Read On!

Mrs. Farquharson’s musings about books for children and young adults

Artist Bill Traylor

May16

billHow fortuitous that formally trained artist, Charles Shannon, met Bill Traylor on a street in 1939. Shannon (1914-1996) was from Montgomery, Alabama, and while he was studying at the Cleveland School of Art, he became interested in the artistic culture of the south. He recognized the talent of Bill Traylor, a former slave who had experienced periods of homelessness. Shannon encouraged Traylor to continue drawing and painting and brought him art supplies.

Bill Traylor (1854-1949) created between 1,200 and 1,500 pieces of art during his lifetime, although he didn’t begin his art until his was well into his eighties. Prior to that time, Traylor had endured slavery and raised a family as a sharecropper. When he moved to Montgomery, Alabama at age eight-one, he struggled to survive. Throughout these hardships, he began to sketch on found pieces of paper and cardboard. He began to draw images from all stages of his life that he had stored in his memory.

Charles Shannon arranged for exhibits of Bill Traylor’s work, and now this former slave and self-taught man is recognized as a very important American folk artist.

It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw was written by Don Tate and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Lee & Low, 2012).

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