Monday, August 16, 2010

Girls Gone Wild on WWW.VandM.com


Read the latest post and check out the American Folk Art Museum exhibition Women Only.


I love tinsel art!

Tinsel paintings are definitely under-the-radar for folk art collectors. Made by women during the 19th and 20th centuries, these charming paintings were created by painting designs on glass and then backing them with crinkled foil. Little has been published about these second cousins of theroems, but they are charming and sometimes surprising. Most can be found, if you find them at all, in their original frames.

To see them check out museums such as the American Folk Art Museum and the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. I recently sold several at my shop on www.vandm.com/gabrielgibson and will be offering others for sale soon. But, none are as nice as the 2 below-now on view at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. The exhibition closes September 12 so check it out now.

Tinsel Painting: Jenny Lind, Artist unidentified, United States, c. 1850, Reverse painting and foil on glass and paper collage, 28 1/2 x 24 1/2" framed, Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner, 2009.13.3, Photo © 2006 Andy Duback


Tinsel Painting: Wreath, Birds, and Daguerreotype, Artist unidentified, United Statesc. 1855 - 1865, Reverse painting and foil on glass and hand-colored photograph in stamped-brass mat, 11 7/8 x 14", Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Day Krolik Jr., 1979.3.1


An inside view showing the white background paint on glass around the painted floral design of a tinsel in my collection.


An upclose view from the back


The foil backing