As is often the case with so-called "naive" or "Primitive" pictures, the identity of the artists remains a mystery. They were painted by artists with little or no formal artistic training and yet, in many instances, an innate sense of composition and design, a frequent flair for decoration, and a charming innocent directness lend a strength to the pictures.

Many of the anonymous American artists of the 19th century were itinerant limners, artists who moved from town to town and who, working in an age in which the camera ws little used or completely unknown, were commissioned to record for posterity the likenesses of their fellow citizens.

The high-waisted Woman with Jagged Collar gazes directly and openly at the viewer. The curvilinear folds of the dress form decorative patterns which tend to take on a two-dimensional character. The collar, the earrings, the lace edging, the three little flowers, and even the sitter's slender fingers punctuate the painting in a decorative manner which gives the painting much of its charm. But at the same time, the unknown artist has revealed something of the character of his subject.

Source: Bulletin, November-December, 1981.