American or Northern European, circa 1890–1915
Carved and painted wood
6” H × 3½” W × 3½” D
A wonderfully eccentric and immensely appealing little folk portrait, depicting a stout elderly gentleman settled comfortably into his chair, hands planted firmly upon his knees and wearing one of the most knowing smiles imaginable.
Carved from a single block of wood, the figure is remarkably ambitious for its diminutive six-inch scale. The old fellow has an extraordinarily expressive face: deeply set and slightly squinting eyes, fleshy cheeks, prominent nose, pronounced jowls and a marvelous crooked half-smile that gives him the unmistakable appearance of a man who knows something we don’t. His wonderfully bald crown is surrounded by a carefully carved fringe of gray hair along both sides and across the back—one of several highly individualized details suggesting the carver may well have been portraying someone he actually knew.
He is smartly dressed in a dark buttoned waistcoat over a cream shirt with deeply carved, wonderfully rumpled sleeves, dark trousers and substantial black shoes. Even the soles and heels received the carver’s attention.
Particularly charming is the integral chair, carved along with the sitter from the same block of wood. Its paneled back, uprights, seat and legs are carefully worked out around the figure, with deep excavation beneath emphasizing the surprisingly sculptural nature of the whole composition.
Retaining a wonderfully dry, worn painted surface with the bumps, cracks and abrasions accumulated through generations, this little gentleman has precisely what the best anonymous folk carvings possess: personality in abundance.
A delightful piece of vernacular portraiture—six inches tall, slightly mischievous, and absolutely impossible not to smile back at.