Born into slavery in the American South in 1853, emancipated in 1865 and living into his 90's Bill Traylor's life spanned a tumultuous time in US history. He had lived for over 8 decades before he began creating the art for which he has become known and his extant works come from a period between 1939 and 1942. Bill Traylor is an American Master who packed a lifetime of experiences into his short career as an artist creating a potent and still relevant body of work that resonates just as powerfully as ever.
Bill Traylor on Artsy (Between Worlds show) - https://www.artsy.net/show/smithsonian-american-art-museum-between-worlds-the-art-of-bill-traylor
Cover Image - Bill Traylor. Untitled (Yellow Chicken). circa 1939-40
Reading List
Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor. Leslie Umberger. ISBN - 978-0691182674
Bill Traylor - Deep Blues. Edited by Josef Helfenstein and Roman Kurzmeyer. ISBN - 0 300 081960
Bill Traylor William Edmondson and the Modernist Impulse. Edited by Josef Helfenstein and Roxanne Stanulis. ISBN - 1-883-01535-9
Bill Traylor, Conjure and Intentionality. Randall Morris. Raw Vision Magazine #100
The World of Bill Traylor. Leslie Umberger. Antiques Magazine - July/August 2018
America is a snarling dog. Jerry Saltz. New York Magazine - November 25-December 8 2019
Video Links
Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor. Smithsonian symposium youtube link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0uD1XJCILk
Documentary
Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts - http://www.billtraylorchasingghosts.com/