Vintage Florida Folk Art Alligator Cane. Delicately carved animal on top of the cane, all from a single piece of wood, demonstrating the artisans mastery of the process. 

Size: 34 1/2 X 4 1/4 in. 

#8635 . 

Folk art in the United States is a unique conglomeration of styles, mediums, and results, mainly due to the status of nearly every citizen being the descendant of European, Asian, African, or Oceanic ancestors aside from the small number of surviving indigenous Native American tribes. Generally developing in the late 17th through early 19th Centuries, folk art appeared organically when settlers revived artistic traditions from their home countries in a uniquely American way, and often with uniquely North American materials or methods. Folk art is broadly defined as artistic expressions in a practical medium that has a specific purpose or continues a certain tradition important to a community of people, and includes hand-crafted items such as tools, furniture, and carvings. Even traditional mediums such as oil paintings and tapestries, which often served dual purposes such as for the protection of a surface, can be considered folk art depending on the traditions, school, and purpose of the creator. In colonial America folk art grew out of artisanal craftsmanship in communities that allowed commonly trained people to individually express themselves, distinct from the high art tradition that dominated Europe, which was less accessible and generally less relevant to the way of life for American settlers. The movements in art and craftsmanship in colonial America generally lagged behind that of Western Europe, with the prevailing medieval style of woodwork and primitive sculpture becoming integral to early American folk art, despite the emergence of Renaissance styles in the late 16th and early 17th Centuries in England. As styles slowly changed, there was a tendency for rural artisans to continue the preexisting style longer than their urban counterparts, further encouraged by capitalist tendencies to favor and promote “cottage industries,” keeping some traditions that might otherwise have died out lasting far longer than those from Western Europe. Due to the often multiple practical uses of folk art artifacts from the United States, many pieces of art go anonymous and unconnected to any specific artists. Although there are many prominent and well known American folk artists, there are many more who are lacking in biographical details or cannot have anonymous creations attributed to them, posing a challenge to the modern day study of folk art.