NEW YORK – Literally translated as scissors (scheren) and cuttings (schnitte), scherenschnitte came to America with German-speaking immigrants (most from Germany, Austria and Switzerland) in the 1700s. While it was concentrated in Pennsylvania, especially Lancaster County, it spread to Virginia and other states. Typically, scherenschnitte is made by cutting a single sheet of paper, with all parts connected, into designs. These elaborate cut work pieces, including love letters, birth and family lineage records and valentines, are highly collectible.

Signed antique and vintage examples can bring over well $10,000 and private collectors as well as museums appreciate the craftsmanship and skill that goes into these works.

“The focus isn’t necessarily on the motif or the decoration, but rather on the skill of the artist and the intricacy of the cuts, the addition of other cut pieces: Did they include watercolor, pin pricks, layers, etc. … ?” said Christina Westenberger, assistant manager, museum education, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Decorative elements were limited only by the artist’s imagination but certain motifs were common such as birds, hearts and flowers with fantastic beasts and creatures sometimes seen. Similar decoration styles often appear in fraktur and painted furniture, she said.

“Scherenschnitte has its roots in Germany, but it’s really important to note that the Germans weren’t the first to start cutting paper, you can find evidence of cutting paper in histories all over the world,” Westenberger said. “The Chinese invented paper and they were the first to start cutting it up. You can also find amazing cut paper coming from Poland and Mexico, and it has deep traditions in the Jewish community.  It’s really interesting to compare and contrast scissors cutting from around the world.”

The Guild of American Papercutters, which has a museum in Somerset, Pa., has fine examples in its collection as well as members who practice this craft today, several of whom learned the craft from grandparents. Kathy Trexel Reed, the guild’s museum coordinator, explains in an article she wrote in April for the guild’s Laurel Arts Art Link that this art form shared by German-speaking immigrants was a popular method, pre-Industrial Revolution, to commemorate births, baptisms, and marriage certificates. “Lovingly cut, these often included nature references, painted accents and evolved into ‘lacy’ paper Valentines,” she wrote. While similar in nature overall, scherenschnitte has stylistic differences based on country of origin. “Symmetry was often an important design element in Swiss work, achieved by cutting the paper while folded,” she said. “Intricate borders and themes depicting landscapes and local traditions also characterized Swiss paper cuttings. Germanic and Dutch designs tended to be more surreal personalized and romanticized.” Examples of these influences are in the guild’s permanent collection and can be viewed in regular exhibitions at Laurel Arts, where the GAP museum and home office are located.

The trajectory of scherenschnitte is specifically apparent in Bethlehem, Pa., due to the city’s roots in Germanic culture and craft, notes Lindsey Jancay, director of collections and programming at Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites. “The content, materials and approach are a direct reflection of the person who created them, the intended purpose and the time period in which they were made,” she said. “At Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, we have the unique opportunity to exhibit Colonial scherenschnitte silhouettes, alongside ornate Victorian valentines, next to contemporary paper-cut artworks that take the craft to a new level with custom patterns, watercolor and text. Regardless of its iteration, technique remains the heart of the art form and joins these works across centuries.”

Jeffrey Evans, co-owner of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates in Mount Crawford, Va., said collectors are attracted to the artistic appeal and whimsical nature of scherenschnitte. Desirable decoration on these includes “folk art motifs, especially Germanic ones like distelfinks (birds), hearts, fylfots and tulips. Bright watercolor decoration adds tremendously to value, and a nicely written verse with the maker’s and recipient’s names are a big plus,” he said.

“The most desirable and popular forms are the valentines. Once in a while a birth/marriage record or bookplate with a cutwork border will turn up,” he said. “You also see a good number of pictures of various types, most of which are left white with no colored embellishments. Some of these can be extremely intricate and do draw collector’s interest, many are of New England origin. But most are fairly simple and if not signed by the maker don’t bring much money.”

Buyers will seek out examples with strong folk art appeal, and which are brightly colored, signed with presentations, family provenance, and in excellent condition with no fading or missing elements, Evans said. “Collectors are especially seeking out documented Southern examples. Most of the valentines that come to market are of Pennsylvania origin. The tradition did travel with the 19th century German immigrants into the Shenandoah Valley but surviving examples from here are extremely rare and desirable.”

Jamie Shearer, vice president of Pook & Pook, Inc. in Downingtown, Penn., noted that subject, style, quality are all factors that contribute to a piece’s appeal. “Like all artwork and different mediums, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Buyers may be looking for just a certain theme, such as hearts or eagles,” he said. “As with all antiques the three most important things are condition, condition and condition. Next would be how well it is executed, the small and more refined cuttings would produce higher sales. The final thing would be bells and whistles that are added. Pen and ink accents, a date, name of artist or of a place they were from.”

Steve Woodbury, a founding member and the first president of the Guild of American Papercutters, said buyers should be aware that in the 1920s and 1930s, many die-cut papercuts were produced in Germany, and sold widely. “While often referred to as ‘scherenschnitte,’ these are not ‘scissor cuts.’ They were mass-produced with a die-cut process, similar to paper doilies today. Even if ‘signed,’ they are not original scissor-cuts,” he said. Today’s laser technology can also create laser-cut “paper cuttings.”

