Greenscape
Anonymous
14" x 18", oil on canvas
Purchased at a thrift shop in Boston, MA
July 2014

The pond and vegetation in the foreground remain perfectly calm while all hell seems to be raining down in the distance. The puke-green glow that dominates this landscape may indicate the artist's pessimistic outlook; even Superman could not help in this kryptonite laden environment.

Burning Bush
A. E. Whitney
Oil on canvas, 16" x 24"
Purchased at a thrift store in Roslindale, MA
September 1994

Do not stand back. Let the deep, ever darkening painting draw you ever closer to the explosion of fiery foliage that illuminates the buttery currents of the waterfall.

A New Day
Will
23" x 19", oil on canvas
Received as a gift from the artist at the Vince Lombardi Rest Area on the New Jersey Turnpike, July 1984
and donated by Fay Pelloth
August 2012

The volcanoes belch their final eruptation as the morning sun lights up the sky, portending better days ahead.

Easter Island
Illegible
24" x 30, oil on canvas
Anonymous donation
December 2006

This is a panoramic view of the seldom visited Woman's Section of Easter Island, a tiny isolated Polynesian island famous for its ancient stone figures known as maoi.

Time and gravity have clearly taken their toll on this particular ancient statue.

Winter Monolith
KDR (August, 1997)
18" x 24", oil on canvas
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
October 2005

A strange monolith casts a glowing shadow on the tundra in this icy landscape. Even the trees shrink from the symbolic industrial structure in their midst. What else will be revealed as global warming causes the glacier to recede even farther?

From: Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks, by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco

Two Trees in Love
Julie Seelig
12" x 16", acrylic on canvas
Donated by Sally Seelig, the artist's mother
May 2006

A heartening painting which makes up for lack of realism with a surplus of symbolism. The cloud caught in the branches of the most prominent deciduous confirms the artist's vision of a world where dreams can be captured and landscapes tamed, if you only try hard enough. 

Keys to the City
Anonymous
Paint, plaster, keys, and cloth on plywood, 30" x 50"
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
October 2007

Once a sleepy backwater, Key West is threatened with overdevelopment since becoming a popular destination for sailing enthusiasts.

From— Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks, by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco

Aurora Borealis
M. Choquette (1931)
18" x 22", oil on canvas
Donated by Mary Fadel
January 2007

The Waterfall
Anonymous
20" x 16", oil on canvas
Purchased at a flea market in Buffalo, NY
August 2007

Snow capped peaks tower over this summer meadow featuring evergreens, wild flowers, and a waterfall of mysterious origin.

MOBA curators speculate the peak in the distance is probably Gorilla Mountain.

From: Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks, by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco

On a Windy Day
Bob "Grandpa" Roots
14" x 18", oil on canvas board
Donated by the artist
February 2009

The wild westerly wind that devastated this peaceful bucolic landscape was strong enough to denude mature trees, grossly distort fair weather clouds, rend the fur from a cow, bend a wrought iron weather vane, and induce panic in a basset hound whose ears and tongue point due east.

Watch the MOBA Curator Talk about this painting.

Donated by the artist Bob "Grandpa" Roots of San Miguel, CA, this two-dimensional American landscape is reminiscent of the work of Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses (American, 1860-1961) who also began painting as an octogenarian and became famous for her pastoral "naive folk" paintings.

In the note accompanying his donation, Mr. Roots wrote, "...I was happy with the way the barn turned out. It was when I started animals and people that [I realized] I was having problems with proportions . . ."

He enjoys other creative pursuits in addition to painting. "I have won the World's Worst Poetry Contest in Pismo Beach, CA, placing 1st, 2nd, and 4th in separate years . . . [and] . . . I have made many bottles of home brew and wine . . ."

The MOBA curatorial staff speculate that Grandpa Roots' imbibing of the fruits of the latter may have contributed to the "problems with proportions" that make this painting particularly delightful.

