This is one of a pair of paintings I found together yesterday in Maine, clearly done by the same person and I think equally terrific. (The other is a little larger.) I assume it is a wolf chasing these two deer, both of whom show a bit of red paint on their front legs, whether documenting or foreshadowing their fate I am not sure, but certainly lending a sense of urgency and vulnerability. I love the use of white paint outlining their lower bodies, which, together with the slight lean of the trees behind them, gives a sense of forward motion to the whole scene. Plus the cocked eye of the second deer, looking right at us, and the exposed red tongue of the wolf behind. Very full of life.
9 1/4" x 5 1/2" and in good condition. There is a bit of paint loss--small spots on the back of the second deer, and a little along the left edge of the paint, I don't believe detracting, and surface cracking to the chamfered wood below the edge of the painting at right as documented. Earlyish 20th century I believe.
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