RARE ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR ON PAPER PORTRAIT. STRONGLY ATTRIBUTED TO JOSEPH H. About 10 1/2″ x 12″ sight size. 13 1/2″ x 14 3/4″ overall. Framed watercolor of an unidentified female subject standing in profile. In her right hand, she holds a book, and in her left she holds what appears to be a beaded purse. The gilt-lined frame and backboard appear to be original. The glass is probably not. A naive or folk artist, he combined drawing with watercolor to produce one-hundred fifty surviving small-scale portraits of New England families. While many of the paintings are in the homes of the descendants of those depicted in the works, three paintings are in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. And another in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Little is known about Davis’s own life before and after his brief career. On one portrait, he identified himself as a left-handed painter. Because quills, ink pots, and writing materials appear in so many of his paintings, it is thought that he may have been a traveling handwriting teacher. Davis’s work has been highly appreciated by folk art collectors for decades, but there have never been enough examples to satisfy those appetites. Some reddish foxing in the background, and a small hole in the upper right corner (visible in the images). The painting was removed from the frame at least once, prior to my acquisition, as the contemporary push points attest. Perhaps 25-50 years ago, the split in the backboard was repaired with nylon filament tape. I did examine it out of the frame myself. Some of the foxing stains show through the paper, and there is very little, if any, bleed through of the colors. Davis is only known to have signed one of his extant paintings, calling himself the aforementioned left handed artist. The stiffness of the pose, the hand treatment, the clothing treatment, the carefully delineated facial features in standing profile, the treatment of the accompanying articles, i. The book, the purse, the rug on which the subject stands, are all in close alignment with Davis’s known works on record. I unconditionally guarantee all my sales 100%. The item “Original Primitive Folk Art portrait painting Joseph H Davis attr watercolor NH” is in sale since Wednesday, August 1, 2018. This item is in the category “Art\Paintings”. The seller is “allenpeach” and is located in Tenants Harbor, Maine. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Size: Medium (up to 36in.)
- Region of Origin: US
- Artist: Joseph H. Davis
- Style: Americana
- Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
- Quantity Type: Single-Piece Work
- Painting Surface: Paper
- Medium: Watercolor
- Date of Creation: 1800-1899
- Year: 1834
- Features: Framed
- Width (Inches): 13
- Subject: Portrait
- Originality: Original
- Height (Inches): 15
