The World Through Grains of Sand
In the latter half of the 19th century, there were limited job opportunities for people with disabilities, so when he carved his career path, Andrew Clemens turned to the hobby he enjoyed during his summer vacations from school — sand art.
A self-taught folk artist, Clemens’ delicate craftsmanship of his sand art, contained in small apothecary bottles, is desired by collectors and some examples sell at auction for six figures. Four of these bottles, in fact, set world records in 2021, on the heels of another record-breaking bottle in late 2020.
During Skinner Auctioneer’s online Americana sale in November, three of Clemens’ sand bottles sold for a total of nearly $1.8 million, a
