The Art of T. Bailey

By Gordon M. Folger Jr. and Ross Ragan

This is the intriguing tale of the artist T. Bailey, his art, and his equally intriguing associations, real or imagined. The intrigue enshrouds the man himself as a fog rendering him nearly invisible. His art, as identified by his unique signature and technique, is most certainly not invisible. But herein lies the intrigue as many of his critics, and he has many, lend doubt as to his very existence, preferring to attribute the artwork to a number of artists assembled by a charlatan named Morris Hambro, who would acquire the unsigned works of others and affix the T. Bailey signature to them. He would then offer these for sale, no one the wiser.

Adding to the intrigue, there were several individuals who personally knew him and his art and on one of his most productive venues, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. The artwork reproduced herein represents some of that painted by T. Bailey on Nantucket and assembled by collectors thereupon. Much of this was painted while the artist was a guest at the Sea Cliff Inn, and some was even used as payment for hotel accommodations; the Sea Cliff Inn located on Nantucket Island was owned by the Folger family, thus lending explanation for the sizable number of pieces contributed by this single collector.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514483299

Gordon M. Folger Jr.

Gordon Folger is a retired academic pediatric cardiologist with a family history on Nantucket Island dating from 1660. In those years, as might be expected, family members had been employed in many different professions varying from whalers to hoteliers, the latter playing a most important role in the T. Bailey story. Dr. Folger’s earliest years were spent in a hotel owned by the family, the Sea Cliff Inn, later in another hotel, aptly named the Gordon Folger. In each of these venues he was surrounded by the works of art found reproduced in this, the T. Bailey saga. Of interest is the fact that, as a guest at the Sea Cliff Inn, T. Bailey partially paid his room rent with artwork accounting for the sizable number illustrated herein. Throughout his academic medical career, Dr. Folger authored numerous scientific articles, abstracts, and textbook chapters. This is his second book.

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Copyright © 2016 by Gordon M. Folger Jr. 714081

ISBN:   Softcover              978-1-5144-8330-5

              EBook                  978-1-5144-8329-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 04/22/2016

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Introduction

T. Bailey. The name can be found affixed to numerous, actually countless oil paintings mostly discoverable in the northeastern quadrant of the United States. Although principally of marine subjects, there are amongst them shorescapes and landscapes. Of significance is that while the signatures on the works are comparable the artistic technique tends to be variable from remarkable to actually amateurish. For instance, comparison of the two paintings of the USS Constitution in the current collection (plates 1 and 2) is noteworthy. One (plate 1) was an award winning piece, part of the Folger collection, while the other (plate 2),although purchased on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, was discovered discarded in an attic in Ohio.

Who was this painter, this apparent will-o’-the-wisp, who seems to have been artistically inconsistent to the points of excellence varying to novice-like; or, perhaps as some critics believe, who were these artists? The art world abounds with artists whose work varies with psychological mood changes, and this