Folk Art Nativity Paintings
Pintores de Tigua: Indigenous Artists of Ecuador
Tigua artists from high in the Ecuadorian Andes are renowned for their colorful paintings of rural life. Their delightful folk art, painted on sheep hide, celebrates their mountain life with its festivals, legends, and traditions dating back centuries.
Tigua is a collection of small communities southwest of Quito. Most of the people here are famers who herd sheep and llamas and cultivate potatoes, onions, barley and other crops on a patchwork of steep, windswept fields and valleys. Tigua artists are deeply bound to the land. Even though most Tigua artists now live on the outskirts of Quito, many return periodically to their communities to tend to their lands.
Traditionally, the Kichwa people of this region decorated drums and masks for use in colorful festivals like Corpus Cristi and Noche Buena. In the the early 1970′s, Olga Fisch, a Quito art dealer suggested the idea of painting on a flat surface—a sheepskin stretched over a wood frame. It changed Tigua art dramatically. As the market grew for these colorful paintings, more and more men and women from the area began to paint. Though lacking formal training, Tigua artists have seen their creations exhibited throughout Ecuador and beyond. Tigua paintings are now widely collected and prized for their vibrancy and detail.
Tigua artists paint almost exclusively on sheep hide. The paintings are invariably small, their dimensions limited by the size of the sheepskin. In the early years of Tigua paintings, most artists also painted and decorated the frames of the paintings, though now it is rare to find a painting with the decorated frame. There have also been changes in the type of paint. Not long ago, all Tigua artists painted with the inexpensive enamel paints available everywhere in Ecuador. But since these lead-based paints were found to be toxic, many have switched to oils or acrylics.
Tigua artists generally paint scenes of communal life: villagers herding livestock, spinning and weaving wool, harvesting crops and going to market, or enjoying a bullfight. Other favorite subjects are Cotopaxi, the sacred, snow-covered volcano, Quilatoa crater lake with its rugged slopes, and the condor, the legendary “messenger” of the Andes. Faces on rocks and mountains reflect the Tigua view that all nature is alive.
For the most part, Tigua paintings reflect traditional aspects of life with a broad perspective rather than portraits or abstract compositions—village or rural scenes of multiple figures, themes of community and nature are typical.
Festivals are a common theme. Although predominately Christian, the artists still represent the ancient rituals and festivals of pre-conquest origin. Festivals portrayed most frequently in Tigua paintings are Corpus Christi (celebrated in June, a fiesta uniting Inca harvest festivals with medieval Christianity), Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), and Tres Reyes (Three Kings). And since music is inseparable from the festival, Tigua paintings typically pay homage to musicians and their instruments—flute, panpipe, drum, and bocina, the long wood horns blown on special occasions. Dancers, too, are a favorite. Swaying and weaving to the hauntingly beautiful music, brightly costumed performers in ornately carved masks of tigers, monkeys, and dogs dance through the narrow streets. In trouble or ill health, highland Indians turn to their shaman to perform the cleaning and healing rituals. The skulls, candles, smoke, and medicinal plants that shamans use in their ceremonies figure prominently in Tigua art. This genre tends to be somewhat somber and dark, as shamans practice their rites at night.
Historical and political themes are less common in Tigua paintings. Although the Incas did not spend much time in Ecuador, the rulers and Inca deities do figure in the paintings. Another historical subject is the hacienda period. In these paintings, Indian serfs work on the large estates. Today, political themes are common..scenes of indigenous people marching in protest, scenes of environmental destruction wrought by international oil companies and political leaders in action. Pachacama, protector of the earth and the principle Inca deity, is often portrayed as a disembodied visage in the background of the painting, a symbol of indigenous cultural pride.
The growing popularity of Tigua-style art has spawned a whole new host of painters, some native Tiguans, but many from other parts of Ecuador. Quality varies dramatically. Better painters sell their work through stores or galleries. Less-well-known artists hawk their paintings themselves. You’ll find them at the weekend fairs and on the streets of Quito and other towns where tourists gather. Not a few Tigua artists have turned their backs on the country, forsaking the rural hardships for the advantages of urban life with its abundance of tourists and art dealers. Tigua artists who severed their roots and still paint bucolic scenes of village life are frowned upon by those artists still living with their families in rural areas. They feel theirs is the true Tigua art, an art that expresses their ties to the land. They prefer to sell their art, not through galleries or dealers, but directly.
Tigua painters have earned the respect of Ecuadorian art dealers who once viewed them as mere artisans and their work handicrafts. Since the mid 1990s, Tigua art has been exhibited at the Organization of American States in Washington DC, the University of California Hearst Museum, the Museum of Man in San Diego, California, UNESCO headquarters in Paris and the Presidential Palace in Quito.
Tigua Art: Where to Go
Though quality varies widely, you’ll find Tigua paintings in tourist stores throughout Quito, at the weekend fair in Parque Elejido, the Mariscal Market opposite the Colon Hotel, at the market in Otavalo (Wednesday and Saturday), Saquisili(Thursday), and Pujili (Sunday) as well as by the entrance to Quilatoa Crater (about 30 minutes by car from the town of Zumbahua) and in small communities in Tigua along the Latacunga-Quevedo road.
