Mary Ann Willson

MARY ANN WILLSON (WORKING CIRCA 1810-1845) "Tow Sisters" watercolor and ink on paper 11¾ x 10 in. sight; 13½ x 11 in. framed Provenance Elliot and Grace Snyder, South Egremont, Massachusetts Sotheby's New York, June 23, 1994, lot 392 Sotheby's New York, October 19, 1996, lot 2 Literature David A. Schorsch, "Frames Used on American Folk Paintings and Needlework, 1760-1880," The Magazine Antiques (October 1991), p. 576, pl. XX. Exhibited New York, "A Tributed to Excellence," David A. Schorsch, Inc., 1989 Lot Notes Mary Ann Willson lived in upstate New York during the early 1800's, unschooled and somewhat reclusive, her work is strikingly colorful and dynamic in execution. While her subjects often feature the delightful simplicities of life, there appears to be an underlying intensity to her depictions. Shown within the interior of a room, the reference to the "Tow Sisters" may have been intended to describe "Two Sisters." A similar work of the same title is illustrated in both Jean Lipman, et al, Five Star Folk Art (New York, 1990), p. 46; and Robert Bishop, et al, The Knopf Collector's Guides to American Antiques: Folk Art (New York, 1983)