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View Images USA South

Greenville, MS James Henry "Son Ford" Thomas 1926-1993 Sculpture (clay), direct observation

Information: Son Ford Thomas, also known as James "Son Ford" Thomas, lived his entire life in Mississippi, making his living as a grave digger. He is widely recognized as a leading figure in traditional Delta blues music. Thomas began making art full-time in 1971 and became known for his clay figures sculpted from clay he gathered on the banks of the Yazoo River. His skulls and other heads often include real teeth collected from local dentist offices. Son Thomas was featured in the 1981 exhibit of Southern folk art at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery

	Reference / Links:
	Cascade Blues Association: "Bio: James "Son" Thomas" Barbara Archer Gallery: "James "Son Ford" Thomas" Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery Slotin Folk Art Outsider Folk Art
	(Detour Art is not responsible for the content of external web sites.)

Bibliography: "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980" by Jane Livingston and John Beardsley, published for the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1982. "Baking in the Sun, Visionary Images from the South" by Andy Nasisse and Maude Wahlman, University of Washington Press, exhibit catalog, 1987. "Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists" by Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, New York, 1990. "20th Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art" by Betty-Carol Sellen, Cynthia J. Johnson, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, 1993. "Souls Grown Deep: African American vernacular Art of the South", Vol 1, Arnett, et al, 1995. "Contemporary American Folk Art - A Collector's Guide" Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, 1996. "Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, 2000. "Testimony: Vernacular Art of the African-American South: the Ronald and June Shelp Collection", Cronwill, Danto, Gaither, Gundaker and McWillie, 2001. "Let it Shine: Self-Taught Art from the T. Marshall Hahn Collection" by Lynne E. Spriggs, Joanne Cubbs, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Susan Mitchell Crawley, Michael E. Shapiro and Peter Harholdt, organized by the High Museum of Art, 2001. "American Self-Taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th Century Artists and Trends with 1,319 Capsule Biographies" by Florence Laffal and Julius Laffal, 2003. Slotin Folk Art Auction Catalog, Masterpiece Sale, November 4, 2006

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