"Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York" Vestie Davis, Self-Taught Folk Art

View Similar Items

Unknown - Mid 19th Century Folk Art Hunting Scene, Landscape, Animal and Figurative, 1852

Streeter Blair - "Overholser Family, 1890, Sterling, Illinois" Streeter Blair, 1949 Painting

Helena Adamoff - The Gift Of The Two Lines Small Oil Painting

Unknown - 19th century English Folk Art Cottage landscape with figures playing by a pond

Unknown - 19th century Folk art Cottage with pond, ducks, Willow tree and children playing

19th century British School - 19th century British Folk Art, Singers singing about Napoleon in a landscape

English 19th century Folk Art - 19th century English Folk art landscape with cottage

Maurice Loirand - Japan Japanese Garden by French naive outsider folk art primitive artist, 1975

Unknown - “Raising the Flag” by R. Kamal

Andrew Murray - Naive London Street Scene Folk Art Oil Painting Big Ben, Parliament, Union Jack

Mark Thompson - Contemporary Atmospheric Black & White Monochrome Landscape Wilderness Painting

Unknown - "Once Upon a Time" Mid Century Figurative Landscape

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 9

Vestie Davis
"Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York" Vestie Davis, Self-Taught Folk Art
1968

Name: "Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York" Vestie Davis, Self-Taught Folk Art
Brand: Vestie Davis
Rating: 5 (27 reviews)

