Vintage South Bend INDIANA Oil Painting VIRGINIA LEE MERRILL Orig Gold Frame

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IMPORTANT – The SHIPPING COST shown above may not be best for your location. Please When you win, I will send an invoice reflecting the most economical - based on your address. Buyer pays actual cost of fully insured shipping, very safely packed. All Customs forms will state the actual selling price of items shipped internationally. Virginia Lee Thornton died two days after Christmas in 2012, having survived three husbands. She was 91 years old. Virginia married Edward Merrill in 1940, and this stunning work is signed, lower left: "V. L. Merrill." This is a large painting on board measuring 27 ½” by 21 ½” including the 1 ½” frame. I have spoken with a couple folks who knew Virginia, one since he was a child, and both spoke of her energetic love of life and what fun it was to be in her presence. All that was before I discovered this painting, and with it came a new insight into the mind of the artist. I’ll tell you in a jiffy. After studying art in Buffalo, New York under Laslo Szabo, she moved to South Bend, Indiana. According to her obituary, “Virginia Lee belonged to the Hoosier Art Patrons Association, South Bend Art Center, Michiana Academy of Art, the Northern Indiana Artist Association, Chicago Art Institute, Midland Academy of Art and the Fairfield Glade Art Guild." The painting has no damage, but I’m sure it would jump to life with a good cleaning. I love the blue of the vase, and that is the source of my new insight. After Virginia finished the painting – and sold it – she asked the buyer to give it back to her . . . temporarily. The buyer complied, and when Virginia returned the painting, it no longer had a green vase. She repainted it blue, as it is now. “That’s better,” she said. The buyer agreed. She was thrilled. Here at AKA341, we proudly put our “ fine print ” in bold because it is so simple, short, and sweet. We call its four points our “Prime Directives.” First: We never use a reserve, and we always request a starting bid of $9.00 or less. Second: We never end auctions early. Third: Rarely do we clean or even dust the things we find and offer for sale. We may push a little dust aside if it obscures something important, but that’s about it. If it is dusty and dirty when we find it, count on receiving it with the dust and dirt intact. Finally – OUR RETURN POLICY: If for any reason you are not totally thrilled with your purchase, simply send it back for a full refund, no questions asked . There is, however, one exception. If I wake up dead some morning, please disregard the return policy. It has never been out of the frame, as far as I can tell. NO DISAPPOINTMENTS GOOD LUCK My preferred method of Buyer pays actual cost of fully insured shipping, very safely packed. All Customs forms will state the actual selling price of items shipped internationally. If you have further questions about this item, please ask via eBay’s “My Messages.” For more complex questions about the doodad I’m selling; or if you’ve waited until the last few minutes before it sells, I have a phone number for CUSTOMER SUPPORT – ANNOUNCEMENT: Now and again, we run across something we feel using eBay’s “Buy It Now” is appropriate. It may be because the item is so large that shipping costs may play a substantial role in your decision-making process. Then again, the item may be so obscure or rare that there exist only a handful of collectors. Therefore, rather than adding confusion to our primary site, AKA341, we have resurrected an old eBay site called “Vinegarpie.” read more

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