Silas West

Silas West, a folk artist from Haverhill, Massachusetts, was active around the turn of the century.  He is known for his realistic, pressed-metal figures of billposters painted in bright colors.  Some of these appear to be witty interpretations of advertising stunts.  In 1897 West obtained patents for many of his designs, some of which have been located on buildings and barn sides in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and upstate New York.

*Excerpted from Tools as Art: the Hechinger Collection, published by Harry N. Abrams Inc.