Beschreibung:

Folkard (Charles, 1878-1963). The artist's painting smock coat, early-mid 20th century, long smock coat, handmade in linen, with collar, long sleeves with cuffs, and two patch pockets, machine-stitched seams, yoke, pockets, and sleeves smocked by hand in cream thread, hand-stitched button holes to front opening and cuffs (lacking buttons), some staining and marks, one 6" drip of white paint to right-hand smocked area of yoke, linen hanging loop inside neck broken, length 109 cm (43 ins), sleeve length 59 cm (23 2/8 ins), together with: The artist's lay figure, possibly French, 19th century, hand-carved wooden figurine with articulated head, torso, and limbs, lower part of left leg attached to right knee, lower part of right leg detached (and broken where articulated), 17.5cm x 5cm (6 7/8 x 2ins), plus an autograph letter signed written to the artist's grandson, saying 'Ted [Folkard, the artist's brother] gave me this years ago after "mending" it - you observe the legs are on the wrong way round!', going on to express the hope that he would picture his grandfather using & enjoying it, and Teddy Tail looking into a cave, pen & ink with watercolour wash in tones of blue, showing a mouse wearing a striped tunic and a hat, looking through a crevice at rock formations, signed upper left 'Charles Folkard', 13 x 18.7cm (5 1/8 x 7 3/8ins), mounted, framed and glazed (25.7 x 31.1cm), with pencil inscription on backboard 'Teddy Tail - Rock' Provenance: From the artist and thence by descent. The smocking on the coat is believed by the family to have been stitched by the artist's daughter, Janet (born 1917). The photograph of Charles Folkard wearing the smock and leaning over a garden gate was taken in the 1950s in Winchelsea, Sussex, where he and his son built a cottage on the Ridge near the beach. Charles Folkard is best-known for his imaginative illustrative work for children's books, as well as for creating the influential strip cartoon 'Teddy Tail'. Before becoming an artist, Folkard was a magician and performed Punch and Judy shows, appearing under the pseudonym 'Professor Volkard'. It is thought that he probably wore a velvet jacket and velvet smoking hat when in this guise. He only realised his artistic talents when he began designing programmes for his conjuring shows. Family reminiscences recall that at least one of his small grandsons found Folkard's Punch and Judy shows quite terrifying, whilst later he cut quite a figure in his smock.