rather than academic training – placing this piece squarely within the American folk and outsider art tradition that has been championed by major institutions and collected worldwide for decades. Medium appears to be gouache or tempera on board. Approximately 12 x 16 inches. Condition: Good for age. The painting shows minor wear consistent with its 86 years. Please review the photos carefully for a better understanding of condition. Photos are of the actual item up for sale. We make every effort to describe and photograph our items as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

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“Mills” – The Last Supper – Original Folk Art Painting – Signed and Dated 1939 – Depression Era American Art. There are paintings that stop you in your tracks. This is one of them – and it has been waiting nearly ninety years for the right person to find it. This is an original hand-painted interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, signed “Mills” in the lower right and dated 1939 in the lower corner. It was painted by the uncle of the previous owner – a direct family attribution that gives this piece the kind of human provenance story that serious folk art collectors prize. It is one of a kind. There is no other like it. The Great Depression was not yet over. America was searching for its cultural identity, and artists across the country – trained and untrained alike – were responding to that search in deeply personal ways. The Works Progress Administration was commissioning murals. Regionalism was at its peak. Self-taught artists working outside the mainstream were producing some of the most powerful and personal images in American art history – images that the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the American Folk Art Museum now actively collect and exhibit. Mills was one of those artists. We know nothing about him beyond his name and this painting. But the painting tells us a great deal – that he was someone who looked at one of the most painted subjects in Western art history and decided to paint it his own way, in his own colors, with his own graphic sensibility. And that sensibility is remarkable. Rather than the warm browns and golds of the traditional da Vinci interpretation, Mills has painted his Last Supper in a bold, flat palette of deep teal green, terracotta red, cream, and dark navy – colors that feel simultaneously ancient and startlingly modern. The composition follows da Vinci’s arrangement faithfully – Christ at center, the twelve apostles grouped around the long table, the coffered ceiling receding into the background, the arched windows beyond – but the treatment is entirely Mills’ own. The figures are rendered in broad, confident flat shapes. The decorative carpet in the foreground – a geometric pattern of teal, cream, and terracotta diamonds – is a masterstroke of folk art design, grounding the composition and adding a decorative richness that the original da Vinci never attempted. This is exactly what serious folk art collectors look for – what one leading dealer described as aesthetic sensibility and especially graphic power. This painting has both in abundance. The flat graphic style, the bold color choices, the confident signature, and the 1939 date all point to a self-taught artist working with genuine creative vision rather than academic training – placing this piece squarely within the American folk and outsider art tradition that has been championed by major institutions and collected worldwide for decades. Medium appears to be gouache or tempera on board. Approximately 12 x 16 inches. Condition: Good for age. The painting shows minor wear consistent with its 86 years. Please review the photos carefully for a better understanding of condition. Photos are of the actual item up for sale. We make every effort to describe and photograph our items as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

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American Folk Art Oil Painting laid down on On Paper – Depression Era 1930’s Naive Primitive 15″ x 17″.

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Charming Vintage American Folk Art Oil Painting-by Violet dated 1933 Depression Era – scuffing and minor paint loss – on board – vintage condition- 19″ x 31″.

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Original 1930’s WPA Depression Era Farm Oil Painting. Farm scene with animals, trees & buildings. Signed & dated lower right, Andrews 1937. 20 1/2″ x 24 3/4″ frame. 16 1/2″ x 20 3/4″ sight. Condition- Painting has scratches, chips, craquelure & soiling. Frame has chips & appears to have mold. We have not removed it from frame. Track Page Views With. This item is in the category “Art\Paintings”. The seller is “finelitter” and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Features: One of a Kind (OOAK)
• Region of Origin: US
• Production Technique: Oil Painting
• Item Length: 24 3/4\
• Item Height: 20 1/2\
• Subject: Farm Landscape
• Size: Medium
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Material: Oil on Canvas
• Time Period Produced: 1925-1949
• Framing: Framed
• Artist: Andrews
• Year of Production: 1937
• Style: Americana, Folk Art, Primitivism, Vintage, WPA
• Signed: Yes
• Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
• Type: Painting

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This WPA impressionistic landscape oil on canvas painting looks like it should be on the cover of Steinbeck’s novel, “The Grapes of Wrath”. It has so many elements of what one wants in a WPA painting…. The rural landscape pose, a deterioration, deprivation, contrasted with progress and survival. Don’t miss the chickens, telephone poles and even wires faint across the blue sky, and an old car sits below the barn or maybe even turned living quarters. Overall condition is good, not perfect at all. The painting has a very small tear on the barn, better seen on the reverse photo of canvas backside. And there are some paint flakes here and there, and tiny flakes along a slight canvas ripple heading off to the upper right corner. Once you get over those flaws, you stand back and can’t stop looking at it. Its flaws do not take away, it’s as if they add to it, and it has so much emotion to it. In the lower left corner, it looks like a signature, A K____. But I can’t decipher it with certainty. It looks like a well accomplished WPA painter, and I wish I could know who the artist is without any doubt. Measures 25 ” x 21 ” framed 20 ” x 16 ” unframed. If you love rural farmhouse and historical social movement statements, and anything to do with WPA and The Great Depression era, you will love adding this to your home! The item “Vintage 1930s WPA Rural Works Progress Industrial Depression Folk Art Oil Canvas” is in sale since Thursday, March 31, 2016. This item is in the category “Art\Paintings”. The seller is “dovetailattic” and is located in Silverton, Oregon. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Russian federation, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Norway, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman islands, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Peru, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, China, Thailand, Switzerland, Brazil.

• Original/Reproduction: Original
• Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
• Medium: Oil
• Subject: Architecture & Cityscape
• Style: Impressionism
• Size Type/Largest Dimension: Medium (Up to 30in.)
• Date of Creation: 1900-1949
• Region of Origin: US

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