folkartwork

Ten works by Bill Traylor in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art.

In 1942, MoMa had the opportunity to purchase works by the then-living Bill Traylor with the help of Charles Shannon. But it wasn’t until 1995 that the museum first acquired work by Traylor, with a total of 12 works in the collection being acquired between 1995-2004.

Here, let us dig deeper: In 1939, Charles Shannon, artist and leader of the New South, met and befriended Bill Trayor in Montgomery, Alabama. Shannon provided Traylor with money and materials for his work while collecting and advocating for over a thousand of Traylor’s works of art for the remainder of his life.

In 1942, at a little-known solo show at the Fieldston School in the Bronx, Charles Shannon and the then Director of MoMa Alfred Barr, a known lover of “primitive” artwork as it was known then, at a conversation about the museum acquiring work by Bill Traylor. Reportedly, Barr offered $1 for the small works and $2 for some bigger works, which Shannon felt was insulting and declined the offer.

As World War II raged on, works by Bill Traylor entered into relative obscurity until 1982 when, with the help of Charles Shannon, his work was entered in the “Black Folk Art in America” show at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington — some 33 years after Bill Traylor’s death. Now a “sensation” with people finally aware of the majesty of his work, he is today known as one of the most important American artists of the 20th century.

Titles of works — none of which are currently on view. Most works are made with gouache and pencil, with some using crayon, charcoal, or watercolor, all on board:

x Fat Man in Blue (c. 1939–42)

x Figure Construction (Woman and Man with Axe) (c. 1939–42)

x Man on Triangle Reaching for Bottle (c. 1939–42)

x Untitled (Orange Horse) (c. 1939–42)

x Big Man Walking (1940)

x Arched Drinker (c. 1939–42)

x Spotted Sow (1940)

x Untitled (Black Horse) (c. 1939–42)

x Yellow Chicken (c. 1939–40)

x Figures on Blue Construction (c. 1939–42)

x Owls in Tree/Shoeing Mule (c. 1939)

x Blue Snake (c. 1939–42)