$10,000List Price

About the Item

Vestie Edward Davis (1903 - 1978) Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York, 1968 Oil on canvas 12 x 24 inches Signed and dated lower right Self-taught painter of city scenes and animals. Born in Hillsboro, Maryland, the son of Jennie D. (b. 1880) and Edward B. Davis (1879 – 1961), his father was a blacksmith and the family resided in Hillsboro, a small town located on the eastern shore of Maryland. While Davis reported doing some drawing as a child, he did not return to his artwork until later in life. During the interim he moved to New York (1928) where he worked for nearly two decades at a variety of jobs, including railroad conductor, embalmer, circus barker and ticket taker, newsstand operator, pall bearer and organist. The last position, that of organist, was one that he held at his church in Brooklyn for many years even after he became successful as a painter. The story that Davis himself told on numerous occasions is that in 1947, at the age of forty-four, he decided to become a painter. He noted in a number of interviews a similar story: “I was walking east on 57th Street and came to a big gallery… …I looked in the window and saw some pictures I liked. One showed a farmhouse with a barnyard, a rail fence, a girl, a collie and a cow. [I] looked at it and said, ‘1 can paint like that.’ ” Whether apocryphal or not, Davis purchased art supplies soon after and began experimenting with painting, settling on the style for which he eventually became known. He noted a few years after receiving some success with his paintings that he was once warned by an art teacher who had seen his work: “Don’t take art lessons. They’re liable to make an abstract or something out of you.” Davis and his wife, Edna (1895 – 1989), moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1947, where for many years they resided at 123 Bay 29th Street. His first big break into the art world occurred at the 1951 Greenwich Village art exhibition, where “32 views of his black cat, Tommy” were featured and where he was discovered by Morris Weisenthal of the Morris Gallery. As his street scenes became more popular with the public, Davis received commissions for people’s favorite views of their neighborhoods and the city in general. His growing popularity led to the selection of one of his views of Coney Island for the cover of the September 6, 1958 issue of The New Yorker. Davis became especially known for his colorful scenes depicting the charm of Coney Island. His most popular views incorporated local landmarks such as the old Steeplechase Park parachute drop and Nathan’s hot dog stand. He even worked as a circus barker and ticket taker at Coney Island to get a better understanding of the place. While his paintings sold for a range of prices (from as little as ten dollars to well into the mid hundreds) it was the larger, more complicated works depicting multiple figures that came to command the best prices. As he once noted to reporters, “The more people I put in… [my paintings] …the faster they sold.” In some of his more complicated works there are as many as 300-500 figures. Much of Davis’s work was created in a small attic studio located in his Brooklyn home, where he would use pieced together photographs that he personally took to aid in the creation of his larger, panoramic scenes. He noted that, depending on the size and level of detail, a typical painting would take him two to six weeks to complete. Regarding his choice of subjects, Davis said: “I paint what people want and they want what's familiar to them.” During the autumn of 1959, one of his paintings was included in an exhibition of works selected from the collection of the American self-taught painter, Sterling Strauser (1907 – 1995) presented in Hazelton, Pennsylvania. Local reviewers were impressed by Davis’s work: “Vesty Davis’ lone contribution makes one wish to see more of this artist. His ‘Greenwich Village’ of impeccably clean, clear color casts a warm sun upon a sidewalk art exhibit. The meticulous execution of the primitive evolves in the paint quality of a brick paved street, the scrupulous rendition of tiny paintings, hung on the fence and in the lovingly painted background.” From the late 1950s through the late 1970s Davis’s works were exhibited regularly at New York regional art fairs and at a number of important institutions, such as the Museum of American Folk Art. They would routinely receive praise from critics, with one commenting: “Davis’ pictures are colorful and strangely appealing… …There is truth in his use of the brush.” One of his final lifetime exhibitions was at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1977. Vestie E. Davis died of cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City in November of 1978, though the exact date remains unknown at present. He was cremated at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, on November 12, 1978 and interred in section 3104 of the Greenwood Columbarium (this interment date conflicts with his New York Times obituary that indicates he died on the 14th, which is impossible if he was cremated on the 12th). Davis was a prolific artist, creating works both in color and black and white. While his Coney Island scenes are his most famous, he depicted many other New York City landmarks, including the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, George Washington Bridge, Jefferson Market Courthouse in Greenwich Village, New York City Hall in Manhattan, the Plaza Hotel, Queensborough Bridge, Rockefeller Center, Statute of Liberty, The Cloisters, The James A. Farley Building, Wall Street and Washington Square Park. Davis noted during his own lifetime that some of the buildings he was depicting might one day be lost, so he took great care to depict them in detail. His prediction has become especially true in Coney Island where many historic sites were lost during his lifetime. In addition to famous buildings and locations, Davis created scenes of daily life in the city, including views of street art fairs, people coming and going to work on its elevated trains and imagery depicting members of the Hasidic community of Brooklyn. He most often signed his paintings “Vestie E. Davis.” Davis became well known enough during his lifetime that he was included (posthumously) in the 1979 book 20th Century American Folk Art and Artists, which was written by Herbert W. Hemphill Jr. and Julia Weissman. He was given a retrospective exhibition in late 2009/early 2010 at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City. The museum perfectly summed up his work when they noted: “The New York of Vestie Davis (1903–1978) is a bright, sparkling place with impressive and diverse landmark buildings, bridges, parks, and beaches. It is a hub of civic, business, and recreational activity chronicled in [his] meticulously detailed pictures…” Though there are undoubtedly other exhibitions in which Davis participated, those presently known include the following: Greenwich Village Exhibition, New York, NY, 1951; Pyramid Club, Philadelphia, PA, 1957; Gallery Art Club, East Stroudsburg, PA, 1957; Hazelton Art League, Hazelton, PA, 1959; Washington Square Art Fair, New York, NY, 1960; St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Exhibition, Buffalo, NY, 1961; Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, NY, 1962; Morris Gallery, New York, NY, 1962; Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA, 1962; Riverdale Outdoor Art Show, Riverdale, NY, 1965 (prize); Museum of Modern Art Traveling Exhibition at Cheekwood, Nashville, TN, 1966; Museum of American Folk Art, New York, NY, 1970, 2009-10 (retrospective); American Folk Art Traveling Exhibition, Japan, 1976; Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM, c. 1977; Jay Johnson Folk Heritage Gallery, New York, NY, 1980 (memorial exhibition?). Davis’s works are currently known to be in the collection of the following public institutions: Museum of American Folk Art, New York, NY; Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, IA; Milwaukee Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. His works also reside in many private collections throughout the United States.

Creator:
Vestie Davis (1903 - 1978, American)
Creation Year:
1968
Dimensions:
Height: 12.5 in (31.75 cm)Width: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)
Medium:
Canvas,Oil
Movement & Style:
Folk Art
Period:
1960-1969
Condition:
Gallery Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU115628899612

More From This Seller

View All

Trucks in the City African American Self-Taught Florida Outsider Folk Art Urban

By Purvis Young

Located in New York, NY

Trucks in the City by African American, Folk, Self-Taught, Florida, Outsider Art Purvis Young Urban Young was an American artist from Miami....

Category

Late 20th Century Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Purvis Young
Trucks in the City African American Self-Taught Florida Outsider Folk Art Urban, 1980s

$39,000

"Cars, Buildings People" Contemporary Outsider Folk Art African American Urban

By Purvis Young

Located in New York, NY

"Cars, Buildings People" Contemporary Outsider Folk Art African American Urban The painting measures 65 x 48 inches. We love that in the middle of ...

