"Send in the Clowns . . . Don't bother—They're Here!"

I think the clown busts are folk art pieces. They weigh about 2.5 lbs each and are about 15 or 16" high. It seems that the hats have paper mache or some kind of tape over the ceramic then shellac over top. Their lifelike melancholy expressions have unnerved some visitors, but they don't bother me. I'm wondering what you folks think about when, where, and by whom they were made, as well as value. As for the clown pic, I don't know the artist or the medium. Looks like colored pencil to me. The pic (not including frame) is about 15.5" x 12." I'd love to hear what you experts have to say about this piece as well.

 

I'm no help on the clown busts but the picture of the clown may be a representation of Emmett Kelly, a well known American clown b.1898 d.1979. The clown image he created was known as "Weary Willie".

 

It certainly looks like him, Sandra, but I think old Willie had brown eyes. Maybe it's a tribute to the blue-eyed Henry Fonda playing Emmit Kelly in Clown (1955). There may be a colorized version of the film somewhere or colorized photos. I'll have to skim through the film and see if he's in that attire. .

 

But clearly not "folk art."

 

The clown community is offended by such a matter-of-fact dismissal, Bakersgma, since the artist's "creative skills [with different mediums convey his or her] community’s authentic cultural identity, rather than an individual or idiosyncratic artistic identity," and since "clown society is a term used in anthropology and sociology for an organization of comedic entertainers (Heyoka or 'clowns') who have a formalized role in a culture or society." Both Wikipedia and my reasoning are never fallacious, of course!Seriously, though, I'm grateful to you and to the others who replied. To the pawn shop they will go . . .

 

I think they are supposed to represent the dramatic arts - you usually see the masks of comedy and drama. 1980s era perhaps.