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Original Willie White marker drawing on posterboard. 11 x 14"
Born in 1910 to Mississippi sharecroppers, Willie White would eventually become one of the most sought after of the American Southern Outsider Artists. White left school after the 3rd grade to help his family farm the fields. In 1929 he left Mississippi and eventually made his way to New Orleans where he worked odd jobs .
Inspired by the artists working in the French Quarter, White began painting, at first imitating their work until he developed his own language. Instantly recognizable, he is known for vibrant marker drawings on poster board. By eliminating any foreground or background he achieves a flattened picture plane with an all over design populated by a lexicon of imagery that includes dinosaurs, horses, birds, watermelons, skyscrapers, rocket ships, suns and planets.
Early in his career, White reportedly sold his drawings for $2 each. Before his death in 2001 he would see them sell for as high as $1,200 in galleries from New York to Paris. White’s work is now included in many permanent museum collections, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Birmingham Museum in Alabama, the Morris Museum of Art in New Jersey, the Pérez Art Museum in Miami, the Speed Museum of Art in Kentucky, the Ogden Museum of in Louisiana, and the New Orleans Museum of Art.