to the Salon of
William Fuller Curtis (1873–1938)

1904 Copper Repoussé Panel
in Pyrography Frame with Color

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Untitled, Goatherd By William Fuller Curtis, 1904 Pyrography and color on a wooden frame surrounding a copper repoussé panel Framed panel is 45 in. wide by 26 in. tall.

Untitled, Goatherd (detail of the central panel) By William Fuller Curtis, 1904 Pyrography and color on a wooden frame surrounding a copper repoussé panel Framed panel is 45 in. wide by 26 in. tall.

Untitled, Goatherd (verso) By William Fuller Curtis, 1904 Pyrography and color on a wooden frame surrounding a copper repoussé panel Framed panel is 45 in. wide by 26 in. tall. Note initials WFC inscribed vertically on back of frame (upper right) with the date 1904 inscribed horizontally below them.

Untitled, Goatherd (detail of panel and frame) By William Fuller Curtis, 1904 Pyrography and color on a wooden frame surrounding a copper repoussé panel Framed panel is 45 in. wide by 26 in. tall.

Untitled, Goatherd (detail of panel and frame) By William Fuller Curtis, 1904 Pyrography and color on a wooden frame surrounding a copper repoussé panel Framed panel is 45 in. wide by 26 in. tall.

American artist William Fuller Curtis (1873–1938), like J. William Fosdick before him, studied art at the Académie Julian in Paris. Whereas Fosdick studied under Boulanger and Lefebvre, Curtis studied there under Lefebvre and Fleury.

The lovely and unusual panel displayed here in the E-Museum is the only one of this type by Curtis that we have seen thus far. All of the pyrography works by him that we have seen and displayed here in the E-Museum have been panels, one of which is a pyrography panel in a repoussé frame.

In contrast, the one here is a copper repoussé panel in a pyrography frame. The pyrography has been enhanced with color surrounding the monochrome, hand-hammered, central panel of copper with a pastoral scene of a goatherd playing a little musical instrument or whistle. Accompanied by his dog, he is sitting under a tree, tending his goats. This work is inscribed only with the date 1904 and the artist's initials, and only on the back of the frame, not on the copper panel.

Ethnographic art dealer and antique pyrography collector Douglas Schneible in Vermont, U.S.A., knows little of the provenance of this very rare Curtis work, which he acquired at auction in September of 2009.

Douglas Schneible has an extensive website The Arts & Crafts Gallery featuring his fine collection of antique pyrographic works and history along with his ethnographic art and artifacts.

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If you have either any questions to ask or any information to offer regarding this work or others by William Fuller Curtis, please e-mail Douglas Schneible and the E-Museum Curator.

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