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Montgomery, AL Bill Traylor 1856-1949 Drawings (pencil, pen, marker, etc.)

Information: "From Benton, Alabama, the way to Church Hill leads up into the pine forests of the surrounding hills through meadows and fields, past the white wooden houses of the of the coton growers and the black laborers' shanties hidden in the brushwood, now decaying but for the narrow brick chimneys. Here, in a densely forested region, lies the plantation where Bill Traylor was born into slavery in 1854 and spent nearly his entire life. In his youth, the plantation was a medium-sized operation owned by the white cotton grower George Hartwell Traylor (1801-1884), whose ca. 400-acre farm was worked by 20 to 30 slaves." "In 1935, the 82-year-old Bill Traylor left the place of his birth and went to the capital city of Montgomery just 35 miles away, where he began to draw on discarded pieces of cardboard. In 1939, he was discovered by the painter Charles Shannon. At that time, Traylor worked in the vicinity of a blacksmith's shop on Monroe Avenue. He used a short stick as a ruler and drew lines in pencil on long, narrow strips of cardboard. In other drawings from the early period, baskets, cups, shoes, and blacksmith's tools are arranged in rows next to each other." "About two weeks after their first meeting, Charles Shannon began to supply the aged Traylor with pencils, colored pencils, drawing board, brushes, and poster paints. Traylor now drew scenes of carousing as well as men, women, and children energetically teasing one another or occasionally even fighting. Children exasperate the old with long sticks. Fear and confusion, but also joy and exuberance, pervade these early works. Traylor's skill in drawing, moreover, developed with fascinating rapidity. The planes became larger and more opaque, the outlines sharper, the form of the figures more constructive. Traylor now drew animals as well as human beings and their activities around the house. He showed Mexicans, elegant black couples, drunken old men, nagging women, discussions and arguments, frightened cats and fighting or biting dogs. He used his pencil to see inside the house. The motif of the house led to freer constructions and combinations of animals, plants, and human beings. The articulation of vitality is his central theme." "The history of the reception of Traylor's art shows that as knowledge of the circumstances of his life has increased, the understanding of his work has gradually changed as well. Although Bill Traylor was underprivileged, homeless, poor, old, and infirm, traces of a secret grudge are nowhere apparent in his work. A certain distance to his own fate gave his drawings a unique wit and freedom of expression, but also an element of black humor. The story of Bill Traylor's life does not explain why he began to draw, but it may help to account for the simplicity of his drawings and his interest in the house, in pulsating lines and breathing planes: his work reflects a deeply rural conception of life." For more biographical info, see Raw Vision Magazine. For additional images, visit ricco|maresca gallery, Marcia Weber/Art Objects, and Luise Ross Gallery. Considered one of "50 Classic Outsiders", Raw Vision Sourcebook, 2002" All text and images are from Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949. Text is excerpted from the essay "Plow And Pencil" by Roman Kurzmeyer.

	Reference / Links:
	Raw Visions Magazine ricco|maresca gallery Marsha Weber/Art Objects Luise Ross Gallery Artcyclopedia Robert Hull Fleming Museum Judy A Saslow Gallery The Anthony Petullo Collection of Self-Taught and Outsider Art Carl Hammer Gallery Slotin Folk Art
	(Detour Art is not responsible for the content of external web sites.)

Bibliography: Museums Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, Williamsburg, VA ABCD Collection, Paris Anthony Petullo Collection, Milwaukee, WI High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA Menil Collection, Houston, TX Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Montgomery, AL Newark Museum, Newark, NJ Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC Reference "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980" by Jane Livingston and John Beardsley, published for the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1982. Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949. Text is excerpted from the essay "Plow And Pencil" by Roman Kurzmeyer. "Bill Traylor, His Art, His Life", Maresca and Ricco, 1991 "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. "Bill Traylor, High Singing Blue" exhibit catalog, 1997 "Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, 2000. "The Intuitive Eye, The Mendelsohn Collection" by Ricco/Maresca Gallery, 2000. "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. "50 Classic Outsiders", Raw Vision Sourcebook, 2002" "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

Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Bill Traylor Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Mother With Child, 1939 Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Red House With Figures, 1939 Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Yellow And Blue House With Figures And Dog, 1939 Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Figures And Construction, 1941/1942 Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Man With Cane Grabbing Foot, 1940/1942 Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Two Figures With Owl And Dog, 1939/1942 Credit: Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854-1949

Black Horse Paint and graphite on paper. Excellent example of Traylor's work. Very good condition. Dark and light hues with original string - used to hang piece. Early and very strong work. Image: 13.5 x 11. Framed: 22 x 20 Provenance Ruth West Credit: Slotin Folk Art

	Bill Traylor Program This is an invitation from the first exhibition of Traylor's drawings at New South in Montgomery, organized by Charles Shannon in 1940. There are only a small handful in existence. The pieces were hand-printed by Shannon and Traylor. Original illustrations with guache and printers ink on paper. The program is separated, archivally framed & matted. Rare & unusual. 1. Black Bent Man. Image: 8 x 6. 2. Black Bent Man. Image: 8 x 6. 3. Blue Bull. Image: 7 x 8.5. 4. Writing of Bill Traylor. Credit: Slotin Folk Art
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