"Winter Hunters"
Date1990
Artist
Mattie Lou O'Kelley (1908-1997)
MediumPaint on canvas or artist's canvasboard.
DimensionsUnframed: 23 7/16" x 35 1/2"
Framed: 31 3/16" x 43 1/8"
Framed: 31 3/16" x 43 1/8"
Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. T. Marshall Hahn, Jr.
Object number1996.102.1
Label TextO'Kelley's love of color and pattern are evident in this stylized landscape where storybook buildings nestle cozily amid soft white drifts and perfectly shaped trees reach skyward through precisely spaced snowflakes. It is an idealized world, where countryfolk never run out of firewood, the cupboard is never bare, and manure never sullies the barnyards. Unreal? Yes. Appealing? Definitely!O'Kelley never married, remaining at home on the family farm while her siblings married and moved away. After her parents' deaths, she moved into a modest one-room cabin and combated lonesomeness by teaching herself to paint. In poor health and unable to work, she occasionally sold or bartered a painting for food or other necessities. During the 1970s, O'Kelley was discovered by a larger world, and her fame as a painter quickly grew. Today, she is represented in many museum collections.
"Mattie Lou O'Kelley seems to put her thoughts and feelings directly onto her canvas."
Jean Kirkham, volunteer guide, CWF
"I love the fine details, and winter is my favorite season. It looks like a farm and town you could have seen long ago."
Nancy Lewis, teacher's aid, Norge Elementary School, Norge, Va.Mark(s)Lower right corner: "M.L.O'KELLEY/1990". Written in black paint across the lower center edge is the following: "WINTER HUNTERS".ProvenanceThe painting was acquired directly from the artist by Dr. T. Marshall Hahn, Jr. of Atlanta Georgia in 1990 after its completion that same year. Hahn, in turn, donated the work to the Folk Art Center in 1996.
