The Property and Residence of Benjamin Doll, Perry Tp. Stark Co. Ohio 1891 by Ferdinand Brader (1833-1901). Graphite on paper, signed lower right and numbered 781. In its original frame. 39" high by 53" wide overall.
This monumental drawing was recently discovered in a northeast Ohio attic. The current owner remembered the Doll family and believes that the Dolls gave the drawing to his mother decades ago. It has apparently been stored in his mother's attic since then, and was only recently found when he was cleaning out the house after her passing.
If you aren't familiar with the work of the Swiss-born, itinerant artist, please visit http://www.braderexhibit.com/. The artist has been the subject of a years-long study by our good friend Kathleen Wieschaus. I was honored to play a tiny role in Kathleen's 2014-2015 exhibition of Brader's work at the Canton Museum of Art, and contributed an essay in the exhibition catalog. The newly discovered drawing of the Doll farm has been added to the ongoing inventory of extant Brader drawings, which includes more than 230 of the estimated 980 drawings completed by Brader during his time in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
If you aren't familiar with the work of the Swiss-born, itinerant artist, please visit http://www.braderexhibit.com/. The artist has been the subject of a years-long study by our good friend Kathleen Wieschaus. I was honored to play a tiny role in Kathleen's 2014-2015 exhibition of Brader's work at the Canton Museum of Art, and contributed an essay in the exhibition catalog. The newly discovered drawing of the Doll farm has been added to the ongoing inventory of extant Brader drawings, which includes more than 230 of the estimated 980 drawings completed by Brader during his time in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The red diamond marks where the Doll farm was located...just south of Massillon, on the O&E Canal and Tuscarawas River. The farm no longer exists, and in that area now are the Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility and a Wal Mart.
The red dot is where the artist sat to draw the farm, and he was looking in the direction of the arrow. Scroll down to see detail views and you'll see that the right side of background features a cemetery and the left side of the background shows the Albright farm.
The condition of this drawing is generally good. Like all Braders, the paper has toned (it looks darker in the photo than it is in person) and has some acid stains from the original wooden backboards, as well as a bit of water staining in the upper-left corner. It has been slightly trimmed and folded on the side margins, but this is how it was originally framed. It appears that the frame the Doll family acquired was not quite wide enough, so they trimmed the paper at the black border and then folded another 1/2" in (partially hiding Brader's signature and the number 781). The glass has been replaced and it has been rehoused in acid-free materials (though the original backboards have been saved).
THIS ITEM IS SOLD.
THIS ITEM IS SOLD.
