Artist of the day, April 11: Bill Taylor, American folk art painter

Bill Traylor, (1854-1949) is one of the most celebrated outsider artists, whose unselfconscious and expressive drawings were all done during his eighties, over a span of 5 years. He was discovered by artist Charles Shannon in Montgomery, Alabama in 1939, drawing with a pencil stub and straight-edged stick on discarded shirt cardboard. The 1982 exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art entitled “Black Folk Art in America” brought Traylor to national attention as a major artist and visual storyteller.

Just Folk recently acquired a collection of works by Bill Traylor that has not been seen in the United States for over a decade. The acquisition is believed to be one of the largest groups of Traylor works available, and contains 28 pieces, many of which are featured in the “Bill Traylor High Singing Blue” catalogue which accompanied the 1997 exhibit of the same name at Hirschl and Adler Modern in New York and Carl Hammer Gallery.

Bill Traylor will be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Smithsonian American Museum in 2018.

© 2018. All images are copyrighted © by Bill Taylor or assignee. The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained.

Mr  Bill Taylor

Yellow Goat, 10" x 13,5"

Woman with Handbag and Umbrella, 16" x 8"

Woman Pointing

Untitled (Yellow and Blue House with Figures and Dog)

Untitled (Woman with Bird), 13.25" x 7.375"

Untitled (Spread-Legged Drinker), 9" x 13.5"

Untitled (Seated Woman)

Untitled (Red Goat with Snake), 11.75" × 14.25"

Untitled (man with a cigar)

Untitled (Man in Blue Pants)10⅝" x 7¼"

Untitled (Legs Construction with Blue Man), 12.75"× 10.5"

Untitled (Figures, Constructions), 12⅝" x 11⅝"

Untitled (Figures, Construction), 13⅛" x 7⅞"

Untitled, 13" x 11.25"

Untitled, 14⅛" x 21⅝ "

Untitled (Two dogs fighting)

Untitled (Bent man smoking)

Untitled (Construction with Yawping Woman), 13.25" × 11"

Untitled (Dog Fight with Writing)

Untitled (Figure: Construction, Black, Brown, Red)

Two Blue Chickens, 7.25" x 4.25"

Turkey Chasing Bug, 7.5" x 12.5"

Tempera and pencil on cardboard. 13⅜" x 7⅜"

Standing Hen, 13 .5" x 11.25"

Spotted Cat, 11" x 9"

Ross the Undertaker,  13.725" x 14.725"

Red Cat, Black Bull, 15" x 12.5"

Milking

Mule and Plow,

Owl, 9" x 7"

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard, 13.5" x 13.75"

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard, 11¾" x 7¾"

Poster paint and pencil on paper, 14⅝" x 25¾"

Lizard, 12" x 5.5"

Man and Cat on Organic Form, 15" x 14"

Man with a plow

Man with a walking stick,  10.5"x 9.75"

Man with Stick (Pipe), 13.5" x 8"

Mexican Man with Suitcase, 13.75" x 7.25"

Brown rabbit

Exciting Event with Construction, 14" x 16"

Farm Scene with Cow and Man, 14" x 22"

Half Spotter cat,12" x 16"

House

Brown Bull, 10.75" x 14.5"

Bird on Triangular Construction, 7" x 4.5"

Black Horse, 13.5" x 15"

Black Pig with Blue Eye, 11.75" x 11.75"

Blue Cat, 15" x 14"

Blue Cat

Blue House with People, 9"x12"

Blue Man with “B” on His Back, 13" x 7"

Brown and Blue Man with Suitcase, 13" x 8"

Brown Bull, 10.75" x 14.75"