(American/South Carolina, 1835-1921)

Choppin' the Patch, signed lower right "WAWalker", oil on board, 12 x 20-1/4 in.; modern giltwood frame, 17-1/2 x 25-1/2 x 2 in

Provenance: Subsequent to the exhibition at the LSM it was sold by the noted antiquarian Don Didier of New Orleans to a prominent private collector in El Dorado, AR. It has been in their collection since 1973.

Note: William Aiken Walker: Southern Genre Painter by August Trovaioli and RoulhacToledano was published in 1972 by LSU Press. In conjunction with the publication of this book and in response to increased interest in the artist, the Louisiana State Museum organized the exhibition “The World of William Aiken Walker.” The impressive work offered here was illustrated in both the original and second printings of the monograph and served as a highlight of the Louisiana State Museum exhibition. The expansive scene encompasses nine figures working in a cotton field. The same figure with a striped hat lower right can be found in the Currier and Ives lithograph of Walker’s famous “Southern Cotton Plantation,” while the bonneted woman is painted after a known photograph taken by the artist. Walker’s artistic aptitude in capturing the individuality of each of the figures as well as the unique natural landscape is poignantly displayed. While Walker’s oeuvre is extensive, works at this scale and with this level of detail are very rare.

Exhibited: “The World of William Aiken Walker,” Louisiana State Museum, Presbytere, New Orleans, LA, Dec. 1972-Jan. 1973. (See labels on verso of painting.)

Illustrated: Trovaioli, August and Roulhac Toledano, William Aiken Walker: Southern Genre Painter, Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1972, plate 13.
Trovaioli, August and Roulhac Toledano, William Aiken Walker: Southern Genre Painter, Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Co., 2008, p. 108, plate 27.