Lancaster, Pennsylvania folk artist Dolores Hackenberger (1930-2024) painted these full-length portraits of an Amish boy and girl in oils on canvas. The charming pair measure 14 inches tall, 9 inches wide and 3/4 of an inch thick each. Each artwork weighs 1 1/2 pounds and, we estimate, was painted in the 1960's.
Mrs. Hackenberger's son Darrel made the frames from rough, used fir boards that he stained a dark brown color. On the back of the wooden panel on each, the artist wrote in pencil "Amish Girl" and "Amish Boy," along with: By Dolores Hackenberger 2076 Stonecrest Drive Lancaster, Penn. There is a hanging wire on the back on each and they are both in excellent condition, with the artist's signature on the lower right. Mrs. Hackenberger's paintings are highly prized, avidly collected and will become treasured family heirlooms.
A bit of biography:
✪ Dolores Hackenberger was fondly called “The Grandma Moses of Pennsylvania Dutch Country” due to her distinctive folk art paintings. However, unlike Grandma Moses, she began painting in her twenties and kept painting for 70 years. ✪ Her works were exhibited at prestigious places like the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Chicago National Art Show and many others. ✪ Her paintings have been published in Colonial Homes, Better Homes & Gardens and other national and local publications. UNICEF selected one of her winter scenes for their annual Christmas card. ✪ Prominent people such as President George H.W. Bush, singer Rod Stewart and actor Paul Newman have owned her work. Collectors from nearly every state in the country and at least 16 other countries have purchased her artworks.
