The highest price of either day was awarded to “Wizard #1” by Marian Spore Bush (1878-1946), oil on canvas, 24 by 20 inches unframed, which cast a spell for $35,000 ($4/6,000).

Review by Kiersten Busch

BUFORD, GA. — Just under 800 lots of “the best” in self-taught art, Outsider art, Southern folk pottery, antique and anonymous works, contemporary art and other new discoveries crossed the block in Slotin Folk Art’s two-day Self-Taught Art Masterpieces auction, spanning November 8-9. While no sale total was divulged, only seven lots across both days went unsold, earning the sale a 99 percent sell-through rate.

The auction was led by “Wizard #1,” an oil on canvas by Marian Spore Bush which sold on day one. Despite some missing paint along the outer edges, the 20-by-24-inch work, which had provenance to the artist’s family, rose above its $4/6,000 estimate more than five times to achieve $35,000.

Day one also featured several lots by Georgian artist Nellie Mae Rowe. The second-highest price of the sale was awarded to her circa 1980-81 watercolor and crayon on paper “Boy and Girl Admiring Rose Bush,” which earned a colorful $33,750. Noted as being in excellent condition, the signed work was previously owned by Judith Alexander and was accompanied by a note from her stating that she acquired it in 1996. “Woman with Dog” ($8,125), “A Woman in Pearl Necklace” ($7,500), “Yellow Horse” ($5,125) and “Call God Up” ($4,375) also found new homes on the first day.

Nellie Mae Rowe’s (Georgia, 1900-1982) “Boy and Girl Admiring Rose Bush,” circa 1980-81, watercolor and crayon on paper, 25 by 20 inches framed, bloomed to $33,750 ($8/12,000).

Widely known self-taught artist Minnie Evans was represented by two lots, “Face and Eyes” and “Central Bull Figure with Flanking Angels and Flora.” The former earned the higher price of the two at $25,875. The colored pencil, crayon and ink on paper work had provenance to Knoke Galleries in Atlanta and came housed in a hand-carved frame. The signed “Central Bull Figure with Flanking Angels and Flora” was made in 1972 with paint and graphite on paper and reached $11,875.

“Blues Musicians” by Crawford Gillis was one of two works by the artist to sell, surpassing its $5/10,000 estimate and singing a tune to $21,875. Bidders were not fazed by some crazing and paint flakes throughout the 1940 oil on canvas, which had provenance to the Lynne Ingram collection. Also consigned from the Ingram collection was “Movie Poster Woman With Bucket,” an oil on canvas done in 1934 that made $20,000. According to the auction catalog, the Alabama-born Gillis — who studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City — created “artwork based on the lives of everyday working people” which reflected “the difficulty of living in the Depression-era South.”

Additional highlights of day one included Joseph Yoakum’s “Mt Yayblonvy in Yayblonvy Mtn. Range Near Dorasue Upland of Siberia of USSR,” a 1969 pastel, color pencil and ink on paper ($21,875) and “116 B Variation Sur Lens Box,” a mixed media piece by Mary Bauermeister. The latter was made from an assemblage of glass, optical lenses, stones and ink housed in a painted wooden box. With provenance to Phyllis Kind Gallery, the 1967-69 work was bid to $21,250.

“Mt Yayblonvy in Yayblonvy Mtn Range Near Dorasue Upland of Siberia of USSR” by Joseph Yoakum (1891-1972), 1969, pastel, color pencil and ink on paper, 12 by 19 inches, surpassed its $8/12,000 estimate to make $21,875.

Day two was led by a heavily beaded and sequined portrait backed to rayon by contemporary Haitian artist Myrlande Constant. Titled “Eruzulia Balliane,” the 21-by-25½-inch work was also signed in beads and topped off at $7,500.

Six lots of work by Purvis Young were intriguing to bidders and ranged in price from $813 for the paint on fabric piece “Dancing Line” to $6,125 for “Twins,” a paint on found Masonite work. Young’s “Horses and Spirits,” a paint on found board with an artist-made frame, also earned one of the top prices of the day at $4,625.

Jimmy Lee Sudduth was one of the most well-represented artists on either day of the sale, with all 17 works of his on offer finding new homes. “Toto” led the pack at $4,000; the signed paint and mud on board measured 25½ inches square in its frame. A few other works by Sudduth crossed the block for over $1,000, including “Self-Portrait” ($2,500), “Factory” ($2,000), “Jimmy Lee on a Date” ($1,750), “Man Catching Woman in Compromised Situation” ($1,188) and “City Scene” ($1,000).

Popping its top for $3,875 was Howard Finster’s “Coca Bottle, #15580,” paint and marker on cutout board, 34 by 10½ inches ($1/3,000).

Howard Finster was also represented by just under 20 lots, all of which sold. The 34-inch-high paint and marker on cutout board work “Coca Bottle, #15580” was one of two lots to claim the highest price, fizzing out for $3,875. “Resting Souls Trumpeting Angel, #6602,” a 48-inch-long paint on cutout board piece, was the second lot to earn $3,875. The additional lots on offer ranged as low as $375 for a carved and stained wood burned clock case, to $1,875 for “Santa, #12724.”

“Red Face Big Hands” by Eddie Mumma also attracted bidder attention, surpassing the high end of its $500/800 estimate at $3,250. Noted as being in “excellent condition,” the paint on cardstock work was unsigned and measured 23 by 13 inches framed. “Double-Sided Portraits,” the only other work by Mumma in the sale, made $1,875. Featuring one framed portrait with another displayed on the painting’s reverse, the work had provenance to the Larry and Jane Schlachter collection.

A group of nine works by Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrie earned the third-highest price on the second day. “Retable Des Neuf Esclaves (Alter to the Nine Slaves)” were completed in 1988 and dated, numbered and titled on their labels. Each of nine oil on canvas works came in their own artist-made frame averaging approximately 31½ by 28 inches. The group met the high end of its estimate, selling together for $5,000 ($3/5,000).

Three-dimensional works on day two were led by Mark Francis’s “Buster Head,” a 20-inch-tall paper mache and paint work depicting a prisoner in a white and black striped jumpsuit. In excellent condition, the work was uncuffed for $2,500.

Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 770-532-1115 or www.slotinfolkart.com.