Category

1990s Outsider Art Landscape Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Purvis Young
"Cars, Buildings People" Contemporary Outsider Folk Art African American Urban, c. 1990s

$55,000

"Cruise Ship Rolls In" Mid 20th Century American Contemporary Modern Realism

Located in New York, NY

"Cruise Ship Rolls In" Mid 20th Century American Contemporary Modern Realism This is one sensational painting. And we can even identify the artist, but can't find anything about the...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

koehler
"Cruise Ship Rolls In" Mid 20th Century American Contemporary Modern Realism, c. 1950s

$3,900

"Glassblowers" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century New York City WPA

By Ernest Fiene

Located in New York, NY

"Glassblowers" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century New York City WPA Ernest Fiene (1894-1965) Glass Blowers 28 x 23 inches Oil on canvas board Signed and dated 1944 lower...

Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Ernest Fiene
"Glassblowers" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century New York City WPA, 1944

$25,000

"3rd Avenue EL" NYC American Scene Ashcan WPA Modern 20th Century Social Realism

By Bernard Gussow

Located in New York, NY

"3rd Avenue EL" NYC American Scene Ashcan WPA Modern 20th Century Social Realism Bernard Gussow (1881-1957) 3rd Avenue El 28 1/8 x 30 1/4 inches Oil on canvas Signed lower left Fram...

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bernard Gussow
"3rd Avenue EL" NYC American Scene Ashcan WPA Modern 20th Century Social Realism, c. 1930s

$16,000

WWI American Scene Ashcan Modern 20th Century Historical Realism Industrial WPA

By Gerrit Beneker

Located in New York, NY

WWI American Scene Ashcan Modern 20th Century Historical Realism Industrial WPA "Constant Driving Will Win the War," 30 x 40 inches. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated 1918 lower right. In 1905, Gerrit Beneker began his art career as an illustrator. He married Flora Judd, his high school sweetheart from Grand Rapids and they moved to Brooklyn, NY. Gerrit's early passion was to create an art that would inspire and provide honor to the workingman. As such, he had no interest in painting portraits of pretty women, which were so often seen on the magazine covers of the day. Rather he wanted to seek out workingmen on the bridges, tunnels and skyscrapers of NYC, and paint them in their environments. He completed over 150 magazine covers, numerous ads including many for Ivory Soap...

Category

1910s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Gerrit Beneker
WWI American Scene Ashcan Modern 20th Century Historical Realism Industrial WPA, 1918

$45,000

1850s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mid 19th Century Folk Art Hunting Scene, Landscape, Animal and Figurative, 1852, 1852

$7,000

"Overholser Family, 1890, Sterling, Illinois" Streeter Blair, 1949 Painting

Located in New York, NY

Streeter Blair Overholser Family, 1890, Sterling, Illinois, 1949 Signed, titled, and dated lower left Oil on canvas 8 x 10 inches Primitive painter St...

Category

1940s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Streeter Blair
"Overholser Family, 1890, Sterling, Illinois" Streeter Blair, 1949 Painting, 1949

$4,800

The Gift Of The Two Lines Small Oil Painting

Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL

The Gift Of The Two Lines Born on March 21, 1906, in Moscow, she arrived as an emigrant to Paris at the age of 15, bearing in her young experience, the weight of the most transformi...

Category

1960s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

Helena Adamoff
The Gift Of The Two Lines Small Oil Painting, 1960

$3,000

19th century English Folk Art Cottage landscape with figures playing by a pond

Located in Woodbury, CT

A very well painted classic English Folk art painting of figured playing by the pond with ducks and a rural cottage. This style of painting...

Category

1840s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th century English Folk Art Cottage landscape with figures playing by a pond, circa 1840

$2,200 Sale Price

20% Off

Free Shipping

19th century Folk art Cottage with pond, ducks, Willow tree and children playing

Located in Woodbury, CT

Well painted and interesting composition. Classic mid 19th century English Folk art Cottage Landscape. The piece is framed in its original frame and is a very nice piece of Engli...

Category

19th Century Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th century Folk art Cottage with pond, ducks, Willow tree and children playing, 19th Century

$1,960 Sale Price

20% Off

Free Shipping

19th century British Folk Art, Singers singing about Napoleon in a landscape

Located in Woodbury, CT

Anonymous (English School) The Ballad Singers, ca. 1820 Oil on canvas Lively, theatrical, and brimming with charm, The Ballad Singers is a rare surviving example of early 19th-centu...

