top of page
19th century watercolor, ca. 1820. In a setting that conveys affluence, a young girl holding a garland of flowers is sitting on a grassy lawn under a tree. A gentleman is standing behind and to the right of her. Both are wearing the fashion styles of the period. In the background is a large house with well maintained lawns, lush trees, and outbuildings. This most charming piece is in excellent condition and conservation framed in what appears to be its original green painted frame. Provenance: Edith Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York; Isabel Carleton Wilde Folk Art Collection. Dimensions: sight 6.25” x 7.25”; frame 8” x 9”.
Isabel Carleton Wilde: During the 1920s and 1930s, Isabel Carleton Wilde was known as a pioneer in the appreciation and collection of American Folk Art. In 1933, her collection was displayed the Arts Club of Chicago: “The Isabel Carleton Wilde Collection of Early American Folk Painting”. In a 2015 exhibition entitled "Folk Art and American Modernism", the American Folk Art Museum displayed part of Wilde’s collection along with selections from other prominent collectors. The intent of this exhibition was to shed light on how portraits and paintings, carvings, painted furnishings, hooked rugs and sculptural objects influenced Folk Art as a new field of interest and collecting.
Edith Halpert: Edith Halpert is regarded as a pioneer in the recognition of American Folk Art as a legitimate art form. In 1926, Edith Gregor Halpert opened the first commercial art space in Greenwich Village, The Downtown Gallery, becoming the first woman in New York City to start such a business. Halpert used her gallery to create a market for American art, to redefine what American art is, and who an American artist could be. She frequently supported artists from diverse backgrounds, including women, African Americans, immigrants and others who had not previously been afforded opportunities. She also looked to the country’s past and revitalized the market for American Folk Art.
bottom of page