Deep Blues : Bill Traylor 1854-1949

by Josef Helfenstein; Edited by Roman Kurzmeyer; Contributions by John Berger, Alfr

• ISBN13: 9780300081633
• ISBN10: 0300081634
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1999-08-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Bill Traylor has become an almost mythical figure in the history of American folk art. Born into slavery in 1854, he only began to draw at the age of 82 in 1939, when he moved from the plantation where he was born to Montgomery, Alabama. From his observations on Montgomery's Monroe Avenue and his memories of his life on the plantation, he created his own original pictorial world. This book presents not only Traylor's compellingly native drawings but also fascinating documentary photographs that reveal the daily life of southern blacks - in particular Traylor and his milieu. These photographs, taken by Charles Shannon and the Swiss journalist Annemarle Schwarzanbach, reminiscent of the works of Walker Evans, capture the atmosphere of Montgomery and rural Alabama at the same time as Traylor was beginning to draw.
The contributors discuss Traylor's life and work, placing them in their social and historical background.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 6
From a Speech	p. 8
Plow and Pencil	p. 10
Bill Traylor: Artist-Bricoleur	p. 31
Illustrations	p. 33
Bill Traylor: Inside the Outsider	p. 92
Bill Traylor and Charles Shannon: A Historic Encounter in Montgomery	p. 96
High Singing Blue	p. 109
Photographs by Charles Shannon	p. 115
Images of the South: The Photographs of Charles Shannon	p. 152
Looking at Bill Traylor: Observations on the Reception of his Work	p. 162
The Life and Times of Bill Traylor (1854-1949)	p. 169
The Depression in Montgomery, Alabama	p. 179
Race Relations in Montgomery, Alabama, 1930s-1940s	p. 180
Bibliography	p. 182
List of Illustrated Works	p. 188
Index	p. 191
Photographic Credits	p. 192
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