George Smart, "The Tailor of Frant" Significant Early Pair of Fabric Collages Depicting "The Goose Woman" and "Old Bright the Postman" Fabric Collage, Watercolour on Paper and Various Media English, Sussex, Signed and Dated, "1817"
12 ½" high x 10 ¾" wide (framed)
"The Goose Woman" Retaining Original Handwritten Inscription to Verso:
"Bless me one mile more to go o-h dear-me my poor feet I fear I shall not see my old man to night" ------------------------------ Signed in pen and ink "G. Smart Frant, Sussex, 1817". This is one of only two known works to have been inscribed by hand and signed by George Smart and is of a remarkably early date. It is possible that this is the first pair of this subject that Smart ever made and they pre-date the time when he attached printed trade labels to the reverse of his works.