Deep Blues

Art and Architecture

This book presents not only the compelling drawings that made Traylor a nearly mythical figure in American folk art but also a series of photographs of Traylor and his milieu that captures Montgomery and the moment when Traylor was beginning to draw.

Library Journal

With his electric blue rabbits, houses, and drinking men, the self-taught Traylor reflects the improvisational vitality of African Americans living in the segregated South during the Great Depression. Born a slave, the 82-year-old Traylor only left his Alabama plantation in 1935 "when [his] white folks had died and [his] children scattered." He moved 35 miles away to Montgomery, the state capital, and began to draw on discarded pieces of cardboard. By the time he died in 1949, he left a legacy of over 1000 drawings and paintings recognized today as prime examples of "outsider" art. Originally published in German to accompany the first major Traylor exhibition outside of America, this catalog celebrates Traylor's life and work with a collection of essays, a selection of full-color illustrations, and black-and-white photos of Montgomery in the 1930s, taken by Swiss journalist Annemarie Schwarzenbach and Charles Shannon, the white artist who discovered Traylor. While some of the essays are dry and academic, Helfentein's piece on Shannon's encounter with Traylor is fascinating. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Although written for junior and high school students, Mary Lyons's charming Deep Blues: Bill Traylor, Self-Taught Artist (Atheneum, 1994) is a suitable choice for smaller collections.--Wilda Williams, "Library Journal" Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.