Miniature Furniture by Howard Finster (1916-2001)
What an unexpected find!—a four-piece set of carved, decorated miniature furniture by visionary self-taught artist Howard Finster. While he is best known for his densely painted Biblical narratives and folky parables, the Reverend Finster also had a sculptor’s eye, as evidenced by his mixed media assemblages, large and small.
As this set of two small side chairs, an armchair and a sofa suggest, he was also something of an architect. Presumably made from found, recycled plywood that was stained and then decorated with wood punching tools, all four pieces feature canted, serpentine backs and rounded arms. The pieces are unsigned, but there are signed examples of Finster’s work that bear the same punch tool forms. What’s interesting is that two of the pieces are marked with prices on the underside – early prices, I might add — as we’ve seen with Elijah Pierce and others.
Dimensions: Sofa 13-1/2” L X 8-1/8”H X 4-1/4” D; Arm Chair 5-1/2” W X 8-1/4” H X 4-1/4” D; Side Chairs 3-1/4” W X 6-1/4” H X 2-1/2” D. Very good condition. Probably mid-1970s to mid-1980s.
SOLD