This is an original and beautiful 23 inch by 19.25 inch hand-painted and hand incised work of art on board of a lovely Victorian lady enthralled with picking red roses and indeed surrounded by rose and greenery wall paper.

This unique work of art is hand-painted in stains and oils with a gold gilt back ground and incised in great detail using pyrographic techniques with images of garden florals.

It is signed obverse in red color lower right, J.W, Fosdick 1903.

The beaded oak frame is original to the painting just the way we love to find them.

Dimensions:
Frame: 23 inches high and 19.25 inches wide
Site: 15 inches high and 11.75 inches wide

Hand painted and hand burned using pyrographic techniques by one of America’s great master 19th century pyrographic artisans

Provenance: Old New England collection.

History of the Pyrography:
py·rog·ra·phy pi’rägr?fe/ noun is the art or technique of decorating wood or leather by burning a design on the surface with a heated metallic point. Pyrography was particular popular during the last quarter of the 19th century and first quarter of the 20th century

About J. William Fosdick:

Thank you to the Pyromuse and Mr. John P. Lewis who in 1979 wrote:
American artist J. William Fosdick (1858–1937) made his career primarily by doing large works on commission for interior architects of important estates and buildings. His first important commission occurred while he was still a student at the Académie Julian in Paris from 1881 to 1888. He postponed his studies and returned to the United States in 1884 for that important job, which utilized his then unique skills as a pyrographic artist. His recommendation for that first job, which launched his very successful career in this technique, came from none other than the widow of his predecessor Robert Ball Hughes. The three works shown here were later ones, done in the early 20th Century. Some notes from John P. Lewis describe the phases of Fosdick’s technique and style:

As a Bostonian, he was acquainted with Ball Hughes’ poker drawings. Fosdick studied at the Julian Academy in Paris from 1881 to 1888 after attending the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston. Using his extensive training in painting and drawing as well as his knowledge of European history, Fosdick developed his own decorative style and subject matter. He worked on a large scale and decorated altars, friezes, walls, and mantels in churches and private homes. His technique, which earned him the honor of being the father of fire-etching in America, was to burn the design, gouge relief features, char again, and gild highlighted areas. Later, Fosdick’s style changed to what he described as -incised line painting-. His series of fourteen panels -The Stations of the Cross- are in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, Connecticut. They exemplifyhis shift in emphasis from pyro gouging to painting and gilding. — John P. Lewis, © 1979

We will be offering more important high quality Folk Art and pyrography works of art in the near future.