May in the Mountains
Laevia Carson
Oil on board, 18" x 24"
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
1990s

This quick study of spring in the Alps captures a reflective fleeting moment at a scenic vista near an international border. The solid beauty of the apple blossoms of, perhaps, France in the foreground contrasts with dreams of Italian ice cream in the distant, suggested mountains. 

The Horror, The Glory
Tom McKinley, 1952
Acrylic on canvas, 22" x 26"
Donated by the artist

No detail, and indeed, no man is spared in this bellicose epic. Battle lines reach to the sky itself, where gun smoke feeds the fury of a storm, imminent in the heavens. Alleluia! 

REGATTA
Anonymous
16" x 12", mixed media on plywood
Donated by Paula Grilo, Braga, Portugal
January 2011

Accepted principles of perspective are challenged in this nautical scene with the smallest boats closest to the viewer, puffy clouds floating low in a dark sky, and a lemon-like sun setting over a beach that stretches to the horizon. Using a limited color palette, the artist cleverly employed cloth sails, cotton clouds, sand on the beach, and globs of paint in the ocean to provide textural complexity to this bird's-eye seascape.

Disassembled Light Bulb, Hard Boiled Egg, Tablecloth, Exacto Knife, and Pez Dispenser
Anonymous
32" x 30", oil on canvas
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
July 2017

The artist offers dystopian images of mayhem and destruction in the foreground as well as in the distance. Most disturbing, though, is the imminent decapitation of the cheery Pez dispenser.

Sunrise, Sunset?
Claus Peter Brix (Tübingen, Germany, 1990)
Watercolor on paper, 20cm x 29cm
Donated by the artist
June 2011

A lone figure casts a long shadow as he strikes a defiant pose in front of the sun melting across the horizon. The heat is palpable, although it is unclear whether the perspective is due east or due west. In either case, the vultures hovering above make it evident that the future looks bleak for the subject of this desert landscape.

TREES, WHEELBARROW, AND BIRDS
Anonymous
20" x 16", oil on art board
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
May 2007

Three trees are balanced precariously in a wheelbarrow, but the artist's straightforward optimism and good cheer assure us that the future is bright. Leaf colors, though unlikely, are intense; bluebirds circle though the trees; and the loaded wheelbarrow sits lightly on the grass. The artist's confident strokes convince us that all is well.

From: Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks, by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco

Post Apocalypse
Anonymous
22" x 28", Acrylic on canvas
Acquired from trash
mid-1990s

The bright birch, reminiscent of a cheerful Gumby, salutes the twins on the foreground hill -- but the hopeful evergreens are green as ever. 

Tiki Hut
Viv Joynt
Acrylic and straw on canvas, 16" x 20”
Donated by the artist at a MOBA event in Ottawa, Canada
July 2006

Viv combined media and techniques in this tropical scene. The dense finger-painted grass threatens to envelop the tiki hut and the palm tree, heavy with coconuts. Fluffy clouds float above, and the sea virtually shimmers. But where are the people? Who built this? Have they abandoned this paradise for the lure of the mysterious mountains across the sea?

From: Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks, by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco

The Picnic
Anonymous
22" x 30", oil on Canvas
Purchased at a thrift store in Roslindale, MA and donated by Mark Onishuk
November 2006

Aware that inter-office dating was frowned upon by upper management, the young lovers decided to take an extended lunch break on a private island where they would surely not be seen.

The Lighthouse
Anonymous
Acrylic On Canvas, 14" x 18"
Rescued from trash in Boston, MA
1990s

Without pausing to clean off his brush, the artist dashed off a building bright as a barber’s pole in the shadow of an encroaching dune reminiscent of a voracious hedgehog. The angry sea has already swallowed the beach. The rich green low ground grass suggests a swamped foundation. Footsteps retreat from the threatened beacon, but the wire still hangs from the unlit lamp, begging to be plugged in.

