Lot 333: JOSEPH H. DAVIS (WORKING 1832-1837)

Portrait of a Mother and Son
label reads found Pennsylvania collection/originally from Wilde Collection, New England
watercolor on paper
9 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches

The Downtown Gallery, Inter-American Folk Arts, December, 1942, NY

Three New England Watercolor Painters, list number

Found Pennsylvania collection
Isabella Carleton Wilde Collection,
Collection of Harpo Marx
American Folk Art Gallery, New York

Property from the Family of Edith Halpert

Working primarily in New Hampshire and Maine between the years 1832-1837 Joseph H. Davis, was one of New England's most prolific artists. Working, in bright watercolor and ink and painting in profile, in his distinct style, Davis rendered facial features with linear precision and objects signifying middle-class taste with particular description. The objects rendered in his interiors usually revealed the profession or vocation of the sitters. The subjects are usually identified along the bottom edge in a fine calligraphy hand identifying their name and the date.