Vintage Chip-Carved Tramp Art Box by The Hermitage des Artistes of Troy New York
$950.00
American tramp art keepsake box by the collective, The Hermitage des Artistes (ca. 1980s, Troy New York).
The artists comprising this collective – Michael Lavery, Andrew Stutter, Paul Cunningham, Ira Rogoff, and Jim Kennedy, were all recovering alcoholics who transformed their lives through the creation of these Tramp Art objects. Using discarded fruit crates, they crafted music boxes, picture frames, patriotic sculptures, and religious installations, turning society’s refuse into objects of beauty and hope.
The Hermitage’s work has gained national recognition, with pieces displayed in the Smithsonian Institution, folk-art museums, and the Vatican Museum.
This example features a hand chip-carved and painted wooden frame supported by a pedestal base with a single drawer. There are printed pictures of various landscapes and scenes affixed to the drawer’s interior and backsplash.
Unusual mixed-media example in attractive and uncommon pale pink/lilac palette.
Very good, vintage condition with minor paint losses and age-expected wear, as shown.
Distinctive piece from artists who were granted new life from this craft, hence its significance transcends its appeal as an expressive, detailed, attractive objet d’art.
H: 8.25″ x L: 6.5″ x D: 4.75″
