The Curator’s Eye (www.CuratorsEye.com) recently spoke with New York-based dealer Marion Harris about her discovery of outsider artist Morton Bartlett’s dolls and her subsequent decision to market the contemporary photographs via the art marketing platform, The Curator’s Eye, in order to introduce the limited edition prints.

Twenty years ago, Harris followed her “intuitive sense” about an intriguing group of dolls she found at an antiques fair. Despite the fact they were being sold separately, she bought Bartlett’s “fantasy family of model children, 3 boys and 12 girls,” so they could stay together. Since then, Harris has raised the profile of these “meticulously sculpted, perfectly dressed and posed” works of art.

As a dealer, Harris loves objects and certainly “believes in the power of objects.” Originally Scottish, she handles English antiques and curious items from her New York office including pieces from articulated mannequins to dolls. Raising awareness of Morton Bartlett’s exquisite family has been one of her accomplishments in the field, and she celebrates the “art which is created by compulsion and not in order to be sold, which is considered by some to be the definition of Outsider Art.”

In fact, Harris reports a selection of Bartlett’s dolls has “just been in the 2013 Venice Bienalle in the Encyclopedic Palace” and a grouping of photographs have been on display in the Hayward Gallery in London. She finds it inspiring that the “remarkable body of work,” which was created by Bartlett over the course of “almost three decades, from 1936 - 63,” was “not made for any commercial purpose, which is refreshing as well as we are surrounded by commerce.” Harris thinks the popularity of Bartlett’s works is “made possible by internet and online interest.”

“Today, most of the dolls have been placed in museums, while a few are in private hands. The Museum of Everything has bought them from other museums and now has the largest collection,” according to Harris. Bartlett’s art can also be found in New York's Metropolitan Museum.

Though it has been “exactly twenty years since she found them, and the dolls have all been sold for some time, the photo prints that are available.” They consist of posthumous prints taken from the artist’s negatives, and a selection is available on The Curator’s Eye, including Girl Reading in Bed and Waving Girl.

Harris is “delighted to be with The Curator’s Eye, part of the new global marketplace.” She says the “trend is definitely online, as the whole world is open to the online market.” She finds it “remarkable that the international viewers and collecting community can see fine art items on their computers in their office or even while relaxing in their pajamas.”

To raise awareness about her offerings and particularly Bartlett’s art, Harris maintains both a sophisticated online presence and “advertises in trade magazines.” She gets a “different response” from each and finds “they complement each other well.”

Harris reported that “until recently I have seen The Curator’s Eye almost as an extension of my advertising, rather than relationship marketing,” but “since following up with the specific client details, I am amazed and delighted at information available, and the range geographically of the responses from North of Scotland to East Timor!”

The Curator’s Eye offers specialized, targeted online advertising and marketing services that help private dealers compete in a global art market. To view exceptional items for the distinguished private collector available from the top dealers across the globe, visit www.CuratorsEye.com.