RACE TRACK TOUT

With its original red-painted tall trapezoidal base composed of horizontal pine beaded boards, with old overlaid sheetmetal repairs, some fashioned from early cigar signage.  Executed in Providence, Rhode Island circa 1880.

Adele Earnest, Stony Point, New York;
Stewart E. Gregory, Wilton, Connecticut;
Sotheby Parke Bernet, Inc., New York, Important American Folk Art and Furniture, The Distinguished Collection of the late Stewart E. Gregory, January 27, 1979, lot 194;
Mr. and Mrs. Francis S. Andrews, Lincoln, Massachusetts;
Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, Fine Americana, Volume II, April 30, 1980, lot 622;
Mr. and Mrs. Al Davidson, New York;
Gemini Antiques, New York;
David A.  Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, Woodbury, Connecticut

New York, New York, Museum of American Folk Art, An Eye on America: Folk Art from the Stewart E. Gregory Collection, March 13-May 14, 1972.

Jean Lipman, "Living with Antiques, Stewart Gregory's Connecticut Barn," The Magazine Antiques, January 1971, p. 113; 
An Eye on America: Folk Art from the Stewart E. Gregory Collection (New York: Museum of American Folk Art, 1972), p. 15;
Thomas E. Norton, 100 Years of Collecting in America, The Story of Sotheby Parke Bernet (New York: Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1984), p. 214;
Adele Earnest, Folk Art in America (Exton, Pa: Schiffer Pub., 1984), p. 182;
John L. Marion with Christopher Andersen, The Best of Everything (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989), p. 23

In the early 20th century this figure underwent repairs to areas of damage on the right arm, hand and face. These included a black-painted sheetmetal overlay applied to its left arm, repair to thumb on left hand, repair to tip of nose. The face was repainted at that time, the mustache was altered and a bow-tie was painted on the high collar, in an attempt to update the piece to a 20th century aesthetic. The balance of the painted surfaces on the figure are old and undisturbed showing a distinctive allover crackled and crazed surface. Conservation of the figure in 2003 included the removal of the sheetmetal repair to the left arm, filling of all associated losses on the arm, and in-painting to match surrounding surfaces. The vest was matched to its original green coloration. The tip of the nose, thumb and mustache were restored to their original appearance. The over-painted surface of the face was taken down, and areas of loss on the face were matched to the original polychrome which remained. The non-original black-painted bow tie was removed from the high collar. Two age cracks in the back were filled.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Only a handful of these race track tout figures exist: one is at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center in Williamsburg, Virginia; one is at the Morgan Museum in Pennsylvania; one is at the Shelburne in Vermont; and two are in private collections.

Charles Parker Dowler was an English-born gunsmith who emigrated to Providence, Rhode Island in 1863 to make weapons for the Civil War. After the war, he advertised himself as “Carver and Modeler. Ornamental Designer. All kinds of carving for furniture and house in the latest style of the Art” and a “designer of interior and exterior decorations, models for monumental works, and patterns for jewelry”. He built and decorated a number of prominent houses in Providence, one of which, the Charles Dowler House, is in the National Register of Historic Places; created widely admired decorative carvings inside and outside the Narragansett Hotel; and was commissioned to sculpt a monument for Samuel Collyer, the chief engineer of the Pawtucket Fire Department who died in 1884 when his engine overturned while racing to a fire. He is also believed to have carved trade figures, and a small group of closely related dudes or touts, which portray nattily dressed young men who took and fixed bets at late-nineteenth century racetracks, are attributed to his highly skilled hand.