folkartwork

Bull Fight (ca. 1985) // Enamel on Masonite; 49 x 50 inches (124.5 x 127 cm)

via Philadelphia Museum of Art

About William Hawkins:

One of my person favorite artists, William Hawkins signed nearly everyone of his vibrant and boldly colored paintings with his name, William L. Hawkins. His birthday, July 27 1895. And birthplace, Union City, Kentucky. Along with this unique signature, each work is adorned with an elaborate border or frame if you will, since Hawkins couldn’t afford a frame of his own, as he was completely self taught and worked for the majority of his life with found materials like house paint. It’s not that he was necessarily cheap, but he would often hilariously quip, “why would I need more than one brush when I could just wipe it off and dip it in another color?”

William Hawkins eventually would end up in Columbus, Ohio where he eventually burst onto the New York City art scene after winning first prize at the Ohio State Fair in 1980. For the next 8 years he created the bulk of his oeuvre that you may come to know and love today, but the proud and confident artist had been collecting ideas, sketching, and painting throughout the entirety of his life. He never really learned to read or write, but that didn’t stop this great artist from telling his stories.

See more works by William Hawkins

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