Using the Catalogue
General Searches
You may search the Catalogue by title and by catalogue number. You can also filter your search by date, medium, theme, or pre-defined keyword subjects by selecting terms from the drop-down menus at the left. If your search is general in nature, and reflects a typical Folinsbee subject, such as "New Hope," please refer to the predefined keyword list to start your search. For more information on subjects and date ranges used in the catalogue, see below.
Please Note: Search results are presented as thumbnails in a gallery view. For uniformity of presentation, the thumbnails are not displayed proportionately (e.g., an 8 x 10 inch sketch will have the same size as a painting that is 24 x 30 inches). The user has the opportunity to select a proportional representation when viewing other parts of the catalogue, such as the Exhibition History.
Date Ranges
Date ranges are included here to assist the exploration of a particular point in Folinsbee’s career. The date ranges included in the menu list correspond to significant points in the artist’s career, as defined by changes in style, palette, composition, or subject matter. Results are given in chronological order, with more general, “by,” “after,” or “circa” dates displayed toward the end of the chronological range. Early in his career, it was Folinsbee’s practice to exhibit works soon after they were completed. When a date is unknown, but is within obvious stylistic range of its first exhibition, the date displayed is the year prior to the first year of exhibition, and the first exhibition year, separated by a forward slash, for example: 1918/19.
Of course, an artist may continue to explore aspects of an earlier style, even years after he largely abandoned a particular method. For this reason, we have included filters for the stylistic tendencies that dominated Folinsbee's work. These are listed in the menu for keywords, under the heading "stylistic."
Class and Theme
Class refers to the type of work, such as drawing, print, or painting. Paintings comprise the bulk of Folinsbee's oeuvre, but he was known among his friends and family for his greeting cards, sculpted toys, doodles, and decorated letters, a selection of which are represented here.
Themes are classifications relating to genre, such as landscape, marine, and portrait. Again, most of the works in the catalogue will be grouped under landscape, but many of Folinsbee's caricatures and figure paintings are as compelling to look at as they are reveleatory of the artist who created them.
Mediums
Folinsbee's chosen medium was oil on canvas or board, but he occasionally painted in watercolor or pastel, and printmaking became a significant interest in the 1930s. In the case of multiples like prints for which there exists no variation such as an inscription, only one "item" has been catalogued, regardless of how many prints were in the run. Unlike his paintings, Folinsbee did not maintain records of his prints.
Keyword Subjects and Locations
These subjects have been chosen either because they represent certain recurring themes that Folinsbee painted, such as Industrial Landscapes or Agricultural and Rural Scenes; or because they correspond to a particularly area in which Folinsbee was working, such as Maine or New Hope. Other subjects, such as "Art about Art" or "Political Themes," reflect Folinsbee’s sense of humor about modern art and its reception as well as his family’s—particularly his wife’s—involvement in politics. A work may have many subjects, or like most portraits, none.
Unlocated Works
Although every effort has been made to track down the location or fate of every painting listed in Folinsbee's logbooks or in reviews of exhibitions, there remain significant gaps in his oeuvre, particularly for the first two decades of his career. Unlocated works can be viewed in the entire catalogue view, or filtered through "other" in the menu. We have catalogued these to the greatest extent possible, but most of these works will have only the briefest information as reflected in Folinsbee's sale and exhibition records. If you believe that you may have one of these unlocated works, we would very much like to hear from you.