Episode 59 | Matt & Sully Dig Through a 400-Piece Folk Art Collection
Matt and Sully are back at Ledbetter Auction Gallery in Gibsonville with a fresh stack from a 400-piece single-owner folk art collection that just came through the door.
The collection had already been unboxed and was waiting to be photographed, but Matt had not fully gone through it yet. So instead of picking their own favorites from around the gallery, Matt and Sully grab a random stack of about 40 pieces and start digging in with fresh eyes.
This episode is a look at what a real folk art collector collects: the known names, the lesser-known artists, the pieces that need more research, and the kind of work that only starts to make sense once you slow down and really look at it.
The stack starts with a carved Calvin Cooper dog, then moves into work by Po Phil, Levent Isik, Alpha Andrews, Kaye Simmons, Sam Ezell, Bob Newell, Richard Burnside, John Burgess, Myrtice West, Aretha Hardy, Albert Wagner, Purvis Young, Willie White, and more.
There are auction estimates, artist stories, a few mystery signatures, and plenty of moments where the guys have to admit they do not know everything yet. That is part of the point. This is what it looks like when a collection arrives, the research starts, and the pieces begin to tell you where they came from.
Do you know a folk artist or have a picking story worth sharing? Reach out to the show:
CHAPTERS
00:00 | Welcome Back to House of Folk Art with Matt and Sully
02:42 | First Up: The Wood Carved Dalmatian
04:20 | Matt’s First Pick from the Stack
06:00 | Sully Learns About Levent Isik
07:40 | Mixed Media in a Frame
08:26 | Reminiscent of Bernice Sims
09:15 | Matt’s Favorite Piece So Far
10:07 | Sam Ezell Shows Up in the Art Pile
11:25 | Mail Pouch Chew
12:14 | Richard Burnside from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
14:04 | Key West Folk Art
16:26 | An Incredible Memory Painting of Quilt Making
18:04 | Myrtice West, Self-Taught Visionary Artist
20:43 | Gold Framed Folk Art?
22:15 | Animals & Angels
23:25 | Albert Wagner 26:08 | Folk Style, But…
26:55 | An Early Sam Ezell
27:42 | Purvis Young and Goodbread Alley
31:58 | Folk Art Framed in PVC Pipe
32:59 | A Series of Folk Paintings
34:08 | A.B. the Flag Man, Don’t Forget It
40:17 | Folk Art from a Coal Miner
42:59 | The Art of Willie White
46:20 | Alpha Andrews on Mixed Paper
48:19 | James Bland Folk Art Face
49:58 | Back to Myrtice West
51:47 | Grilling Is Pleasing
53:31 | Butch Anthony Face Pan
55:25 | Back to A.B. the Flag Man
57:52 | One More Time with Levent Isik
01:00:57 | A Good Day at the Auction Gallery
Do you know a folk artist or have a picking story worth sharing? Reach out to the show:
(919) 410-8002
Leave your name and where you are from and you might hear yourself on a future episode.