Marva Lee Pitchford Jolly
1937-2012
untitled (Black woman in a flowing dress and hat)
c. 1990
ceramic vessel
4-1/4 inches (height)
13-1/2 inches (widest point across diagonally)
incised signature
free-form shape

Provenance: private collection, southwest Missouri; acquired directly from the artist by a friend.

Jolly is a Chicago-based ceramicist but she considers herself "a Southerner, born of cotton-picker heritage". "My story pots reflect the stories I've heard and listen to all my life. Many of these voices have universal concepts , yet come from very personal experiences. [They] also talk about the capacity to grow, a quality that is present in all of us."

Jolly was born in Crenshaw Mississippi, and received her B.S. in Urban Studies (1960, Roosevelt University, Chicago) and he M.S. in Ethnic Studies and Political Science (1974, Governor's State University, Park Forest, IL). She founded her ceramic studio, Mudpeoples in 1983--"an audacious decision for a black middle-aged woman."
Gumbo Ya-Ya, Anthology of Contemporary African-American Women Artists, pp. 124-125.

generally good condition