#3226: Ellis Wilson, Art (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Stephen W Hersey <swhers2@pop.uky.edu>

Key Words:  Ellis Wilson, Art		

I was very happy to find in my post box today "The Art of Ellis Wilson,"
published by the University Press of Kentucky.  Wilson (1899-1977), a
native of Kentucky, traveled to Haiti in the early 50's where he painted
scenes from daily life:  vendors of various sorts, tap-taps, markets, a
funeral procession.  His paintings of Haiti are remarkable for their bold
colors.  

He depicted scenes of African-American life throughout his career.  From
the book:

In his Haitian paintings, overlapping figures create a human chain that
highlights a collaboration of effort most aptly described as community.  As
a black man, Wilson felt a personal connection to Haitians, but he was
still an outsider, a visitor to their land.  The distance was heightened
further once he was back in his New York studio, but the rhythm and texture
of the people he observed remained embedded in his mind's eye.  Decorative
details abound in pictures where design acts as the chorus to a symphony of
color.  The dance of green leaves, the glow of a flame beneath stained
glass, the bunching of chairs, or flowers, or people all reveal a unique,
personal rhythm delicate as the notes of a flute . . .

His work will be on display at the Art Museum at the University of Kentucky
until June 25.

Steve Hersey