Bill Traylor

(American, 1854–1947)

Bill Traylor was an American painter and one of the most celebrated Outsider artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. With his unique figurative style, Traylor depicted a lost era of the rural agrarian Southern United States and African-American life. He was born into slavery and developed outside of any artistic training, with the exception of the encouragement of a young artist named Charles Shannon, who provided Traylor with materials. Traylor’s works use a pictograph-like lexicon of symbols to tell open-ended stories replete with animals, plants, and people that are prized today for their innovative aesthetic form and documentation of oppression in the Deep South. Born in April of 1853 in Benton, AL, Traylor spent most of his life as an emancipated sharecropper before moving to the city of Montgomery in Alabama in the late 1930s, where he began drawing and painting scenes culled from his memories. He died on October 23, 1949 in Montgomery, AL. Today, the artist's works are held in the collections of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Milwaukee Art Museum, among others.

Bill Traylor News

Auctions

Artworks Owned by the Late Billionaire William Louis-Dreyfus Highlighted Christie's Somewhat Muted $2 Million Outsider Art Sale

by Eileen Kinsella
Artworks Owned by the Late Billionaire William Louis-Dreyfus Highlighted Christie's Somewhat Muted $2 Million Outsider Art Sale
Auctions

A Late Billionaire Collector's Foundation Is Selling Off Artworks by Bill Traylor and Others to Benefit a Harlem Children’s Charity

by Sarah Cascone
A Late Billionaire Collector's Foundation Is Selling Off Artworks by Bill Traylor and Others to Benefit a Harlem Children’s Charity
Art World

Art Industry News: Long-Lost Francis Bacon ‘Pope’ to Lead Christie’s London Sale + More Must-Read Stories

by Artnet News
Art Industry News: Long-Lost Francis Bacon ‘Pope’ to Lead Christie’s London Sale + More Must-Read Stories

Bill Traylor Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Bill Traylor (186 results)
Goat, Camel, Lion and Figures, 1939

Bill Traylor

Goat, Camel, Lion and Figures, 1939

Sale Date: January 18, 2019

Auction Closed

Four Figures and Basket in Blue

Bill Traylor

Four Figures and Basket in Blue

Sale Date: October 14, 2018

Auction Closed

Black Turkey, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Black Turkey, 1939–1942

Sale Date: April 28, 2018

Auction Closed

Man on Stand

Bill Traylor

Man on Stand

Sale Date: April 21, 2018

Auction Closed

Four Figures and Basket in Blue

Bill Traylor

Four Figures and Basket in Blue

Sale Date: April 21, 2018

Auction Closed

two pigs

Bill Traylor

two pigs

Sale Date: January 14, 2018

Auction Closed

Eight Figures on a Ramp Construction, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Eight Figures on a Ramp Construction, 1939–1942

Sale Date: January 19, 2018

Auction Closed

Mexican Woman in Spotted Skirt

Bill Traylor

Mexican Woman in Spotted Skirt

Sale Date: January 19, 2018

Auction Closed

A Couple: Woman in a Spotted Dress and..., 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

A Couple: Woman in a Spotted Dress and..., 1939–1942

Sale Date: January 19, 2018

Auction Closed

Exciting Event in Blue: Four Wild Men,..., 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Exciting Event in Blue: Four Wild Men,..., 1939–1942

Sale Date: January 19, 2018

Auction Closed

Drinking Man with Dog, 1939

Bill Traylor

Drinking Man with Dog, 1939

Sale Date: January 19, 2018

Auction Closed

WOMAN WITH CHECKED SHIRT, WALKING WITH CANE

Bill Traylor

WOMAN WITH CHECKED SHIRT, WALKING WITH CANE

Sale Date: January 18, 2018

Auction Closed

BARE BACK RIDER

Bill Traylor

BARE BACK RIDER

Sale Date: January 18, 2018

Auction Closed

HANDSTAND ON MAN, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

HANDSTAND ON MAN, 1939–1942

Sale Date: January 18, 2018

Auction Closed

Woman Pointing, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Woman Pointing, 1939–1942

Sale Date: September 20, 2017

Auction Closed

Two Women in Orange, Two Men in Blue, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Two Women in Orange, Two Men in Blue, 1939–1942

Sale Date: September 20, 2017

Auction Closed

couple, woman scolding man, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

couple, woman scolding man, 1939–1942

Sale Date: September 10, 2017

Auction Closed

man, snake and beast, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

man, snake and beast, 1939–1942

Sale Date: September 10, 2017

Auction Closed

Brown Horse, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Brown Horse, 1939–1942

Sale Date: January 20, 2017

Auction Closed

Man with Red Shirt, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Man with Red Shirt, 1939–1942

Sale Date: January 20, 2017

Auction Closed

Brown Dog Charging, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Brown Dog Charging, 1939–1942

Sale Date: January 20, 2017

Auction Closed

CONSTRUCTION WITH MAN SMOKING, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

CONSTRUCTION WITH MAN SMOKING, 1939–1942

Sale Date: January 21, 2017

Auction Closed

Red, Blue, Black and Brown Construction, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Red, Blue, Black and Brown Construction, 1939–1942

Sale Date: September 20, 2016

Auction Closed

Construction with Six Figures and a Dog, 1939–1942

Bill Traylor

Construction with Six Figures and a Dog, 1939–1942

Sale Date: September 20, 2016

Auction Closed

English (US)

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