Natalia Goncharova
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The Van Rensselear Children Portrait 1840 antique oil painting ! Folk art $24,900.00 |
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Antique Pair of Iconic American Folk Art Carved Pine Wood Eagle Sculpture – RARE $20,000.00 |
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Metal Art Sculpture Sculptor for Hire Travel Design fabricate install folk art ! $20,000.00 |
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Mamie Falk Folk Art Oil Painting – Considered Minnesota’s “Grandma Moses” $19,750.00 |
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Yuri Gorbachev ORIGINAL Landscape Oil painting Folk Art $17,500.00 |
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Folk Art wood statue of Grover Cleveland 1894 $9,500.00 |
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Antique Ship Captain Folk Art Carved Coconut Chalice $8,500.00 |
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Original Oil On Canvas Painting by Minni Hines Bayou Scene Folk Art 24×48 $8,495.75 |
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Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone for painting and handwriting $6,890.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab fly dragon $6,329.00 |
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Banjo Boy/ Pre-Civil War Folk Art on Linen $6,000.00 |
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LARGE Antique Americana Folk Art Painting of Boy -Civil War Col. Orlando H Moore $5,999.99 |
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Yuri Gorbachev Original Oil Painting Russian Art Folk $5,990.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab—Avalokitesvara $5,590.00 |
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AMERICAN FOLK ART PUPPET THEATRE QUEENS,NY $5,000.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting Cotton Pickin’ c1977 20×26.25 $5,000.00 |
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vincent van gogh sculpture outsider folk art Dale Teachout assemblage junk $5,000.00 |
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Bessie Harvey Folk Art Found Object Museum Piece!!! $5,000.00 |
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PAIR OF 19TH C FOLK ART PORTRAITS PAINTINGS SIGNED P MARTIN 1886 HUSBAND & WIFE $4,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART ETCHED GLASS ALLEGHENY CTY PA GERMAN WOW $4,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART FISH HOOK MASSIVE IRON TRADE SIGN $4,999.99 |
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Signed OLD master GESSO FRAME OIL ON CANVAS PORTRAIT NELSON pipe Folk art $4,999.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Folk Art Painting Signed “Picking Cotton” $4,850.00 |
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Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone double dragon holding the sun $4,690.00 |
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FOLK ART OIL PAINTING PORTRAIT CHILD ICONIC RED DRESS PRINCE CHARLES SPANIEL $4,500.00 |
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Corbels Pair Wood Winged Griffins Victorian Old Paint Architectural Folk Art $4,500.00 |
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FOLK ART PAINTING SULLIVAN COUNTY NEW YORK J R GEROW $4,500.00 |
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Exceptional Folk Art Painting $4,500.00 |
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Johnnie Swearingen! Great Folk Art!!! Peddling Melons $4,500.00 |
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New England Folk Art Portrait on Canvas Ca.1830 $4,500.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting Wash Day c1977 19.25 x 23.25in $4,500.00 |
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A Outstanding Early Trade Axe,Folk Art Hatchet, $4,500.00 |
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Yuri Gorbachev Original Oil Painting Russian Art Folk $4,490.00 |
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FANTASTIC FOLK ART CHEST $4,200.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting African Headdress c1977 25.5h $4,000.00 |
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ANTIQUE MINIATURE PRIMITIVE FOLK ART WOOD RURAL SCENE FRAMED 12 1/4″ UNIQUE $3,885.00 |
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*RARE TRAMP / FOLK ART Shoe Shine Box – Brass/Wood-Detailed-Ornate-Exquisite $3,800.00 |
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Antique KNOTTY Tree Root Twig FOLK ART CHAIR Set GOODY KOONCH West Virginia $3,750.00 |
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Original Mexican Folk Art Icons Retablo:18-19th century $3,650.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone-an old man finshing alone $3,590.00 |
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Folk Art Hand Carved Soldier,6ft Tall Pick Up Only $3,532.50 |
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Unique/Exceptional Large Oval Folk Art Santa Claus Wood Carving signed Cobb 98 $3,500.00 |
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Painting Vintage 50s Cowboy Folk Art Levis Jeans Vinicur Little Buckaroo Parade $3,500.00 |
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Advertising Art / Folk Art / Christmas Hooked Rug – 5′x3 1/2′ $3,500.00 |
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Johnnie Swearingen! Great Folk Art!!! $3,500.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab—Lofty aspiration $3,490.00 |
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Terrazzo Marble Micro Mosaic Latin Ethnic Musicians Mural Folk Fine Art $3,374.99 |
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Original Mexican Folk Art Icons Retablo:18-19th century $3,250.00 |
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FINE 19c EARLY FOLK ART PORTRAIT PAINTING $3,225.00 |
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Israel Jewish Art,Sara Hagay,Israeli Folk Dance “hora”,Oil,Judaica,Framed $3,000.00 |
