Bill Traylor was an African-American artist born into slavery in the mid-1800’s, incredibly beginning his career as a self-taught artist at the age of 85.

Some of his most notable works of art were those that depicted his memories of plantation life in Montgomery, Alabama.

Born on April 1, 1854, Traylor’s family were slaves who continued to farm after emancipation.  When Traylor was 85 years old, he slept in a back room of a funeral home after moving to Montgomery from Benton in Lowndes County.  During daylight hours, Traylor would use supplies he had found such as cardboard pieces from shirt packaging and pencil stubs to create his impression of the people he saw passing by, and of plantation life as he remembered it from his youth.  He would then exhibit his drawings by hanging them on a fence for passers-by to see.

In his 80’s Traylor produced more than 1,200 drawings!

From that point until he was close to 90, Traylor would produce more than 1,200 drawings.  While his art was simplistic, mostly delineated geometric forms and figures, Traylor’s works of art never gained attention and popularity until nearly 30 years after his death.

While his drawings were exhibited at a show organized by Victor E. D’Amico in New York in 1942, none of Traylor’s artwork sold.

It was only in the late 1970’s when Traylor’s drawings became recognized and popular with the public as well as critics.  Charles Shannon, a painter who Traylor had met in his later years and who had purchased art supplies for Traylor, had kept his friend’s drawings over the years before unveiling them to museum and art dealers and professionals.

Startlingly Modernistic

Some of the art work created by Traylor were done simply with pencil and “found” cardboard scraps, while others included poster paint, colored pencils, and crayons.  Much of his work is called “startlingly” modernistic; today, his work has become some of the most sought-after of that created by self-taught artists.

Traylor’s Art Work is Held in Numerous Public Collections

Amazingly considering the simplistic nature of his works and his elderly age when he really put his talent to use, Traylor’s art work is held in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, High Museum of Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Prior to his death at a nursing home in Montgomery in 1949, the artist had traveled to Washington D.C. in 1942 where he lived with his children during World War II until 1945, when he returned to Montgomery and lived on the street once again.  Ultimately, he was urged to  move in with a daughter in the area by relief workers.

Bill Traylor’s story is one that is tragic in a way, considering he will never know the popularity of his work and impact of his talent. However, film maker Jeffrey Wolf (Director/Producer/Editor) has made the documentary Chasing Ghosts which captures the essence of Bill Traylor’s work and life.

•Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts Trailer from jeffrey wolf on Vimeo.

It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw

Today Bill Traylor is considered to be one of the most important self-taught American folk artists. Winner of Lee & Low’s New Voices Award Honor, It Jes’ Happened is a lively tribute to this man who has enriched the world with more than twelve hundred warm, energetic, and often humorous pictures.

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After a series of drug dealing convictions he was found guilty of an assault, his third strike in the Texas Three Strikes Law, which sentenced him to 25 years in Huntsville State Prison. While in prison he was introduced to the prison arts program which provided a creative outlet. He developed a characteristic drawing style involving detailed patterning and line work. He drew with green, black and red ball point pens on any scrap of paper he could find — envelopes to prison menus. He described his gladiators and cosmic visions with razor-sharp outlines, covering every millimeter of the surface with the color inks.

After being discovered in a prison art show by William Steen, Clark found an enthusiastic reception in the wider world. After winning a prize in the “Texas Department of Corrections Art Show,” he was exhibited in “Living Folk” at Hirschl & Adler Folk Gallery in New York in 1990; “Passionate Visions of the American South,” New Orleans Museum of Art, 1993, and “Spirited Journeys: Self-Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century,” 1997.

Clark said his work comes to him naturally: “I sit down and, watch a football game or watch my soap operas every day. While I’m watching, this my hand be real busy. Every once in a while, I glance down, I don’t know where it come from, but it’s beautiful precise control.”

And he went on to express: “If anybody knows anything about my art, they know about my planets,” he explained once. “I know they are out there because I’ve been there. Every night when I go to bed, I travel in my spaceship going to all the places I put on these papers.”

Clark went to prison more than once, but after his final release he made Houston his home. Ironically, Clark died on July 29, 2006, the victim of a robbery and murder in his home.

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