The "Wow, That's a Pretty Picture" Story

It was an ordinary day. I had just sold one of my Wallace Nutting photographs from my collection. It was titled "On the Slope" and was taken in 1912. It measured, with the frame, 12" x 18" and was the largest Nutting photography in my collection. I started collecting Wallace Nutting photos in 1995 when Carol and I were making a trip to Norristown, PA to visit our son Tad who had just started Antonelli's School of Photography. We stopped at a antique store for a visit and I saw this beautiful print that had been hand-tinted. I taught hand-tinting in my photography class at high school and really appreciated the photo. Then I saw that it was a Nutting print. Had talked about him it in my class many times. Wallace Nutting was born in 1861 and became a minister after graduating from Hartford Theological Seminary. He started taking photos in 1899 and in 1904 opened the Wallace Nutting Art Prints Studio in New York. He eventually moved the gallery to Connecticut, then to Massachusetts. In the peak of his business he employed about 200 colorists. He claims to have sold ten million pictures. The colorists painted the photos which he took and sometimes signed his name on them for him which is why the signatures vary. I have a book showing all the different signatures so I can check to see if any print I may want is actually an original Nutting. He was more prolific with pastoral scenes, consequently his interiors are more valuable. He was also famous for his Windsor chairs which he produced in the early 20th century. He died in 1941. The photo I bought that day inNorristown was called "The Coming Out of Rosa" which is his most popular photo ever. Since that time I have collected a dozen of his works. My favorites are "The Beckoning Road" taken in Vermont, "Maine Coast Sky", "The Golden Wish", "A Little River in Mt. Washington", and a print that my wife bought for me from an antique store in State College, PA called "The Maple Sugar Cupboard." This print is probably my most valuable since it is an interior scene. It was taken in 1935. The photo that I just sold today I had purchased on eBay and was my least favorite. I sold it to the guy that was doing the drywall for our bathroom remodel. He wasfascinated with the technique. Went home and read about Wallace Nutting and how he did the prints and asked if I had one he could buy. Gave it to him for the price I paid for it. Nice to see someone who has the same appreciation for hand-tinted photos that I do. Told him I would call him if I decided to sell anymore. Not going to happen!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Photos from the top are: "The Coming Out of Rosa", "The Beckoning Road", "Maine Coast Sky", "The Golden Wish", and "A Little River in Mt. Washington", and "The Maple Sugar Cupboard"