Self-Portrait at 84197820 7/8 x 16 7/8 " (52.9 x 42.7 cm)
Frame: 22 1/2 x 18 1/2 " (57.2 x 47 cm)House paint on plywoodGift of Robert Bishop1987.11.30Abstract self-portrait of artist against light blue background with red outline all four edges. Chocolate-colored head with grizzled, gray hair. Asymmetrical eyes with slash through whites, red centers; nose indicated by asymmetrical white nostrils with red dot in center; mouth open revealing full set of teeth below dripping red upper-lip; sloping shoulders, white shirt. Areas of background, face and shirt mixed with previous color layer: brown showing through blue background; yellow showing through brown face. Brushwork evident throughout.
152348202Mose TolliverPaintings© Estate of Mose Tolliver / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New Yorklower left: 'MOƧET'MontgomeryMontgomeryUnited StatesAlabamaPaintingsMontgomeryThis self-portrait by Moses (or Mose) Ernest Tolliver, a prolific artist from Montgomery, Alabama, is one of his most intense works. The red paint dripping from the upper lip and the strong red line separating the bared, gleaming white teeth evokes power and terror, while the red border further enlivens the composition. Facial features are lopsided, nostrils and eyes are of different sizes, and the unnerving eyes are shaped like vertical drawer handles. The dark brown face is crowned by the close-cropped, curly white hair Tolliver had from an early age. And on top of Tolliver's head is a decorative handlelike object that the artist called a "head bob."
Tolliver's father was a tenant farmer on the Rittenour farm in the Pike Road area of Alabama where the artist was born. Tolliver received limited formal education, and much of his early life revolved around farm-related chores. When he was a teenager, he and his mother moved to nearby Montgomery, where he performed odd jobs and took special pleasure in yard work and gardening. He married Willie Mae Thomas in the early 1940s, and they had eleven children. For decades, Tolliver worked in the shipping department of the local McClendon Furniture Factory. After an injury to his legs forced him to leave his job, he took up art.
Tolliver painted abstract single images of people, animals, fantastic half-man/half-animal hybrids, plant life, and vehicles, as well as multifigured narratives. Sexual imagery prevails in what the artist called his "nasty" pictures. And a wry sense of humor is evident in all the paintings, many of which have imaginative titles. Tolliver used house paint in a palette typically limited to a few colors—brown, blue, white, and red in this work—from which he was able to create a variety of tonal gradations with wet-on-wet application.
Lee Kogan, "Self-Portrait," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 386.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org self-portrait19781978 1987 11 3 This self-portrait by Moses (or Mose) Ernest Tolliver, a prolific artist from Montgomery, Alabama, is one of his most intense works. The red paint dripping from the upper lip and the strong red line separating the bared, gleaming white teeth evokes power and terror, while the red border further enlivens the composition. Facial features are lopsided, nostrils and eyes are of different sizes, and the unnerving eyes are shaped like vertical drawer handles. The dark brown face is crowned by the close-cropped, curly white hair Tolliver had from an early age. And on top of Tolliver's head is a decorative handlelike object that the artist called a "head bob."
Tolliver's father was a tenant farmer on the Rittenour farm in the Pike Road area of Alabama where the artist was born. Tolliver received limited formal education, and much of his early life revolved around farm-related chores. When he was a teenager, he and his mother moved to nearby Montgomery, where he performed odd jobs and took special pleasure in yard work and gardening. He married Willie Mae Thomas in the early 1940s, and they had eleven children. For decades, Tolliver worked in the shipping department of the local McClendon Furniture Factory. After an injury to his legs forced him to leave his job, he took up art.
Tolliver painted abstract single images of people, animals, fantastic half-man/half-animal hybrids, plant life, and vehicles, as well as multifigured narratives. Sexual imagery prevails in what the artist called his "nasty" pictures. And a wry sense of humor is evident in all the paintings, many of which have imaginative titles. Tolliver used house paint in a palette typically limited to a few colors—brown, blue, white, and red in this work—from which he was able to create a variety of tonal gradations with wet-on-wet application.
Lee Kogan, "Self-Portrait," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 386.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org self-portrait