1970s Folk Art Portrait Painting by Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Framed

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Jimmy Lee Sudduth was an African-American Folk Artist born in Canes Ridge Alabama. Some very early pieces of Sudduth can … Read more Jimmy Lee Sudduth was an African-American Folk Artist born in Canes Ridge Alabama. Some very early pieces of Sudduth can be found in collections as well as the Fayette Art Museum and others. Jack Black who became the Director of the Fayette, Alabama Art Museum introduced Sudduth to the art department staff at Stillman College, a historically black college in Tuscaloosa around 1969. Soon after Jimmy Lee Sudduths paintings were show publicly at Stillman College in his first solo exhibition. Jack Black was a friend and champion of Jimmy Lee Sudduth. Jimmy didn"t know how to write or sign his name and Jack spent time teaching. You can see the struggle of the Jim in the portrait. In the early days Jimmy would paint a picture of a Mansion sometimes by request of the home owner and sometimes not. In many cases the lady of the house would accept the painting at the front door and walk it right out the back door to the garage or storage building. Older paintings were damaged and lost over time. From NY Times: A self-taught artist, Mr Sudduth was renowned for the effects he could produce with his own homemade paint, which consisted of Alabama mud blended with a variety of common substances -soot, axle grease, sugar, coffee grounds and much else- to lend color and texture. Many applied and worked with his fingers. His art is in permanent collections including the Smithsonian Institution, the High Museum of Art and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts as well as many others. Writing in the New York Times in 1997 Michael Kimmelman reviewed an exhibition at the Schomburg Center for research in Black Culture that included Mr Sudduths paintings. He described them as a"" pictures of improbable chalky luminosity and understated bliss"" See less