Wayman Adams 

(1883-1959) 

Anybody developing an interest in paintings will eventually become intrigued by the implements of the artist: brushes, palette, paints, etc. At some point the collector will want a painting, usually a still life, representing the tools of the trade. I discovered this juicy, spontaneous piece in 1978 by a relatively lesser- known name, Wayman Adams, an artist who showed the influence of masters such as William Merritt Chase and Irving Wiles. I was told by one very prominent art dealer that he was about to land the Adams estate (this was in 1978) but there was a brief glitch with lawyers or something. He said that when it cleared up, the gallery was really going to promote the artist, since there was a respectable quantity of high-quality work. This dealer already had a few examples at obscene prices, so I acquired this from a different dealer at appropriate prices for the day. Decades later, I still own the painting, and the gallery about to represent the estate apparently has never ironed out the legal glitches—since, to my knowledge, a large estate-size body of Wayman Adams’ work has never hit the market.