Lot 705

R.A. Miller and Betty Sue Matthews Folk Art Cut-out Figures

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Lot 705
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R.A. Miller and Betty Sue Matthews Folk Art Cut-out Figures
R.A. Miller and Betty Sue Matthews Folk Art Cut-out Figures
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R.A. Miller and Betty Sue Matthews Folk Art Cut-out Figures

Estimate: $150 - $400

Starting Bid: $80

(0 Bids)
by Concept Art Gallery
August 12, 2026 9:00 AM EDT
Live Auction
1031 S. Braddock Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA, US 15218

2 painted cut-out figures, 20th century, Folk Art, Self-Taught. Includes: Reuben Aaron, Miller (American/Georgia, 1912-2006), Untitled, 20th century, painted tin cut-out, depicting an individual with upstretched arms, signed on the verso, 10.5 x 4.5 inches. Miller was a self-taught folk artist, best known for his whirligigs, metal cutouts, and drawings. Miller began producing outsider art late in life, placing hundreds of his completed works on his property, as well as selling them on the roadside. His work gained wider recognition in the 1980s, when it was featured in a music video, and subsequently exhibited in museums of art. Widely collected, and in constant demand, Miller is acknowledged as one of the more notable folk artists in the United States. Matthews, Betty Sue (American/Alabama, 1944-2018), Untitled, 20th Century, 2- sided painted tin cut-out, depicting a figure in a polka-dot dress, signed at front, 10 x 7 inches. Matthews was born in the small town of Brundidge, southwest of Troy, Alabama, in 1944, and lived there most of her life. She later moved to Tuscaloosa, where she died in 2018. She created paintings of people she knew and animals she saw on flattened cardboard boxes, discarded furniture, and tin siding which she cut with an ax and shaped with clippers. She frequently painted on both sides to illustrate the front and back of the same individual. As an esteemed guest artist at the Kentuck Festival in Northport, Alabama, Matthews sold her artworks alongside luminaries including the Rev. Howard Finster, Della Wells, and Purvis Young for many years. Even within the vernacular tradition of painted tin cutouts created by artists such as Thornton Dial, Sam Doyle, R. A. Miller, Missionary Mary Proctor, and others, Matthews' work stands out for her preference for creating likenesses of everyday people she knew rather than archetypes or cultural/historical figures. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at many museums and can be found in the collections of the Eastern Shore Art Center in Fairhope, the International Arts Center at Troy University, the Mobile Museum of Art, the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, and numerous private collections (Bio from Maus Contemporary).

  • Condition: In good condition. Merchandise will be packed and transported by the purchaser at their own risk and expense. A list of recommended shippers is on our website: https://www.conceptgallery.com/auctions/shipping/ .

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $399 $25
$400 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $200
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000