Lot 202
Rose Walton (American, XX-XXI). (1) "Conscience" or "Black Crow - White Crow" paint on canvas board, 2000. Initialed at lower left and signed, titled, and dated on verso. (2) "Smoking Eve" paint on wood board, n.d. Signed at lower left and again on verso with title and inscription. In these two intimately scaled paintings, Rose Walton merges whimsy with wisdom, memory with myth, and a keen eye for character with a self-taught artist's intuitive hand. The larger work, "Conscience" or "Black Crow - White Crow", painted in 2000, presents a stylized nude female figure cradling a bold cobalt vessel while flanked by two birds: a white crow and a black crow, perched like thoughts on either shoulder. It is a composition rich with allegory, balancing innocence with seduction, purity with temptation. The figure's simplified geometry and softly modeled skin recall folk art traditions filtered through a modernist lens, yet the palette - rust, ivory, and brilliant blue - hums with saturated vitality. Size of larger ("Conscience"): 12" W x 16" H (30.5 cm x 40.6 cm)
The birds, rendered in solid silhouette, become moral totems, quietly alluding to the internal tug-of-war between instinct and integrity.
"Smoking Eve" offers a wry and tender portrait of the biblical mother recast in Deco-era glam. Rendered in teal, cream, and cherry red, this Eve sports a vintage cigarette and a leafy headpiece, her face partially obscured by a dotted veil. The inscription on verso, "What Eve would have looked like in 1937," lends the work a dry humor that is both personal and universal. Walton reframes origin stories with a wink, reminding us that even our myths might have flirted with lipstick and vice.
A self-taught painter who grew up crafting dolls from candy wrappers and people from tin cans and twigs, Walton brings the spirit of childhood play and treasure-hunting to each painting. Her practice, rooted in a lifelong love of discovery, transforms domestic storytelling into visual poetry. In both works, one feels her deep connection to narrative - not the grand narratives of history, but the ones made at kitchen tables and in backyard meadows, the ones passed down or imagined anew.
Artist statement: "I am a self-taught artist, never having gone to school past the 12th grade, and I have been 'arting' for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories of creativity are of making doll dresses out of candy wrappers and constructing animal figures from the wet mud found down near my uncles natural spring, or collecting discards of bottle caps, string, and old tin cans to make 'people families' with twig arms and green stick legs. I had the luxury of a childhood spent in exploring my tiny world to the fullest. From going on 'safari' with my 6 brothers to white mountain to look for buried treasures (white mountain was a junk pile out in the woods) to exploring natures cast offs of bird's eggs and acorns in the meadow behind our home I was blessed to have parents who provided all of us kids (there were 11 of us) with the freedom to explore, create, and to find our own way in this world. There was never a dull moment in our childhood. This love of exploring and treasure hunting has never left me, because thru my art, I can go back to those memories and recall the sensations of discovery that i felt as a child. My art brings me back to those exquisite feelings of discovery from my childhood. I have been married for 30 plus years and have 5 incredible, wonderful, awesome, cute, kind, patient, encouraging and loving children (see, i am a typical Mom). We have lived here on Walton Road in Pennsylvania for 22 plus years. In our Walton Road home, I have tried to share with my children the freedom and love of discovery that I had when i was growing up. Our home is one big art studio, where you will always find a 'project' in the works. Whether it be 'claying', 'dolling', 'painting' , or just making up banquets out of last nights left overs, there is always a bit of magic involved. Thank you for your support, encouragement and kindness. Thank you for allowing me to share part of my world with you." (source: artist biography on Art Majeur website)
Provenance: private Rochester, Minnesota, USA collection, acquired from 1990 -1998
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#195451
- Condition: Both are in excellent overall condition. "Conscience" is initialed at lower left and signed, titled and dated on verso. "Smoking Eve" is signed at lower left and again on verso with title and inscription.
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