61: CHARLES BANKS WILSON (B. 1918) EXHIBITED OIL ON PANEL

Charles Banks Wilson (1918-2013)
Sugar in the Gourd (1959)
The widely exhibited work, and basis for a later lithograph of the same name, is signed lower right, dated and titled verso by the exhibition label from The Thomas Gilcrease Museum 'An Oklahoma Portrait: Retrospective of Works by Charles Banks Wilson' July-September, 1989. This painting was also included in the Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art exhibition Charles Banks Wilson: The Artist as Historian in 1998 and Oklahoma....A Retrospective Art Exhibition in Enid, Oklahoma in 2006.

Artists are always on the lookout for new and interesting subjects and scenes to paint. The sitter for this painting, a man of interesting character, seasoned with time, was an employee of the Miami, Oklahoma water department. Wilson encountered the old fiddle player somewhere along the way and asked him to pose for his painting class at Northeastern Oklahoma College. In his book The Lithographs of Charles Banks Wilson David Hunt quotes Wilson as saying, 'During rest period he tuned it up and entertained the students - an enjoyable surprise!' The painting up for bid here was made during that class alongside the artist's students.

In a letter from 1994, Wilson asks the owner of the painting at the time, Mrs. Louise Wallace, to sell it back to him, stating, ''If you will- and would set a price, I certainly would appreciate the opportunity to purchase it.' Instead, this work remained in the Wallace family and was handed down to the current owner. That letter, and correspondence related to the various exhibitions mentioned above, will be included with Sugar in the Gourd.

The title refers, in this case, to a square dance tune of very lively tempo dating to the 19th century. It originated in Southern Appalachian and Ozark traditions. The colloquialism 'Sugar in the Gourd' is much older and refers not only to good times and plenty, but also a sweet or lively surprise found with or inside of something plain and ordinary. The term originated with folks who couldn't afford even the cheapest of tin containers. One version of the song has the square dance caller crying, 'Sugar in the gourd - gourd on the ground. The way to get the sugar is to roll the gourd around.'
Panel measures 21.75 x 29.25 with a framed size of 31.25 x 38.75 inches.
Very good original untouched condition. There are no issues of scratches, losses, repairs, in-painting or touch-up.
$6,000 - $9,000