MARY JANE BOEHM (SHENANDOAH CO., VA, B.1825) SHENANDOAH VALLEY OF VIRGINIA FOLK ART VALENTINE DRAWING, watercolor and ink on woven paper with applied cut-paper embellishment, a charming work, featuring flowering stems issuing from a central heart above another applied cut-paper heart and heart-in-hand flanked by facing birds perched on branches. Signed "Mary J. Boehm" at top and inscribed "A Pheasant / A Nightingale" above bird figures at bottom. Housed under glass in likely original walnut frame. Together with the artist's own New Testament, published 1822 and inscribed in period script "Mary Jane Boehm's Book" in front. Circa 1825-1835. 9 1/2" x 7 1/4" sight, 11" x 9" OA.
Provenance: Laughlin Auctions, Woodstock, VA, June 9, 2001, the estate of Effie Tillie Stickley of Strasburg, VA.
Catalogue Note: Mary Jane Boehm was born in Shenandoah Co., VA around 1825 and married Ephraim S. Mowrey sometime in the 1850's. There are numerous Mowrey names inscribed in the New Testament copy which accompanies this lot.
Condition
Toning, fading, staining, and small areas of deterioration and losses to one edge. Glass, probably original, cracked.