Clementine Hunter (American/Louisiana, 1886-1988)

Clementine Hunter (American/Louisiana, 1886-1988), "Canasta Players", oil on board, monogrammed mid-right, 16 in. x 23 7/8 in., framed Provenance: Gift of the artist; Collection of Blythe White Rand, Alexandria, LA; thence by descent. Note: This painting has been authenticated by renowned Clementine Hunter expert Tom Whitehead. Note: Descended in the family, “Canasta Players” was part of the important collection of Clementine Hunter works owned by Blythe White Rand, of which seven examples are now conserved in the collection of The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Rand family of Alexandria, Louisiana leased a site on Cane River to build a fishing camp on the property of Melrose Plantation, thus becoming neighbors with their good friends, the Henry family, and artist Clementine Hunter. The scene depicts three identified figures, a rarity in the artist’s work, and was inspired by an occasion when Hunter, who was working at the Big House on Melrose at the time, witnessed Mrs. Rand and her two friends playing canasta, a popular new card game. Although depicted as Black, the three women are (left to right): Cammie Henry, owner of Melrose Plantation; Blythe White Rand, a close friend of Henry and fellow gardener and weaver; and Caroline Dorman, author, artist, botanist and founder of the Caroline Dorman Botanical Nature Preserve, located just fifty miles from Melrose. Completed in the late 1950s or early 1960s, this painting was delivered to Mrs. Rand by Hunter, whose cabin was located just a short ten-minute walk away, and Hunter explained that it was “a painting of her, and Miss Cammie, and Miss Caroline playing canasta.” The work is reputedly the first of her famous card-playing series and exhibits Hunter’s distinctive style of creating depth through different color choices and shading. Unique in the series, the center figure depicting Mrs. Rand appears to be suspended in mid-air at the wrought iron table, an endearing technique by Hunter to indicate Mrs. Rand’s small stature.
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