Artwork from the JSP Estate/Private Collection

 

Artist

Mose Tolliver

Nationality

American

Artist Dates

1920-2006

Preview

image preview

Medium

Oil on panel

Signature

Lower left

Height

8"

Width

6"

Collection/Provenance

Art & Design Study Collection: James Smith Pierce Collection

Status

On display: Second floor

Location

Memorial Union

Artist Bio

Moses Ernest Tolliver, the child of African-American sharecroppers, was born into a large family in Alabama. He began to make paintings in the late 1960s after his legs were severely injured in an on-the-job accident in a furniture factory. Using house paint, he produced eccentric and childlike images of animals, people, and plant life—as in the work on display. Signing his work “MOSET” (with a backwards “S”), he became well known in the self-taught art world and many museums collect his work.

Additional Information

Student composed text panel:

Mose Tolliver (American, 1920-2006)
Untitled
Oil on panel
Art & Design Study Collection: James Smith Pierce Collection
Purchased with funds from the Myers Foundations.

Born Moses Ernest Tolliver, Tolliver grew up in Alabama in a family of sharecroppers. As an adult, he worked in a furniture factory but suffered a severe injury to his legs in a workplace accident, after which he began to create art from his bedside. At the beginning of his career, Tolliver displayed his work in a makeshift gallery on his porch for passersby to enjoy. Since then, his art has gained popularity and is now showcased in museums such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C.

This artwork features an array of flowers in green, pink, and red as well as Tolliver’s iconic signature. The shapes and colors used in this work convey the childlike theme that he is known for as a self-taught artist.

Flowers, red, green, pink

Condition

Very good

Rights

Images are provided for educational purposes only and may not be reproduced for commercial use. Images may be protected by artist copyright. A credit line is required to be used for any public non-commercial educational purpose. The credit line must include, “Image courtesy of the University of North Dakota.”

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