Sugar Ray Robinson was good. He entered professional boxing with an 85 - 0 record as an amateur. Nearly half of those 85 fights ended with a knockout in the first round. Credit where due, I guess...is that he invented the posse. The entourage. Everybody wanted to be in Sugar Ray's camp. I am sure all the fighters painted here have similar stories. I always hated Leroy Neiman and his garish sports paintings, but these are great. A young, aspiring illustrator named "J. Gallagher" did them around 1950, but that's all I know about him. Watercolor Paintings of the Greatest Boxers by J. Gallagher, circa 1950 Collection Jim Linderman
The star here is Babs Wingo. I am not sure if women wrestlers ever really took off, not being a fan of the sport today. Mostly grown men in superhero costumes playing to an audience with limited education. But I would have gone to see Babs. Babs Wingo was no better at faking a move than the male performers, but she was out there with a few of her sisters. What a phenom. Her wrestling career was in the early 1950s. At time when African-Americans were segregated and abused, Babs was traveling on the road and climbing into the ring. One article from the time calls her and her tag team "grunters" but all the reviews were great. "Girls please crowd at wrestling show with hold galore" reads one. What a show! Babs apparently weighed in at 150 pounds. Only 5' 3" and just 21 at the time. She also painted. I'd love to see some of her paintings. Coming from New Orleans, she would possibly have seen painters lining Jackson Square with work for sale. Did Babs wrestle in heels? Hmm. Life is good with diversity, even in the ring. Babs blazed trails. Here is a time capsule film. It's great Detail from a recently discovered wrestling poster c. 1950 Collection Jim Linderman
American Folk Art Construction in a Hardware Storefront Window which celebrates the local football team winning a big game. Real Photo Postcard collection Jim Linderman.
Handmade Folk Art Road Construction Toys circa 1940. Includes fence, barrels, numerous road signs and warnings along with red flags. Collection Jim Linderman
Three hand-colored and handmade postcards mailed in sequence in 1910. Newspaper comic panels of Happy Hooligan (or a Happy Hooliganish spin-off) affixed to a card, then personalized with color and written references to friends or co-workers. The address side encourages the recipient to "share with the mail boys at the Ambridge Bridge Company in PA. Odd, but industrious! Collection Jim Linderman. For similar, see the book (and e-book) Eccentric Folk Art Drawings of the 19th and 20th Century available from Blurb.com.
