24: LOUIS FREUND (1905-1999) OIL ON MASONITE DATED 1935

Louis (Harry Louis) Freund (1905-1999)
Mattison's Blacksmith Shop, Conway Arkansas (1935 or 1936)
The untitled Regionalist Movement oil on Masonite is signed and dated by Louis Freund lower right front. The date is a bit illegible.

While the artist didn't provide a title for this painting, or name the location, he does provide a clue with the sign out front lettered MATTISON.

In September of 2021, the City of Conway, Arkansas commissioned an 'African American Historic Context Study' in which researchers documented the history of Black-owned businesses in Conway. Researchers found that, ''The Mattison family started a blacksmith shop at Mill and Markham in the early 1900s, which grew into a general repair and welding shop then transitioned to auto repair;'' They also observed that, ...''Black-owned businesses in the neighborhood included a café, a dry cleaner, and several small grocery stores/confectionaries mixed into the fabric of the residential areas; these small neighborhood stores did not have a large selection and neighborhood residents walked or drove downtown to White-owned grocery for some items.''

One could argue there are other clues suggesting this is a painting of the Mattison property in old Conway, Arkansas. This scene depicts a blacksmith shop next to a clapboard grocery seemingly held together by tin advertising signs - the name Mattison being painted on one of them. Another advertises Butter-Nut Bread. It has been recorded that around 1920, Willie and Luella Mattison purchased a property at 349 Markham Street and owned a blacksmith shop next door.

Also, the artist portrays a dark-skinned girl wearing a yellow dress standing outside the clapboard structure, while through the screen door there appears to be the figure of a dark skinned boy wearing a hat.

Add to this that from 1933 until 1949, Louis Freund spent a great deal of time in and around the town of Conway as student, artist and teacher. At about the time this picture was made, he was, in his own words, working, ''As a Works Progress Administration painter in Arkansas in 1936 with a $40 Model T Ford and a grant of $76 a month for expenses, I drove to the Ozarks and Missouri and made pictures of a way of life which was rapidly disappearing. The works were sent to Washington to decorate government offices, and hospital rooms later.'' The artist went on to recall of this period, ''Under government-sponsored competitions, I was awarded $20 per square foot to paint murals in small post offices in three states to commemorate local history.'' Two of the murals he mentions were in Arkansas, including one in the town of Heber Springs, an hour from Conway. Perhaps more research could confirm what appears to be a very strong case for the attribution of the scene depicted here.

The Mattison family enjoys a long, rich history of prominence in Conway. Their ranks include more than a few doctors (Dr. Columbus A. Mattison was Conway's first African American doctor), generations of blacksmiths, teachers, farmers, preachers, and Tuskegee Airman Major William T. Mattison.
Board measures 18 x 23.75 with a framed size of 23.5 x 29.5 inches.
Very good original condition. There are no issues of scratches, losses, repairs, in-painting or touch-up. The white cloud areas confirm a slight yellowing of the surface.
$3,500 - $4,500