Lot 142: Sydney Lugger (American, 1925-1990), lot of three paintings, one pictured, "Figure in Winter",

c.1980; oil/panel, 24" x 12", signed, titled and dated, original frame. Lugger was an "outsider artist" from St. Louis. He had no artistic training or support for his endeavors. He ran a flea market in an impoverished area of the city, where he met many interesting people, including fellow peddlers, shoppers, and neighborhood children. Lugger was stricken with a crippling disease, which caused him a great deal of physical and emotional pain. He began painting because it was therapeutic, and eventually became obsessed with it, executing 1800 works within a four year period (1977-1981). He used commercial house paint and enamels, and painted on wall panelling, which he picked up at the flea market. He divided the pieces evenly, so almost every work he did was the same size. He also bought a supply of frame moulding of various colors and cut his own frames. The act of painting was a physical challenge to Lugger, and he approached it with an unusual intensity. Lugger~dq~s work is included in the "Outsider and Folk Art" collection of Dr. Everett James, who has written numerous essays on outsider art, and has established a museum for this genre in North Carolina.