Monday, May 18, 2015

Nellie Bly Ballard "The Grandma Moses of the Catskills"

Since I posted one of Nellie Bly Ballard's paintings here on Catskills Folk's  blog, I have heard from two interested persons.  One was a great-niece of the local landscape painter, and the second was an art dealer from Maryland who had just bought 9 of Nellie Bly Ballard's paintings at a yard sale.  She has since sold them to a collector on Long Island.

The Maryland trove of paintings includes many recognizable sights and views in the Roxbury area. See how many you recognize:

FARM LANDSCAPES:


 


VIEWS OF DENVER VALLEY:





VIEW OF HALCOTTSVILLE:


VIEWS OF ROXBURY:





Join me tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19 at 7 p.m. for Catskills Folk on WIOX 91.3 FM or WIOXradio.org to see what we can learn together by examining these wonderful paintings that have been out of sight apparently for a long period of time.

-- Ginny

P.S.  This book, Between the Branches: Folk Art of Delaware County New York, written by folklorist Doug DeNatale, and published by Delaware County Historical Association in 1985, is an excellent introduction to Catskills regional folk art.  It includes a work by Nellie Bly Ballard and paintings by other artists.  It is available on-line and form the Roxbury Library.