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USA
Midwest
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Milwaukee, WI
Josephus Farmer
1894-1989
Paintings
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Information:
Josephus Farmer was a Pentecostal minister and street evangelist who made colorful banners to convey the message of Christ during revival meetings he held in Missouri and Illinois. At the top of this painted window shade God proclaims the mystery of Christ. The diagram (like those in nineteenth century theological charts), the Biblical text, and his own illustrations extend the message of religious faith.
Farmer was born and raised in Tennessee, then moved to East St. Louis, where he was baptized and became a Pentecostal evangelist. In the 40s he moved to Milwaukee,where he worked as a porter and maintained a storefront church. He began making art in his mid-50s. painting banners and carving the reliefs and dioramas for which he is now known. His work was included in the landmark "Black Folk Art: 1930-1980" exhibition at the Corcoran in 1983, and many others.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Bibliography:
"Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists" by Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, New York, 1990.
"Contemporary American Folk Art - A Collector's Guide" Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, 1996.
"Flying Free: Twentieth-Century Self-Taught Art from the Collection of Ellin and Baron Gordon" by Ellin Gordon, Barbara L. Luck and Tom Patterson, exhibit catalog for The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, 1997.
"Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, 2000.
"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
"Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" by Tom Patterson, Watson-Guptill Publications/New York, 2001. |
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