Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Rhode Island Red and Violet" 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 Rhode Island "Balke's Birds and Flowers", cancelled May 29, 1985.
In Adarnsville, Rhode Island, there is a monument to the Rhode Island Red, the famous bird with fan clubs, as far away as India and Australia. Known throughout the world, the Rhode Island Red breed of poultry traces its ancestry back to a farm in Little Compton in the year 1854. This is the hen that gave the poultry industry to the world when it replaced the scrawny barnyard fowl. It is well-known for its succulent meat as well as for high-quality egg-laying. The Red's profile decorates veteran's caps, the doorways of a Rhode Island association of grocers, and is used to illustrate letterheads and programs. When traveling, many of the state's citizens wear a Rhode Island Red lapel pin. Garden Violets are generally hybrids and may be purple, blue, yellow, white, or combinations of these, sometimes with double flowers and heart-shaped leaves. The Violet has long been regarded as a symbol of modesty. Followers of Napoleon, who promised to return from Elba with Violets in the spring, used the blossom as a badge. Various species, particularly the sweet Violet, have been used for perfume, dye, and medicine. Although in winter a Violet seems to disappear, it does not die. The rootstock shrinks, but with the coming of spring it sprouts anew. Violets have five petals, one upper pair and another pair separated by a broader petal.
Image Size: 11 x 12.75 in.
Overall Size: 19.25 x 21 in.
Unframed.
(B09540)
Condition
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