jf_treasures

[jgf_photos_and_antiques]

I tried looking up the artist Mable McKay and all I can find is information on a Native American basket weaver from California. Any information would be greatly appreciated. The signature looks to read H. McKay in my opinion. 

[mmadigan]

I looked for a H McKay and variants living in Bisbee in the 1920-30 time period and stumbled across the 1924 Bisbee city directory with a listing for Helen McKay a teacher at the junior high.  In looking at other listings her address was the same as Charles and Charles listing had his wife (Helen) listed.  The 1930 & 1940 census listings for the couple are available and Charles was a chemist and Helen stayed home.  Helen's middle name is Margery (close but not to close to Mabel).  I could dream up a story where a young teacher with artistic talent might use those talents to make extra money during the summer.  I was putting the odds at  50 50 if she was the person who painted your picture.  When I found her tombstone the odds went up.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126623369/helen-margery-mckay

It states "Our precious Mammy, grandmother, friend, artist musician"

It appears that this Helen played in the arts that her family thought it was important to place on her tombstone.

This will take some more digging to find out but it should give you a place to start.

[mmadigan]

The 1930 census has a Marvin L & Virginia Ann Burton living in Tanque Verde, Pima, Arizona.  Their son was born 1927 in Tuscon.  They came to AZ from MO and their daughter was born in 1923 in MO.   They were both educated to be teachers.  I have no idea if there is a connection between Helen  & this couple.

[maxine*j]

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@mmadigan wrote:

I looked for a H McKay...  

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I, too, think it is H McKay.  The M in McKay is distinctive and different than the first name initial.

That and the misspelling of "Mabel" makes me think that whoever wrote that label simply got the name of the artist wrong. 

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[argon38]

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@maxine*j wrote:
the misspelling of "Mabel

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"Mable" is a name. Who knew? (I didn't):

[maxine*j]

OK.  I stand corrected.  I should never make an assertion about the spelling of a name, given how whimsical parents can be.  I apologize, and I will never do it again.

=

[melda58]

I had the same exact two thoughts... the person who wrote the ID didn't know how to spell Mabel;  therefore got the name of the artist wrong altogether.  

Rita

[argon38]

The "H." is so plainly different from the "M." in McKay that I'm not clear why anybody would have made up a name starting with an "M"  for the artist. Perhaps the label-writer didn't know what they were talking about, but maybe they did - and maybe they knew better than us. Can we really be so sure that H. wasn't known to her friends as Mable?

[melda58]

@jgf_photos_and_antiques Where  is that white label with the writing on it located?  I assume on the back of the painting but I don't understand the surface marks.  

Rita

[maxine*j]

Well, it could be any story we'd care to come up with.  Here's one: 

Somone bought this at the Burton estate sale.  The buyer had been told that the Burtons owned works by the famous Mabel McKay, meaning the basket-maker McKay.   Buyer knows nothing about artists of any sort, sees this pleasant little painting with a modest price tag, thinks, "This must be by that famous McKay,"  buys it, labels it accordingly, and the painting by H. McKay has now come back into the marketplace with the label about "Mable [sic] McKay" still attached.

I like to exercise my imagination, too.

=

[little.font.lord.leroy]

The lable says Bisbee  that part seems accurate from the imagery.  you might try contacting a Bisbee area/county historical society.

[mmadigan]

The 1924 Bisbee City Directory has a listing for Marvin L. & Virginia A. Burton.  He is the principal at Central School in Bisbee.

In checking the 1930 AZ census for a male Burton with first name beginning with M and the spouse with a first name beginning with V this is the only couple that came up.  Of course maybe the other couples with these initials did not answer the door for the census taker.  It also helps the middle initials match.

This couple matches the name on the back of the pic.  Assuming the artist H McKay was also local, a likely candidate was the Helen King McKay mentioned in the earlier post.  She was about the same age as the Burtons and was also employed in the local school district.  I wondered if she taught with Virginia?

My guess Helen was an amateur artist and she presented this painting as a gift.

[argon38]

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@maxine*j wrote:

Well, it could be any story we'd care to come up with.  Here's one: 

Somone bought this at the Burton estate sale.  The buyer had been told that the Burtons owned works by the famous Mabel McKay, meaning the basket-maker McKay.   Buyer knows nothing about artists of any sort, sees this pleasant little painting with a modest price tag, thinks, "This must be by that famous McKay,"  buys it, labels it accordingly

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OK, except for three things:

(i) The signature is very obviously H. McKay, not M. McKay - and that's my main sticking point. I don't see how the writer of the label could possibly have read it as an M, or seriously have expected anybody else to read it that way. Yet they chose to write "Mable McKay," despite  the H. in the signature being perfectly plain to everyone. That's why I feel it might represent a piece of genuine insider information.

(ii) The plausibility of the theory hinges on the idea that the Burtons owned works by basket-weaver Mabel McKay, and there is no evidence for that (it would obviously make a difference if there were).

(iii) The label-writer specifically dates it 1923, when the Mabel McKay would have been 16 years old. If it's an attempt to link it to the basket-weaver, why choose such an unlikely date (besides misspelling her name)?

I agree that label information in general ought to be treated with caution. I don't believe this was an attempt to link the artist to the basket weaver, though.

[argon38]

I found some more background on Helen, if it helps at all. This is from the Bisbee Daily Review of August 23, 1922 (OCR errors uncorrected):

"legion adjutant and Michigan girl married yesterday miss Helen King of Marquette mich., and Charles Mckay Copper Queen assayer and adjutant of the local american legion Post were mar ried yesterday in Tucson. Mrs. Mckay was for two years a teacher in one of the local schools. During the past year or More she had of been at Home in Michigan. Yesterday morning she arrived in Bisbee. The adjutant was at the train to meet her and they at once started by Automo bile for Tucson where the ceremony was read. Or. And mrs. Mckay Are expected to return in a week or so to Bisbee where they will reside."

https://newspaperarchive.com/bisbee-daily-review-aug-23-1922-p-6/ 

[argon38]

https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/sn84024827/id/61849/rec/2