Bill Traylor

(American, 1854–1947)

untitled (brown turkey) by bill traylor

Bill Traylor

Untitled (Brown Turkey), 1939–1942

Price on Request

untitled (bull) by bill traylor

Bill Traylor

Untitled (Bull), 1939–1942

Price on Request

Biography

Timeline

1854
Born in slavery at George Hartwell Traylor’s plantation, Benton, Alabama.
Traylor remained on the plantation until the age of 82 when it was sold.
1935
Moved to Montgomery, AL and work briefly in a shoe factory.
1936 - 1941
Left the shoe factory and begun to draw on the sidewalks of Montgomery.
Traylor typically worked on discarded pieces of cardboard in pencil, crayon, and tempura.
Met Charles Shannon, an Alabama painter. Shannon promoted Traylor’s work and encouraged him to continue painting.
1942
Traylor moved north to live with his daughter where his left leg amputated due to gangrene. Traylor stop produced drawings until after the end of WWII, at which point his skills have deteriorated.
1949
Died in Montgomery, AL

Exhibitions

1997
Bill Traylor, Ricco Maresca Gallery, NY
High Singing Blue, Hirschl & Adler Modern New York, NY
High Singing Blue, Carl Hammer Gallery Chicago, IL
1996
Self-Taught: The Last 100 Years, Guston, Basquait, John McEnroe Gallery New York, NY
1995
A World of Their Own, Twentieth-Century American Folk Art, The Newark Museum Newark, NJ
Dust Tracks on a Road, Four Southern Artist, High Museum of Art Atlanta, GA
Pictures from the Bill Traylor Family Trust and Others, Hirschl & Adler Modern New York, NY
Lively Times & Exciting Events: The Drawings of Bill Traylor, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Montgomery, AL
Lively Times & Exciting Events: The Drawings of Bill Traylor, Madison-Morgan Cultural Center Madison, GA
Lively Times & Exciting Events: The Drawings of Bill Traylor, The Cummer Gallery of Art Jacksonville, FL