Episode 59 | What Does a Real Folk Art Collector Collect?

Matt and Sully are back at Ledbetter Auction Gallery in Gibsonville with a fresh stack from a 400-piece single-owner folk art collection that just came through the door.

The collection had already been unboxed and was waiting to be photographed, but Matt had not fully gone through it yet. So instead of picking their own favorites from around the gallery, Matt and Sully grab a random stack of about 40 pieces and start digging in with fresh eyes.

This episode is a look at what a real folk art collector collects: the known names, the lesser-known artists, the pieces that need more research, and the kind of work that only starts to make sense once you slow down and really look at it.

The stack starts with a carved Calvin Cooper dog, then moves into work by Po Phil, Levent Isik, Alpha Andrews, Kaye Simmons, Sam Ezell, Bob Newell, Richard Burnside, John Burgess, Myrtice West, Aretha Hardy, Albert Wagner, Purvis Young, Willie White, and more.

There are auction estimates, artist stories, a few mystery signatures, and plenty of moments where the guys have to admit they do not know everything yet. That is part of the point. This is what it looks like when a collection arrives, the research starts, and the pieces begin to tell you where they came from.

Do you know a folk artist or have a picking story worth sharing? Reach out to the show:

Chapters

00:00 | Welcome Back to House of Folk Art with Matt and Sully

02:42 | First Up: The Wood Carved Dalmatian

04:20 | Matt’s First Pick from the Stack

06:00 | Sully Learns About Levent Isik

07:40 | Mixed Media in a Frame