Ferdinand Brader drawings of Stark County 1800s farms and homes to be sold at auction

Ferdinand Brader didn’t need an iPhone or fancy camera to capture images of 19th century Stark County farm life.

The Swiss native relied on a keen eye for detail, the ability to create a bird’s-eye view perspective and graphite or colored pencils as he traveled from farm to farm. In the late 1800s, the itinerant artist produced 980 folk art drawings, mostly of farms in this part of Ohio and in Pennsylvania.

“His perspective is pretty incredible … and pretty accurate, too,” said Rachel Davis, a Cleveland fine arts auctioneer.

On Oct. 25, Rachel Davis Fine Arts will sell 17 Brader pieces, in individual lots during an auction that opens in person and online at 9:30 a.m.

Thirteen drawings depict a family farm or home in Stark County — each includes the name of the family who lived there.

Ferdinand Brader expert: ‘This is a big deal’

Such Brader drawings, which frequently appeared at local estate auctions in the 1980s and 1990s, are now more rare.

“Definitely not popping up like they used to,” Davis said.

“This is a big deal,” said Kathleen Wieschaus-Voss, a retired Stark County appraiser who published a book on Brader and created a database to catalog his known surviving pieces.

Brader numbered his works, which helped her research.

Of his 980 drawings — many as large as 3-feet-by-4-feet — she’s accounted for 237. Some are held by museums. Others by people who purchased them at sales and auctions. Another chunk remain in the hands of descendants of original owners.

“He drew them in two or three days,” said Wieschaus-Voss, a guest curator for “The Legacy of Ferdinand A. Brader,” a series of three Stark County art shows in 2014 and 2015.

Brader is believed to have first drawn several hundred pieces in Pennsylvania before moving to Northeast Ohio in 1885.

He traveled the countryside in warm weather. He drew farms, often including the people, pets and animals who lived there, and was known to add himself on a few occasions.

He worked primarily in exchange for free room and board.

“He’d sleep in the barns,” Wieschaus-Voss said.

Brader’s drawings of farms and other settings in Medina, Summit, Wayne, Tuscarawas, Carroll and Stark counties include everything from crops and livestock to intricate details, such as a cat sitting on a porch.

Almost always, the setting was drawn as if Brader sat on a hill overlooking the scene.

Darwin Bearley antiques dealer

The Brader pieces in this auction are from Darwin Bearley’s estate. The Akron antiques dealer died last year. Davis said proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Canton Museum of Art, per Bearley’s wishes.

Through the years, Brader drawings have sold for anywhere from several thousand dollars to more than $30,000 at high-end auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. And the asking price for some privately-held held drawings has been listed as high as $125,000.

Wieschaus-Voss’ said she remains fascinated with Brader. Not only because his drawings are a time capsule of farm life during that era, but also for the story of his life.

During the winters, he slept in county infirmaries.

And his death is shrouded in mystery.

In November of 1895, while living at the Stark County Infirmary, Brader learned of the death of his brother in Switzerland. The next year, Brader went to Switzerland to collect an inheritance.

In 1901, Brader disappeared — the Swiss government declared him lost and missing without a trace.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com.On X: @tbotosREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Brader drawings of 1800s Stark County available at upcoming auction