William Barss illustration art, barn dance

William Barss (American, 1916-1990), gouache on cardstock illustration of several people square dancing in a barn, while a man looks on from a loft overhead, with a record player by his side. Signed "Barss" lower left. Float mounted under glass; titled on mat "Square Dancing at Peterborough, N. Hamp. by William Barss", in pencil, left, and in pencil, right: "Featured in Ford Times" (a magazine produced by the Ford Motor Company). Image 14 1/2" H x 19 5/8" W; 25 1/2" H x 30 1/2" W framed. William Barss was a portraitist and illustrator, born in Ohio and educated in Boston. He illustrated a variety of books, including those of Eleanor Roosevelt and Isaac Asimov. Barss and his wife Currie, who was also a trained artist, worked with the folk artist Peter Hunt in Provincetown, and Barss is represented in the permanent collection of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. He exhibited at the Margaret Brown Gallery of Boston in the 1940s and the Chicago Art Institute in 1947, and is listed in Falk's Who Was Who in American Art.
Condition Report: Painting: excellent condition, not examined out of frame. Frame has some wear and small abrasions.