H.D. Payne (American, early 20th century)
A monumental and whimsically detailed folk art panorama capturing the idyllic rhythms of early 20th-century agrarian life, The Valley Farm unfolds as a vibrant chalk tableau of pastoral abundance and technological transition. Rendered in soft, earthy pastels on a grand horizontal sheet, the composition centers on a sprawling white clapboard farmhouse and expansive bank barn, ringed by fences enclosing herds of Holstein cows, draft horses, woolly sheep, plump pigs with nursing litter, and a lively flock of ducks, geese, chickens, and strutting turkeys. Human figures animate the scene – a suspendered farmer gesturing animatedly beside a milk pail, a bowler-hatted gentleman proffering a document (perhaps a surveyor or buyer), a long-skirted woman near the porch, and a cap-wearing boy pedaling a bicycle in the foreground—evoking the communal pulse of rural endeavor.
The artist’s ingenuity shines in a deliberate timeline of transportation, bridging eras with playful prescience: a horse-drawn carriage idles before the house; an open barn door reveals a gleaming brass-era touring automobile (circa 1912) parked beside a relic buggy; a steam locomotive chugs across a distant trestle bridge; a paddle-wheel steamer plies the adjacent lake with a rowboat and sloop in tow; and high in the cloudy sky, a cigar-shaped dirigible drifts amid wheeling gulls, symbolizing the dawn of flight. Jagged hills, conifer groves, and a cupola-topped barn anchor the vista in the rolling terrain in what may be Western New York’s Finger Lakes or the Genesee Valley, where Greek Revival homesteads and stone-pier bridges dotted the landscape circa 1900–1915.
H.D. Payne, an enigmatic self-taught talent (possibly Harriet or Henry D., per census leads), infuses the work with Progressive Era optimism—progress without forsaking tradition – through fluid lines, spontaneous shading, and a warm, monochromatic palette. Faint flourishes, like the steamer smoke and a perched cat on the fence, add intimate charm. Likely a personal homage to a prosperous farmstead, displaying a rustic, agrarian vibe – possibly Western New York (think Finger Lakes or Niagara Frontier regions) which was a hotbed for such folk art in the early 1900s, often tied to farming communities.
This rare survival evokes the amateur artistry akin to limner portraits but scaled to mural-like ambition. A time capsule of 1915 America, where Model Ts met zeppelins on the horizon.
Signature/Inscription: Signed and dated lower center on fence rail: “THE VALLEY FARM / H.D. PAYNE / Artist 1915” (chalk)
Item Date: 1915
Measurement: Sight: 29.5" × 53"; Framed: 33.5" × 57"
Material: Chalk and pastel on paper
Item Condition: Very good, with light toning, scattered foxing (primarily upper sky and margins), colors vibrant, under glass; no restorations apparent. Stable mounting in period frame painted silver.
Provenance: Private collection, Western New York
Price: $6,250
SKU 1431-18
For More Information, Please Contact David Hillier at 978-597-8084 or email drh@aaawt.com.
Please click on images to expand.