Watermelone in una Gondola a Venezia
R. Mercer
26” x 33” oil on canvas
Donated by Mary Fadel
May 2007

"The Venetians have always loved anguria or watermelon as a refreshment. Thin slices were served in the noblest parlours – in the absence of any more robust food – as several Grand Tourists observed disapprovingly. But Thomas Coryate, the irrepressible seventeenth-century visitor, was an enthusiast of watermelon: ‘it hath the most refridgerating vertue of all the fruites of Italy.’ However he warned travellers to beware of consuming too many of the other kinds of melon: ‘For the sweetnesse of them is such as hath allured many men to eate so immoderately of them, that they have therewith hastened their untimely death …'"

Michelle Lovric, from an article published in The Lady, XXX, 200x. She is the author of Carnevale, The Remedy and The Floating Book, historical novels set in Venice.

From: Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks, by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco

The Crack of Dawn
Vickio Saks
Acrylic on Canvas , 24" x 18*
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
1990s

Warmed by the morning's rays, a shrouded creature uncurls to a world where a solid lake clings to the edge of a mountain.

Internal Eruption
Barbara Smith, 1969
ovoid, approximately 43" x 22", acrylic on canvas
Donated by the artist
September 2010

A mushroom cloud floats above the city, as seen through a church window, framed by detatched human limbs and an Escher-esque entwined vine. The disparate elements of this painting combine to evoke the vulvic imagery of Georgia O'Keefe and Judy Chicago.

The artist describes her work as "Regrettable Adolescent Surrealism".

Georgia O'Keefe Plate from The Dinner Party
Judy Chicago

On Vacation in Italy
Robert Muldrow (2007)
Oil on plywood, 2ft x 3ft
Donated by the artist
November 2008

Mr. Muldrow writes, "Upon coming home from a fantastic vacation in Italy, I found my houseplants in a state of decline and extreme thirst. They were in sort of plant hell. This painting represents what I inferred were their feelings of suffering, neglect, and loneliness as well as my feelings of guilt and regret."

Japanese bonsai grand master Saburo Kato has stated that the most important sound is the footsteps of a bonsai trainer coming to care for his tree. This bond is very similar as the commitment between mother and child to nurture and guide the tree. The most important aspect of bonsai is the bond that exists or is created between a bonsai and its owner-trainer. We can only create true friendships if there is a gentle courtesy, respect, and justice. We can only seek peace if we are at peace with ourselves!

Everyone at MOBA feels terrible for Mr. Muldrow, who clearly was devastated in the realization that he had broken a sacred bond with his plants. He has reportedly been coming to terms with his loss, and has begun leaving his house for short visits to the grocer and the dry cleaners. There are, however, no vacation plans in his immediate future.

The MOBA curatorial staff was drawn to this image for its emotional power as well as the straight-from-the-tube background colors almost identical to Prosthetic Claw, byWilliam F. Murphy.

No Visible Means of Support
Elizabeth Angelozzi
17" x 19", acrylic on linen
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
August 2004

Pink carnations defy gravity in this unlikely still life. Free from the constraints of their vase, the flowers stand independently tall, proud, and in full bloom.

From - Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks, by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco, Ten Speed Press

RED ROSE SERENADE
Susan Rose
20" x 16", acrylic on canvas
Donated by the artist
May 2013

A delightful bouquet sits atop a keyboard guaranteed to tie the musician's fingers in knots.

Still Life with Juicer
Anonymous
16" x 20", oil on canvas
Anonymous donation
1990s

The sad fate of the luscious little orange is clear as it innocently sits before the red juicer and its ominous shadow.

Still Life with Antler
Jeanne Galarno
18" x 24", acrylic on art-board
Purchased at a Salvation Army Thrift Store
1990s

The breezy rippling of the striped fabric, the gaseous swell on the left side of the wicker bottle, the descent of the heavy orange material, the crumpled paper in sharp relief expanding in the foreground, the teetering of the precariously balanced antler; many minuscule movements lend a nervous energy to this otherwise still life.

