Help us with Another Art Mystery!

MYSTERY

By Jan Davis

Calling all art sleuths and historians! This week we have a most unusual mystery that you may be able to help solve. Below is a very old charcoal or pencil drawing of a bearded man wearing glasses. The oddity here is that the wooden frame is decorated with daisies and swastikas. We know that the swastika is an ancient symbol and was used in all sorts of advertising and design for eons before it was appropriated by the Nazis. Certainly, the man in the portrait does not appear to be a Nazi or have any immediately recognizable political affiliation. There is no visible information about the drawing on the reverse side of the frame. Do you have any thoughts or clues about this drawing? Who is the man in the portrait? Who is the artist that drew the portrait? Where was the drawing framed? Who donated the drawing to the Biblioteca? Please contact debra.broussard@yahoo.com with information.