Velveteria on Newsweek.com
Velveteria in Newsweek, photo by Alan Borrud
Black Velvet, If You Please
Kitsch or Art? Museum Fuzzes the Line
Some black velvet paintings are worth upward of $10,000, and some just pull down a few bucks at a garage sale. There are abundant Elvises and poker dogs that reinforce the stereotypes about this tacky, black-light-friendly medium, but there are also delicate portraits and detailed tropical scenes that defy a viewer’s expectations.
About 350 black velvet paintings can be found in the Velveteria Museum, a Portland, Ore., gallery run by Carl Baldwin and Caren Anderson, whose new book, “Black Velvet Masterpieces,” describes them as “the world’s leading authorities on this underappreciated art.”
Join us on a tour, narrated by Baldwin and Anderson of some of the highlights of the Velveteria.
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