Among my very favorite Pennsylvania finds, this one came out a late 1870s/early 80s sketchbook that was very much falling apart, so I extricated it. And it's about as pure an embodiment of the sort of drawing/watercolor I love as anything could be. I might guess it was inspired by a Fraktur wedding certificate, but don't know for sure--certainly I would call it a fraktur-style schoolgirl (or schoolboy) watercolor drawing, of the Pennsylvania folk variety. How full of life and mystery this pair of figures feels, surreal and a bit clown- or harlequin-esque with their red cheeks and red dotted noses and voluminous blue sleeves. And those fantastic fingers on their nearly entwined hands! Perhaps the red object held in hand between them in the key? I could look at this one forever.
I felt compelled to get this one into a frame, and thought the patterning on this antique silver gessoed wooden one suited it fairly well, but I'm not a framer and having it properly matted would be nice. (I've just mounted it to archival board with transparent archival tape--easily removed.) Framed, under glass (antique frame, original glass): 13 1/16" x 11 1/4". Paper: 11" x 8 3/4". Some creasing and stains to bottom corners of paper and a little toning along the far edges of paper. Color even richer in hand, wonderful.
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