VINTAGE AFRICAN AMERICAN WALTER SANFORD " BLACK PICASSO " ABSTRACT OIL PAINTING

Description

This fabulous painting by African American artist Walter Sanford (deceased 1987; birth has been noted as 1909, 1912, and 1915) is oil on wood board (estimated to be approximately 1/8 inches thick) and measures approximately 9 1/2 x 51 inches and the framed piece measures approximately 10 1/16 x 52 1/4 inches. Mr. Sanford was from Chicago, IL. This painting may have been painted in Mexico during his time there or was painted based on his inspiration. It is in very good shape for its age with limited cracqueler. There is minor splitting in the wood and the most significant is near the bullfighter's right arm as pictured. I have not attempted to do any cleaning to this painting and it is "fresh" to the market. There doesn't appear to be any significant paint loss and any unpainted areas appear to intentional by the artist; there may be light loss near the framing. I recommend you keep the original frame and reframe it as the frame is not very sturdy. There is some concave bend as pictured and there is a straight crack line running end to end on the back. In my opinion, any deficiencies I have mentioned are very minor and do not take away from this fine painting's beauty. “Walter Sanford first rose to prominence on the South Side in the '40s, when he had his first one-man shows at venues like the South Shore Cultural Center. Sanford was heralded as "the black Picasso" for his cubist figure paintings and he won the Prix de Paris in 1952. Travelling widely in the '50s, he was influenced by Gorky, Pollock and other New York painters, and he became one of the only black abstract expressionists in Chicago.” Courtesy of www.corbettvsdempsey.com  Thanks for looking at this fantastic African American antique painting. I have another by this artist in my store and more information about this artist in that listing.