Pair of Folk Art Portraits on an envelope mailed with Pennsylvania House of Representatives Franking Privilege ? Civil War era

A pair of pencil portaits dated 1861,likely by a young woman, which were drawn on an envelope which appears to have been mailed using Congressional franking privileges. Franking gives Members of Congress free postage. The "scrap paper" drawings have an embossed Commonwealth of Pennsylvania House of Representatives stamp and was mailed in April 1861. Pair of Folk Art portraits 1861 Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Antique Folk Art Hearts on a String. Lucile Effie Morse and the Colors of Love

Poignant folk art showing the hearts and colors of love. Six hearts, each a different color representing a different kind of love. Hopefully the image is large enough to read the text. "This is mine, warm with for you. This is one fellow's heart green like himself. This is the heart of a blue person without a mate!" and more. Titled "Hearts drawn by Lucile Effie Morse." Folk Art Hearts, 1911. Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb. BOOKS AND EBOOKS ON FOLK ART AND POPULAR CULTURE BY JIM LINDERMAN ARE AVAILABLE FROM BLURB.COM

Antique American Folk Art Drawings by Mantie L. Throckmorton 1925

Two drawings by one Mantie L. Throckmorton 1925. Oil Derrick and a Bicycle which would be pretty hard to build...but what a beauty.  From a large sketchbook started around the same time the artist began taking lessons.  Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb

I'm not at the Outsider Art Fair 2020 Annual Post Children's Art Art Brut ?

The Outsider Art Fair snuck up on me this year, and while I haven't gone in a decade, for the same amount of time I've tried to come up with something interesting to share during the season.  This year the showing of Children's Artworks of the 1930s from the Kuniyoshi Collection made a choice easy, as I've been fascinated by the relationship between schooling and art creation a long time.  The psychological aspects of development through exposure to public schooling and mass media is relatable to both Outsider Art and and that of trained artists, children and otherwise.  I've collected some good examples of art from the age of development in which artists become artists…and the tools and techniques provided through schooling.  There is a period when artists decide they have become artists. 

From the start, I've avoided refrigerator art.  I suppose every child for the last hundred years in the United States has been handed paints and brushes in class at some time.  However, it is the exceptional students I look for.  Quirky examples with both beauty and some wonder…those with a little extra drive and motivation.  In each case, I will link to further pieces which have been posted here.  Hopefully, what will be revealed is a dozen categories of interest.

An example of the broad strokes and "folky" art of a child.  The subject matter is important, as Lou Gehrig was likely a hero to the artist.  This is an example of what I call Refrigerator Art.  If you are a parent, you'll understand. Anonymous c. 1939  Original Post

Boys like to draw war and weapons.  It is unfortunate we live in a world in which they are common.  Still, the most lovely and interesting work can be characterized by the same creative impulses which arise in in a child in a manner similar to that of talented adults.  Kenneth Hetrick 1931 
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In this case, it is a schoolgirl drawing the Man of Steel and Lois.  A good example of art influenced by popular culture, yet still showing an individualistic approach. Audrey K. circa 1950 
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Handmade books by children are common.  Here,  a schoolgirl creates a nice one using the preferred paper of children.  Manila!  Darlene Olds 1934  Original Post

Pages from a miniature cookbook 4" x 6" created circa 1940 - 1945 by Carol Birkett and her friend Patty.  Original text directions and a few clipped from magazines.  Original Post

The cover of a handmade sewing manual created as a class assignment. The woman on the cover is reading her own book!  Anonymous Circa 1950? Original post

Story of the Corn from scarecrow to the popper!  A narrative by an anonymous 19th century child.
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Art lessons in crayon.  Anonymous practice design reflecting school training circa 1910.  
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Dazzling detail on an Ohio schoolhouse by Ora Maxwell circa 1890.  It is often difficult to determine if a drawing is "folk art" or "art by a child" as  any distinctions can blur.  Original Post

A Jester performs.  An example from the numerous "coloring books" distributed in the late 19th century.  This drawing was copied from a commercial example provided for students to replicate in their own hand.  Anonymous circa 1900 Original Post

 

Circa 1880 Frederich Froebel paper weavings created by children in some of the more enlightened schools.  The educator and scholar was responsible for fitting lots of children into a world where color worked and lines mattered.  Anonymous Original Post

Examples of pre-punched sewing cards which were popular in teaching situations from 1880 on.  Young woman were taught the skills of domestic chores...and the subject matter was often religious.  Moral instruction while learning dexterity.  Anonymous completed sewing cards.
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The last examples are cheating, as they were drawn by a "Magic Pattern" toy from the 1930s or so.  Similar to the later common Spirograph!  Still, likely "drawn" by a child.
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There are plenty of other beautiful examples of art created by the young.  I avoid the psychological and developmental implications when looking for examples to collect.  I'll leave that up to the educators!  Many more examples are found on the blog.  
OTHER EXAMPLES OF I'm not at the outsider art show ARE FOUND ON THE BLOG WITH A CLICK...but one can just browse. See also this CLICK.  Many of the examples here were self published in my book Eccentric Folk Art Drawings of the 19th and 20th Centuries available in a paperback or an affordable instant download.

Pair of Birds Feeding Folk Art Schoolgirl Art by Audrey Kouba c. 1940 collection Jim Linderman

Pair of Birds Feeding Folk Art Schoolgirl Art by Audrey Kouba c. 1940 collection Jim Linderman
Books and affordable Ebooks by the author available from Blurb HERE

Folk Art Morton Salt Girl. Early 20th Century Appropriation of Brand Images Outsider Art

Here, Dorothy Hudgens recreates the Morton Salt Girl (invented 1914) in her presumably school age manner. The piece comes from a folder dated 1926.  Dorothy Hudgens lived with two artistic sisters. All were pretty good!  Still I wonder about branding young children. 

Outsider art fans might be interested in this piece by the artist James Castle.  Same time period, same salt?  James Castle piece is taken from the web, I am afraid I don't know who owns the work.
 
Collage c. 1925 Dorothy Hudgens.  Collection Jim Linderman.  
Thanks to Natalie Curley Antiques.

Schoolgirl Construction Paper c.1920 Untitled (Creamer) by Adele Hudgens Indiana

"In the late nineteenth century, a genre of colored educational papers were marketed to teachers in school supply catalogues (Andrews 1878, Babb 1897-98). the J.L. Hammett Co. catalogue (1895) of kindergarten supplies describes a variety of colored papers, and distinguishes between those colored papers that are coated and those that are "engine colored," or colored in the vat (Hammett 1895). the advantages of these "engine" or beater-colored papers are numerous. the Hammett Co. asserts that the "colors are mixed with the pulp of the paper, in the process of manufacture, and cannot be rubbed off by moisture or otherwise..." (Hammett 1895). These papers, according to the catalogue, are equally colored on both sides and are particularly suitable for folding. Importantly, the green colorants -- unlike some which were available -- do not pose a health risk because the dyes or "stains" are arsenic-free."  Construction Paper: A Brief History by Joan Irving The Book and Paper Group Annual Volume 16 1997  American Institute for Conservation.

Adele was one of three sisters who created such projects in Indiana from 1920 to 1924 which were found together.  Collection Jim Linderman