1940s PAINTING SELMA CALHOUN BARKER OLD WEST PROSPECTOR

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Please check with us for other shipping options (and/or free pickup in Baker City, Oregon); the first option shown on the shipping calculator may not be the best or least expensive option to fit your needs! Happy to work with you to get the best rate and method! This auction is for a delightful old oil on canvas painting by Selma Calhoun Barker, circa the 1930's to 1940's, another of our favorite pieces that must reluctantly go to a new home. The painting is of a grizzly old prospector climbing up from the desert floor to find the riches buried in the mountains; he stands on a rock out-cropping with a pick and a canteen over one shoulder, his cane in the other hand and a pistol in the holster at his waist--looking at the vast expanse before him while his two ever-faithful companion burros plod up the hill behind him, laden with all the supplies the old timer will need to stake his claim. Some details, particularly those in the forefront have a very heavy application of paint, creating texture; it is signed in the lower left corner and is reminiscent of the Old West/California gold rush days; to our knowledge it isn't titled but "One Last Chance" would be appropriate to the theme! We have had the painting for years but had been unable to find any information about the artist until a friend of ours took it to the "Antiques Road Show" in Spokane, Washington about five years ago. He was pulled out of the line with it when an appraiser recognized the artist, but the painting didn't make it onto the television show because they couldn't feature it since he wasn't the owner. The appraiser confirmed the artist as Selma Calhoun Barker and said he thought the painting dated between the 1930's to 1940's; he appraised the painting for $600.00 - $800.00 at that time, for that area but also added that in the right market it could bring more and should continue to appreciate in value due to the limited availability of her works. We have tried to find out more about Barker and her other works by searching the internet but information seems very limited; we were able to find that she was a Native American Indian, born in 1893; we also learned that she had lived in Texas but moved to North Idaho (which is where we acquired the painting) after she married and continued to paint there; the date of her death is unknown. The painting has a simple wooden frame, as was found when we purchased it; it appears to have been "recycled" by the artist or a former owner to display the painting and is of roughly the same period. The painting is nailed to the stretchers with large, flat head nails and then nailed firmly into the frame with smaller nails, somewhat crudely; the "hanger" across the back is an old electrical cord which has been doubled, works fine so we never bothered to change it out, adds to the authentic charm. The actual painting roughly measures 18" tall x 36" long, overall with frame it is about 23" x 40"; it is in overall very good condition but could use a professional cleaning to restore it's true beauty, not a service that we could find available to us locally; the back of the canvas in particular is very dirty. When held to a strong light, two moon shaped hairline cracks can be seen in the clouds in the upper right corner area; once found, they can be seen on the painting upon very close inspection along with several other small hair lines nearby and a few more very small lines in the sky behind the prospector; there are no holes, punctures or repairs seen. There is a small paint flake/chip or missed spot on the canvas, less that half a pea in size, toward the right edge above the mountains; none are of particular note and do not detract from the overall charm of the painting, are mentioned for clarity of description. Also of note is a "smudge" along the bottom edge of the painting, starting as a thin line a couple of inches from the left edge and gradually getting wider closer to the right edge--this appears to be an error on the artist's part, possibly having tried to place the painting in a frame before t... read more

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