Yellow Bird Mose Tolliver Painting

U.S.A., c. 1995

18 x 25 in (46 x 64 cm)

ID #MT-Z-68

A funk yellow bird with a crown of black-dotted feathers on its head.

Mose Tolliver was a self-taught folk artist whose works are in museums ranging from the Met to the Smithsonian. His childhood did not set him up for the success he later found in the art world -- he was born to sharecropper parents in Alabama and dropped out of school in the 3rd grade. Until around the age of 45 he worked labor-intensive jobs. It was only when his legs were crushed by marble that he began to teach himself how to paint as a way to ease the pain and boredom. His paintings are distinct -- colorful and often mythical scenes of nature and humans that are chock-full of vibrant patterns and bizarre angles. His signature, Mose T. with a backwards “S,” perfectly completes his pieces.

Artist: Mose Tolliver

Material: Plywood

MT-#68

500-1000 african american Alabama animal art brut outsider art bird black creature dragon fantasy feathers folk art naive art original painting self-taught size-18x25 South southern