Black Street Vendor 1940s Painting American Artist Charleston SC Renaissance Era

Old, circa 1940’s black and white watercolor painting depicting a cityscape genre scene with African American street vendor at his handcart selling flowers to the woman holding her baby. Being unframed / unmatted, the paper wants to slightly raise up at the edges but it’ll go flat once it’s framed. Watercolor on paper measures 11 1/8 x 12 3/4 inches. Being an admirer of the fine art created during Charleston Renaissance Movement in South Carolina, I saw this painting available for sale and just had to have it. The black man depicted, a flower vendor, is wearing a suit and he’s set out to do business. Even though African Americans in South Carolina often got portrayed in a Caribbean-looking (?) attire, not everybody dressed like that. Men usually wore slacks, good shoes, hats, vests, etc. The image that sticks in my mind of the way southern black gentlemen dressed is seen that famous 1936 photograph of Robert Johnson, the King of the Delta Blues Singers, where he’s wearing a good suit, tie and hat. I think the key visual artist in the Charleston Renaissance was Alfred Hutty (Am., 1877-1954). He painted watercolors, including some depicting male street vendors. But, other artists did that familiar subject matter, too. One very notable woman artist known for the subject of female flower vendors was Elizabeth O’Neill Verner. She specialized in works on paper, including prints. Another accomplished Charleston Renaissance woman artist, who actually painted with simple black-color watercolor on paper and worked in a Modernist but Urban Realist style, was Mary Wilson Ball (Am., 1892-1984). They have many examples of such work by Mrs. Ball in The Charleston Museum that can be viewed online. «Mary Wilson Ball was a watercolor artist and miniaturist of Charleston, S.C. She was a member of the Carolina Art Association and studied under Alice R. Huger Smith and others. She trained as a topographical draftsman in Atlanta, Ga. and worked with the Army and the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in Washington, D.C.». I’ve seen unsigned watercolors by Charleston artist Alfred Hutty sell for more than $15K at auction. Nice works on paper by Elizabeth O’Neill Verner are also quite expensive. As an alternative, I have this unsigned watercolor of the period that I offer for your consideration at an affordable price.