Category

1820s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th century British School
19th century British Folk Art, Singers singing about Napoleon in a landscape, circa 1820

$6,950

Free Shipping

More Ways To Browse

Vintage Coney Island Signs

Mid Century Modern Brooklyn Bridge

Collie Dog

Vintage Boardwalk Signs

Steeplechase Oil Paintings

Cow Going Abstract

Bethesda Fountain

Collie Dog Oil Paintings

Primitive Painting Dog

Barnyard American Painting

Girl With Cows Oil Painting

Hot Dog Stand

Vintage Embalming

Occupied Japan China

"Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York" Vestie Davis, Self-Taught Folk Art

View Similar Items

Vestie Davis
"Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York" Vestie Davis, Self-Taught Folk Art
1968

About the Item

More From This Seller

Late 20th Century Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Purvis Young
Trucks in the City African American Self-Taught Florida Outsider Folk Art Urban, 1980s

1990s Outsider Art Landscape Paintings

Purvis Young
"Cars, Buildings People" Contemporary Outsider Folk Art African American Urban, c. 1990s

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

koehler
"Cruise Ship Rolls In" Mid 20th Century American Contemporary Modern Realism, c. 1950s

1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Ernest Fiene
"Glassblowers" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century New York City WPA, 1944

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Bernard Gussow
"3rd Avenue EL" NYC American Scene Ashcan WPA Modern 20th Century Social Realism, c. 1930s

1910s Figurative Paintings

Gerrit Beneker
WWI American Scene Ashcan Modern 20th Century Historical Realism Industrial WPA, 1918

You May Also Like

1850s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Mid 19th Century Folk Art Hunting Scene, Landscape, Animal and Figurative, 1852, 1852

1940s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Streeter Blair
"Overholser Family, 1890, Sterling, Illinois" Streeter Blair, 1949 Painting, 1949

1960s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Helena Adamoff
The Gift Of The Two Lines Small Oil Painting, 1960

1840s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

19th century English Folk Art Cottage landscape with figures playing by a pond, circa 1840

19th Century Folk Art Landscape Paintings

19th century Folk art Cottage with pond, ducks, Willow tree and children playing, 19th Century

1820s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

19th century British School
19th century British Folk Art, Singers singing about Napoleon in a landscape, circa 1820

Recently Viewed

More Ways To Browse

"Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York" Vestie Davis, Self-Taught Folk Art

View Similar Items

Vestie Davis"Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York" Vestie Davis, Self-Taught Folk Art1968

About the Item

More From This Seller

Late 20th Century Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Purvis YoungTrucks in the City African American Self-Taught Florida Outsider Folk Art Urban, 1980s

1990s Outsider Art Landscape Paintings

Purvis Young"Cars, Buildings People" Contemporary Outsider Folk Art African American Urban, c. 1990s

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

koehler"Cruise Ship Rolls In" Mid 20th Century American Contemporary Modern Realism, c. 1950s

1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Ernest Fiene"Glassblowers" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century New York City WPA, 1944

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Bernard Gussow"3rd Avenue EL" NYC American Scene Ashcan WPA Modern 20th Century Social Realism, c. 1930s

1910s Figurative Paintings

Gerrit BenekerWWI American Scene Ashcan Modern 20th Century Historical Realism Industrial WPA, 1918

You May Also Like

1850s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Mid 19th Century Folk Art Hunting Scene, Landscape, Animal and Figurative, 1852, 1852

1940s Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Streeter Blair"Overholser Family, 1890, Sterling, Illinois" Streeter Blair, 1949 Painting, 1949

1960s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

Helena AdamoffThe Gift Of The Two Lines Small Oil Painting, 1960

1840s Folk Art Landscape Paintings

19th century English Folk Art Cottage landscape with figures playing by a pond, circa 1840

19th Century Folk Art Landscape Paintings

19th century Folk art Cottage with pond, ducks, Willow tree and children playing, 19th Century

1820s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

19th century British School19th century British Folk Art, Singers singing about Napoleon in a landscape, circa 1820

Recently Viewed

More Ways To Browse

Vestie Davis
"Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York" Vestie Davis, Self-Taught Folk Art
1968

Purvis Young
Trucks in the City African American Self-Taught Florida Outsider Folk Art Urban, 1980s

Purvis Young
"Cars, Buildings People" Contemporary Outsider Folk Art African American Urban, c. 1990s

koehler
"Cruise Ship Rolls In" Mid 20th Century American Contemporary Modern Realism, c. 1950s

Ernest Fiene
"Glassblowers" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century New York City WPA, 1944

Bernard Gussow
"3rd Avenue EL" NYC American Scene Ashcan WPA Modern 20th Century Social Realism, c. 1930s

Gerrit Beneker
WWI American Scene Ashcan Modern 20th Century Historical Realism Industrial WPA, 1918

Streeter Blair
"Overholser Family, 1890, Sterling, Illinois" Streeter Blair, 1949 Painting, 1949

Helena Adamoff
The Gift Of The Two Lines Small Oil Painting, 1960

19th century British School
19th century British Folk Art, Singers singing about Napoleon in a landscape, circa 1820