William Tolliver (American, 1951-2000). "Learning to Play" lithograph, ca. 1990s. Edition 296/350. Hand-signed in pencil at lower right. Numbered at lower left. A lively color serigraph featuring an African-American boy playing the trumpet by self-taught African-American artist William Tolliver. Tolliver grew up in a musical family in the Mississippi Delta and honored African-American musicians in his work. Beyond the literal depiction of this young musician, Tolliver also conveyed the dynamic, moving quality of music with abstract, colorful shapes suggestive of Futurism - a movement which grew from the tenets of Cubism. A wonderful lithography by Tolliver that pays homage to the musical contributions of Southern black culture. Size (image): 39" L x 26.75" W (99.1 cm x 67.9 cm) Size (sheet): 44.5" L x 33" W (113 cm x 83.8 cm)

About the artist: William Tolliver was an exceptional African-American artist of the 20th century. Tolliver was one of fourteen children born into a Vicksburg, Mississippi sharecropping family. Drawn to visual art at a young age, Tolliver taught himself to paint and draw, because there was no art class in his local school. By age eight, William was mowing lawns to earn money for art supplies. In addition, his mother, Ella Mae Tolliver, worked full time in the cotton fields to support her children, but still managed to foster their interest in art. She borrowed art books on European masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rubens, and Rembrandt from the local library and even organized drawing contests between William and his siblings. Furthermore, according to an interview with Galerie Royale in New Orleans, William learned to make academically correct paintings by completing paint-by-number kits at a very young age. "There is no better teacher," he declared. "Everything is diagrammed, every little spot, every color. Once I did one or two of those, I understood the principles." Perhaps these lessons derived from paint-by-numbers in conjunction with William's study of modern artists fueled his later Cubist-style works. At age 14, William dropped out of school to work with Job Corps in Los Angeles where he learned skills from a carpenter teacher, and by the 1980s, he was living in Lafayette, Louisiana with his wife Debrah who took it upon herself to show his paintings to Bob Crutchfield, owner of Live Oak Gallery. These were received very well, and all nine paintings sold in ten days, igniting his career as an artist!

William Tolliver's art has been exhibited at the Smithsonian, the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the rotunda of the US Senate Building in Washington, DC. In addition, he was commissioned to create a poster for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Tolliver's art is held in the permanent collections of elite museums such as the Corcoran Museum, the Hampton University Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, McKissick Museum, and the Zigler Museum. In addition, his works have been featured in important publications including the International Review of African American Art and The Art Gallery International. (Sources: Zigler Art Museum and The International Review of African American Art)

Provenance: private Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA collection

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#184831

Hand-signed in pencil at lower right. Numbered at lower left. Some wear (creases and a few stain) to the margins. A crease at the lower left of image just above the edition number. A faint scratch at the upper right that is difficult to see.