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mud painting signed jimmy sudduth a real folk art outsider master piece $3,000.00 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD CANE ISLE ROYALE FIRE WW2 D DAY GI ? KENOSHA WI $2,999.99 |
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FRANK WYSO OUTSIDER FOLK ARTIST PENNSYLVANIA COAL MINERS 4 WORKS OF ART $2,999.99 |
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King’s Couch Rare One of a Kind Yard Art from Chicago Folk Hand Made furniture $2,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE 19th AMERICAN FOLK ART NATURALIST BUFFALO SETON STYLE CATLIN PAINTING $2,999.99 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab man walk in forest $2,999.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab a man watch moon $2,999.00 |
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fine Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab scenery $2,890.00 |
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Temperance Movement Folk Art Painting Folk Art Temperance Painting $2,850.00 |
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Anonymous Folk Art Carving Figure with Crown in Skirt with Snake $2,799.99 |
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ANTIQUE OIL PAINTING FOLK ART NEW ENGLAND ‘HUGES’ 1892 $2,750.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab with dragon $2,690.00 |
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FOLK ART Antique Wood Polychrome Carved Asian Figure Sculpture $2,500.00 |
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HUGE 37″ Antique 19th American Folk Art Carved Gilt Wood Eagle Statue Americana $2,500.00 |
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Antique Primitive Folk Art Hand Carved Wooden Dough Bowl $2,500.00 |
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FOLK ART OIL PAINTING OF THE SS “OCEAN” STEAMSHIP $2,475.00 |
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Ca. 1820 American Folk Art Painting Deformed Man $2,450.00 |
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James Harold Jennings Amazing and Colorful Folk Art! $2,400.00 |
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Doris Lee – Folk Art Painting – Signed and Titled – Original Condition $2,400.00 |
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DC: Prison Folk Art Matchstick Ship, HUGE 5′ Length $2,379.00 |
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Amazing ORIGINAL NAUTICAL AMERICAN FOLK ART PAINTING $2,285.00 |
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Early 20th Century Folk Art Sheep Painting/ Inside Barn $2,250.00 |
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FOLK ART COLLAGE/Presidential Stamp Collage $2,250.00 |
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Folk Art Handmade Ceramic Sculpture Plaque Dentist Pulling Tooth Dicker Vintage $2,200.00 |
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ANTIQUE Americana TRADE SIGN IMMIGRATION FOLK ART NYC ICE CREAM PUSH CART $2,200.00 |
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Ohio Pioneer Abraham Betz 1818 HANDWRITTEN LESSON BOOK with FOLK ART $2,150.00 |
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HAITIAN ART: Vibrant PAINTING, SIGNED by Renowned Folk Artist TOUSSAINT AUGUSTE $2,150.00 |
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Philippines National Artist Abdul Imao Brass Sculpture w/ Base Mindanao Folk Art $2,100.00 |
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Ellen Eilers Calico Country Folk Art Woodcut Ornamental Trees Rare Early Work $2,000.00 |
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ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART FRUIT STILL LIFE WATERMELON OIL PAINTING $1,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD BALEEN CARVED SPERM WHALE GROTESQUE AMERICANA WOW $1,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART SHIP LIGHTHOUSE LARGE OIL PAINTING GERNAND VERMIER $1,999.99 |
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Vtg Rutherford Tubby Brown Xmas 25″Folk Art Santa Claus $1,999.99 |
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AMERICAN FOLK ART GAMEBOARD TABLE WITH SWASTIKAS $1,999.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone peasant work on his land $1,999.00 |
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LAURA SIQUEIROS “POSEIDONS ADVENTURE” FOLK ART PAINTING $1,999.00 |
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Old Folk Art Cinderella pre Disney & Kincade Beautiful $1,995.00 |
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Clyde Connell 1943 Folk Art hooked rug signed LISTED $1,900.00 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD CARVING TOBACCO CIGAR TRADE SIGN ? DISPLAY WOW $1,899.99 |
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Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone for painting and handwriting $1,890.00 |
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WELSH AMERICAN SIGNED FOLK ART PAINTING JFK PT 109 $1,850.00 |
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ORIGINAL TEXAS ARTIST FERGUSON OIL PAINTING FOLK ART $1,822.50 |
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C Peterson ORIGINAL modern FOLKART sculpture SIGN ART painted OUT of WORK tools $1,817.00 |
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48x48x1.5″█OIL▀PAINTING█ART█LARGE█BIG█PAINTINGS█FINE█RAW█MALE█REALISM█FOLK_POP█A $1,800.00 |
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American Folk Art Painting of Little Girl Circa 1825 $1,800.00 |
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Emma Schrock Folk Art 16″ by 12″ $1,795.00 |
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c1920 Girl Knitting Folk Woman Antique Art Signed Oil Estate Painting $1,795.00 |
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Folk Art Wood Carving Listed Folk Artist Albert Hoffman $1,750.00 |
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Folk Art New England Oil on Canvas Painting/Circa 1860 $1,750.00 |
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HUTCH TABLE WITH FOLK ART 4 SEASON ARTIST PAINTED TOP $1,750.00 |
