Buying Ralph Cahoon paintings – Highest Prices Paid: Artist Bio & images follow:
Ralph Eugene Cahoon, Jr. (1910 – 1982)
Ralph Cahoon, Jr. was an artist and furniture decorator. Born in Chatham, Massachusetts to a family directly descended from the first Dutch Settlers of Cape Cod, Cahoon attended Boston’s School of Practical Art where he focused primarily on commercial art. In 1930 when Cahoon met and subsequently married (in 1932) a young Harwich woman named Martha Farnham, the daughter of a well-respected and successful furniture decorator, Axel Farham.
Martha introduced Ralph to the art of furniture decoration. In 1953, socialite Joan Whitney Payson convinced Ralph and Martha to frame some of their designs and then offered to show their works in her Long Island Gallery. Their careers took off as they both executed paintings inspired by Pennsylvania Dutch motifs. Ralph’s paintings were lighthearted, unpretentious and nostalgic.
Ralph started painting whimsical scenes of sailors and mermaids frolicking on the backs of whales, in hot air balloons, on majestic ships, and countless other fantastic settings. As his commissions grew, Ralph would often incorporate his patron’s businesses, homes, or professions into the finished work along with the standard mermaids and sailors.
Ralph continued painting up until his death in 1982.
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