Douglas Volk/Hewnoaks collection acquired

In July 2006, I noticed an advertisement in Maine Antique Digest for an auction that sounded right up my alley: the lifetime collection of art and archival material from the well-known artist Douglas Volk (1856-1935) was to be sold in Maine by Cyr Auctions. Not only comprising Volk's own art and papers, the sale encompassed holdings from other family members: his wife Marion, son Wendell, daughter-in-law Jessie, and a collection of work by other artists, friends like illustrator Howard Pyle, or others who had spent time at "Hewnoaks," the Volk vacation home and art colony at Center Lovell, Maine. Finally, rare weavings from the Sabatos Weavers, a cooperative textile design firm established by Marion Larrabee Volk was included in the sale, along with carved furniture and frames by Karl von Rydingsvard and Wendell Volk.  Since I was just starting a new job in Allentown, PA, there was no way that I could conceivably ask for a few days off just one or two days after starting work. I was horribly disappointed, and as I thought the sale turned out to be remarkable, the stuff of stories and broken sales estimates. I was able to buy a few artworks and some archival material from one of the dealers who attended the auction. I donated archival material to the Archives of American Art, sold a sketchbook to a museum, and kept Volk's self-portrait, depicted here. Keeping the portrait must have been good kharma, because eleven years later, I was able to acquire a portion of the Volk material from one of the handful of major buyers at the 2006 auction. This consists argely of Douglas Volk drawings, some associated with his mural commissions for the Minnesota state capitol and others with his portraits,  including several of Abraham Lincoln associated with oil portraits at museums including the National Gallery, Hermitage Foundation, and the Portland Museum of Art (ME). Volk's father, sculptor Leonard Volk, was the cousin by marriage to Stephen Douglas (naming his son after the politician) and took life masks in plaster of both Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Leonard's iconic life mask of Lincoln formed the basis for many subsequent painted and sculpted portraits of Lincoln, including his own son's portraits.  Douglas sat on Lincoln's lap during his father's portrait session for Lincoln and was inspired by the experience to create Lincoln portraits later in life; one of which is in the White House. The Douglas Volk artwork is supplemented by Jessie Volk floral watercolors, some quite nice, and a collection of assorted photographs and memorabilia. I plan to sell and donate to public repositories parts of the collection. I have sold several drawings to institutions owning the related paintings, and donated various artworks and ephemera to research institutions, including the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.