Featured eagle and baby wood carving

Can anyone tell me anything about this? It was mistreated and left outside unfortunately for many years but we rescued it. It's large; the wingspan is larger than 3 feet wide. Appears handcarved, no identifying marks on it though however. Wings needed to be reattached and it's still a work in progress to repair.

 

American folk art......imo

 

For sure American but figured it was a bit better than "folk art" as the carving techniques look pretty advanced, but then again I don't know how loosely that term is used these days.

 

better how.....Fine Art
& what's wrong with folk art.......?

 

Ukrainian folk art it is.
And there is nothing wrong with folk art. Nothing at all.
Without folk art there would never have been fine art. And it is something that continues to evolve with the culture it is part of, and thereby inspire 'fine' artists.

Maybe @Natasha can tell us more.

 

How can you say for sure it's Ukrainian folk art? I see the two attached but they aren't the same obviously but still that was helpful to see. "Folk art" has the connotation of being naive and I can see a bit more talent than the typical wood carving. I have folk art paintings from the 19th century that are naive looking as well as obscure artists that look trained but not very well known. Would I call them "folk art" too then? It's just a very odd "one size fits all" blanket term for me.

 

Folk art doesn't mean it's poorly done. It's more about a style and/or subject matter.

 

I agree. And many people would be happy to own folk art. My mother collected it, she loved the traditions of different cultures.

Well, it is.
Many countries and cultures have 'high' art and 'low' or folk art. High art developed into fine art. But every social group makes art, even if it isn't within the rules and boundaries of fine art. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

These are examples of Dutch folk art. Not fine art, but beautiful in their own right imo:






The art of those cultures that don't have the distinction between art of different social groups is often referred to as tribal art. Many of those cultures have a different socio-political organisation to ours, hence the more egalitarian-seeming art forms.

 

I think it was rather mass-produced than folk art

 

Also, these were popular, made of phosphorus:

 

The wings broke off from being left outside for years. They were reattached with dowels and glue now. I've seen the ones attached but they're not identical to what I posted.

 

I love these eagles -- and especially love the one that @statcat posted. I've been watching some of the eagle cams that are out there, and the head on that eagle reminds me a lot of the North American Bald Eagle. That doesn't mean it's not Russian or Ukrainian, but ... It just means that I like it, and that one reminds me the most of them.