Many early and authentic scherenschnitte works are signed and among sought after artists is Martha Ann Honeywell, Westenberger noted. “Here’s an artist who is creating tiny, intricate, multiple cuttings, with the inclusion of silk embroidery and woven paper objects to create one piece of art,” she said. “Not only is the piece brilliantly cut, but then you realize she was born without arms and cut with her teeth and her toes. And it’s not Valentines that she is cutting, she’s cutting silhouettes and biblical verses and what one might consider very traditional scherenschnitte designs such as birds and trees. If you haven’t seen her work … Wow!”

Artists of museum masterpieces created for the ages. Whether it is Michaelangelo’s marble David, paintings by da Vinci, Jeff Koon’s Balloon Dog, or intricate Faberge eggs for a tsar, the beauty and power behind these works were part and parcel of creating objects that would last for the ages.

In the world of folk art, however, individuals painted, whittled or carved, drew, quilted, framed or otherwise created distinctive artistic expressions on a whim. It was simply an inspiration and it was immediate. At times, folk art made a cultural statement about what it meant to be within a community, to hold certain beliefs, to be genuine. It was only recognized as art later on.

Folk art is definitely the most inclusive of the visual arts. Unlike the trained artists behind museum masterpieces, who followed guidelines of proportion, light, space, continuity and perspective, folk artists required no particular knowledge or training. Whittling a doll for your daughter from a tree branch, for example, was a personal expression to satisfy the child’s wish – a convenient alternative if a person couldn’t afford a store-bought one. Yet, the doll was just as loved and became, by accident, just as artistically and aesthetically pleasing as any museum-worthy creation.

There are two distinct categories of folk art: antique and contemporary. Both are comprised of materials such as wood, clay, metal, stone, paper, cloth and whatever else might be available. Many folk art items are utilitarian in nature, such as doorstops, picture frames, business signage, or even weathervanes. They were everyday items not generally considered to be “art” at the time of their creation. The differences one may note among folk art items in general are usually connected to the time periods during which they were created.

Antique Folk Art

Early American folk art came about as the result of the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century. As urban and industrial areas grew, people developed an interest in the more rural and agrarian traditions, including primitive or “naïve” artifacts.

These artifacts were made by itinerant craftsman, which “…led to a consideration of ‘folk art’ as anything non-elitist, primitive or homemade – art that preserved some kind of cultural heritage,” says an entry in the Art Encyclopedia. They were also made in relatively small batches, not in large commercialized lots. For example, a circa-1860s walnut mirror frame featuring a patriotic motif, hand-carved around the Civil War period, was probably a response to the war in general. It sold at auction for $2,800.

All manner of “…weathervanes, old store signs and carved figures, itinerant portraits, carousel horses, fire buckets, painted game boards, cast-iron doorstops and many other similar lines of highly collectible ‘whimsical’ antiques…” are the general categories of folk art, says Wikipedia.

Antique dealers will tell you, however, that what collectors of vintage folk art look for is the subject matter – upbeat themes such as a barber shop or fruit vendor are more desirable than funerals or sawmills, for example). Color, condition, and size are all factors as well. However, buying folk art is quite subjective. What appeals to you is the only real criterion.

Contemporary Folk Art

After the introduction of Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century, mechanization and assembly lines became the business model that persisted through most of the 20th century. Folk art itself became less about the creation of individualized utilitarian artifacts and more focused on handmade but more consistent products intended for resale as opposed to items created for personal expression.

Whether for resale or not, contemporary folk art still follows the basic principle of what folk art is, mainly that it be something that appeals to the collector, not necessarily a discipline of the fine arts. Certainly local customs, heritage and values still play a part in its creation, but the final product is intended more for display or resale than its earlier utilitarian use.

Contemporary folk art includes some handmade and hand-painted artworks, such as duck decoys, hand-stitched quilts, beadwork, jewelry, baskets, cutlery, picture frames, paintings, game boards, bird cages, tribal masks, totem poles, and smaller wooden crafts. They are distinguished by their strikingly bold colors, unique designs and personal style of craftsmanship.

Tramp art:

Just a word about tramp art and its meaning… At one time, homeless or itinerant people once were described as “hobos” or “tramps,” especially during the period of the Great Depression. They were of all ages, sometimes family men who wandered the country looking for any kind of work. Along the way, they were known to take pocketknives to pieces of available wood – even cigar boxes – and fashion picture frames, canes, furniture, fanciful sculpture and other objects. Many even filed down general coinage and carved elaborate images in them as well.

Curiously, tramp art is a more modern term for any type of hand-carved item that seems within the genre of “tramp art,” even if made by artisans at home. The period of “tramps” lasted only from about 1870 to 1940 or so, yet this subset is still considered within the folk art tradition even in the contemporary era.

In summary:

Folk art is an all-inclusive term that identifies visual arts that are created outside the traditions of fine art. When you hear of tramp art, naïve art and even outsider art, you are essentially within the folk art community.

So, folk art is local. It is expressive, quite colorful, without pretense and yet still reflects how we feel about the world around us. We might say that folk art is us.