My Favorite Things
Janet Gallans
Acrylic on board, 16" x 24”
Purchased at a yard sale in Boston, MA
1995

A lemon standing on end, a yacht in a urine bottle. The oddly skewed rendering of each object lends an other-worldly quality to this otherwise simple still life.

Clamp Lamp, Wicker Chair, and Sink
Anonymous
40” X 30”, acrylic on canvas
Rescued from trash in Brookline, MA
February 2017

The artist presents a colorful Escheresque tableau featuring furniture, cloth, and an array of electrical, mechanical, and plumbing fixtures.

White Wash
Ames Porter, June 1993
30" x 45", Oil paint, glue, cotton, polyester and spandex on canvas
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
September 2010

The artist wrote, "just having fun" on the back of this triptych featuring textured swirls of paint offsetting found objects; an homage to women's underwear. It is impossible to determine whether the previous owner of the artifacts was similarly amused.

Stealth Victory
Anonymous
Mixed media, 18” x 24”
Purchased at an antique store in Natural Bridge, VA
March 2017

This may be the future of warfare when the new Space-Force gets off the ground.

Still Life with Decoy
Anonymous
Acrylic on canvas, 16" x 24"
Provenance unknown

Illusion of Confusion
Steve Whitehurst (c.1967)
24” x 11”, oil on canvas
Donated by Shirley Whitehurst
March 2017

The artist depicted floating aquatic daisies surrounding the reflection of the sun in a pool of rippling water. The viewer is left to ponder who is lurking in the foliage.

Flip-Flop, Hockey Puck, Tennis Ball, Purse, and Necklace 
Anonymous
Oil on canvas, 16" x 20"
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
October 2010

The artist offers the viewer a feast of color and texture with an unusual combination of sporting goods and fashion accessories, and made an interesting attempt to make the canvas look like an enlarged 35mm contact print by painting a brown border containing fourteen white rectangles.

Boot Bouquet
Suzy Howe
20" x 16", acrylic on canvas board
Purchased at an antique shop in Vero Beach, FL
January 2018

Perhaps too uncomfortable to wear, a stylish Victorian boot makes a lovely flower vase. The freshly ironed lace tablecloth completes this feminine tableau.

Levitating Bouquet
H.
26” x 22”, acrylic in canvas
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
July, 2016

The artist cleverly portrayed his still life on perfectly clean glass to avoid the challenge of depicting a translucent table top. Interestingly, the leaves are also transparent. The Escheresque table legs provide an additional compelling element to this painting.

Falling Leaves in Sunshine
Anonymous
Tissue paper, Fabric paint, Gesso, Card stock, puff paint on plywood, 30" x 45",
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
September 2009

The leaves glow in the dark, The MOBA staff extensively tested this claim. You’ll just have to believe us.

After the Storm    
Bro. Stephen Lendvay (CSSR 1972)
Acrylic on canvas board, 16" x 20"
(from an original painting by Eugene Frandzen)

The perfectly coiffed trees look none the worse for wear as mild weather returns to the valley.

This was inspired by a painting from Outdoor Sketching Indoor Painting, a painting instruction book by Eugene Frandzen published in 1947.

 

Oil Lamp, C-Clamp, Gecko, Gruit Trees, and Egg
Phyllis Beinart
Oil on canvas, 24” x 36”
Donated by the artist
December 2017

The artist depicted an unusual array of seemingly unrelated items under a starry night sky.

After Party
Phyllis Beinart
Oil on canvas, 16” x 20”
Donated by the artist
December 2017

Military Entanglemnent
Feldmesser (1994)
Mixed media, 24" x 18”
Purchased at a thrift store in Boston, MA
August 2009

Feldmesser presents a literal warning about the risk of becoming ensnared in foreign wars.