Earle T. Merchant (1903-1997) was a self-taught artist from Gloucester, MA. He graduted from Boston University Law School and practiced law for over 40 years. In the early 1960's he picked up a brush, and began painting portraits, capturing hundreds of local residents from the community. He became an important figure in the Rockport Art Association, often monitoring classes and organizing life sketch groups. Merchant meticulously labeled the back of his work with the sitter's name , date, and often age. Most are oil paitings , 16" x 12" on panel, and cover the period from 1961 - 1971. Having grown up in the 60's and 70's in a shore town less than an hour south of Gloucester, the people he captures feel familiar to me. Merchant is a self taught artist. His work transcends his naive style, awkwardly rendered hands, and limited color palette. Merchant manages to capture the complex inner world of his subjects. It is easy to fall into these paintings and weave stories, and when the paintings are placed in juxtapostion to one another, it can feel like falling into a Steinbeck novel. There are so many great paintings, but my favorite might be Salvatore Favaloro, age 13, painted Feb. 21st, 1968. There is a tenderness and sadness to his soul that resonates with me... that may be in opposition to the societal expectations and tough guy posturing. We will be presenting the work in a grid of 20 paintings at the Outsider Art Fair in NYC from March 19th - 22nd. Huge thanks to Jim Messineo from Cambridge, MA who for years has been collecting Merchant's paintings . Pulp has consigned over 30 works from Jim to debut at the Fair , March 19-22. If interested in attending the please visit Outsider Art Fair Website. You can see Earle's work on our website as well. Thanks for taking a look. And maybe we'll see you in New York!