Description: 1851 antique 19th century American School primitive folk art gouache painting on thick paper or card, inscribed lower left “United States New York December 15 1851” and artist-signed. The last name ends in “rer”, perhaps Burer or Fahrer (?).Painting measures approx. 11 x 14 inches w/ overall framed measurements at 14 5/8 x 17 4/8”. Replacement, added frame and cardboard backer is my doing.The artist has depicted a scene of the old home in Germany. There’s a boy playing tipcat peg whip, two men at the garden, and a woman in the window. I suspect the artist was one of the Forty-Eighters, who were Europeans that supported the the Revolutions of 1848, and ended up fleeing to America.What makes this painting a little masterpiece of American folk art painting is the perspective / flatness. Just look at those garden beds. The gentleman standing looks like he’s floating. The painting is like a dream, where the artist is reminiscing about the old country.On the surface, it makes no sense that a German type of artwork could be called Americana, but in fact, this painting with the script “Old Home In Germany” is far more ‘American’ than the Pennsylvania Dutch ‘Americana’ fraktur drawings / watercolors where the writing is in German, not English.In the exhibition at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina, entitled “A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America”, they organized the works in 3 sections: The Fine Art of Folk Art, Sculpture, and German Art with an American Accent. I’d think a painting like this would fit two of those three categories.One of the now well-known German-American folk art painters was Jacob Maentel. At the time the painting offered here was done, Maentel and others such as Ammi Phillips were actively painting. The folk art realm isn’t, however, all about the name-game like the fine art market usually is. Paintings by anonymous or unidentified artists are cataloged as “American School”. It’s about ‘the look’ and the sky’s the limit at country auctions like Pook & Pook and city auctions like Skinner.Another branch of German American folk art is called ‘fraktur’. These attract a lot of interest in real-life, even at country venues such as Horst Auction: “Frakturs were among the top lots led by an Ephrata Cloister Fraktur Memorial for Brother Obed, which realized $29,500. Another fraktur, this one depicting the Prodigal Son by Frederich Krebs, brought $22,500; two frakturs brought $15,500 each: one with religious writing made by Hans Jacob Brubacher and a fraktur Vorschrift by Christian Alsdorff”.There’s a big difference between folk art and naive painting. Naive paintings are bad paintings, like schlock art. Folk Art paintings tend to be far less sloppy and have a charm to them. You know it when you see it. This one brings to mind Shaker style or would look great in a room setting with painted furniture, samplers, theorems, etc.The painting needs restoration including relining. The cardboard backer (which the painting is not attached or glued to) and 1960’s frame are my doing. The painting was found unframed in an estate cleanout. It has thin paper pasted on the back that is somewhat holding it all together. CHECK MY FEEDBACK AND BUY WITH CONFIDENCE! *** 20+ years of happy customers on eBay *** Please see my other eBay listings for more great items.Message me to arrange for combined shipping on multiple purchases.
Price: 595 USD
Location: Pitman, New Jersey
End Time: 2024-08-23T20:09:14.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Artist: Signed
Unit of Sale: Single-Piece Work
Signed By: Artist
Size: Medium
Region of Origin: New York, USA
Framing: Framed
Personalize: No
Year of Production: 1851
Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
Item Height: 11 in
Style: Americana, Folk & Indigenous, Folk Art, Naïve art, Outsider Art, Primitivism
Features: One of a Kind (OOAK)
Handmade: Yes
Culture: American
Item Width: 14 in
Time Period Produced: 1850-1899
Signed: Yes
Color: Multi-Color
Period: Victorian (1830-1900)
Material: Paper
Certificate of Authenticity (COA): No
Subject: Americana, Children & Infants, Cultures & Ethnicities, Domestic & Family Life, Family, Gardens, Germany, Houses, Landscape, Topographical
Type: Painting
Theme: Americana, Continents & Countries, Cultures & Ethnicities, Domestic & Family Life, History, Hobbies & Leisure, People, Social History
Production Technique: Gouache Painting
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
