Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Cardinal and Red Carnation" Signed lower right. Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board.
Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood Commemorative cover for the Ohio "Balke's Birds and Flowers" series, cancelled March 1, 1985. The male Cardinal brings the female tidbits of berries and insects during the two weeks that she incubates the three bluish-white eggs spotted with brown. While she prepares another nest for a second set of eggs, the male often takes complete charge of the fledglings, feeding them grasshoppers and beetles. So strong is the male Cardinal's instinct to feed young birds that he sometimes thrusts food down the throats of nestlings of other species. When out of the nest, the fledglings wear a plumage even browner and duller than their mother's garb, but soon their undersides turn lighter and the crests of the young male birds become reddish in color. The Red Carnation, a European native, has been cultivated for the last two thousand years. Its name is derived from the Latin carnis, flesh, because the flower is commonly thought of as being pale pink, or flesh-colored. It was honored with the title of state flower of Ohio in memory of President William McKinley. He was born in Niles, Ohio, in 1843, and it was his favorite flower. More than one hundred varieties of Carnations have been developed by man from the original wild pink, which had only five petals. Carnations come in many colors, all with highly fragrant flowers. Some varieties have a narrow edging of a second color trimming the petals.
Image Size: 11 x 12.75 in.
Overall Size: 18.25 x 21 in.
Unframed.
(B09345)
Condition
- By registering to bid for this auction either in-house or online and/or placing a bid in this auction the BIDDER/BUYER agrees to all the terms and conditions of Helmuth Stone Gallery Auctions.
- Due to the size of our gallery not all items are out for preview at one time. If you plan on coming to preview any lot(s) we recommend letting us know prior so we can have them collected and prepared for your preview.
- All silver, gold and/or jewelry lots or invoices containing said lots MUST be paid for via WIRE TRANSFER, no other forms of payment will be accepted.
- All items are sold as-is where-is and no guarantees are made of any kind. All sales are final; no refunds will be given under any circumstances.
- All artwork is listed and sold per section (10) of our terms and conditions, please read over all definitions of authorship prior to bidding to better understand artwork listings.
- Helmuth Stone Gallery provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater. The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging.
- Online images can sometimes be low quality due to the uploading process, original high-resolution images can be requested via email at HelmuthStone@gmail.com
- We recommend looking into shipping quotes prior to bidding, shipping quotes can take up to a week or more post-sale as we host our auctions through multiple online platforms and shipping can become backlogged, if you would like a list of local shippers please email us directly.
- Our auction catalogs are hosted through multiple online platforms along with phone and in-house bidding. Bids placed on other platforms are not shown through this catalog. Because of this, even if it appears you are the only absentee bid or bidder on a lot, you may already be outbid or may have placed a bid equal to another bidder. Therefore, we always recommend bidding live.
- Unless otherwise stated in the description, all items are sold without additional documentation or COAs. If any supporting documentation is available an image will be available online via the catalog listing.