Lot 94
Jimmy Lee Sudduth (American, 1910-2007). Untitled. painting (house paint and sand on plywood) n.d. Signed "X" at lower right. Painted directly onto a vertical expanse of plywood, Jimmy Lee Sudduth's untitled work is a study in earthy simplicity, brought to life with his characteristic use of house paint and the textural addition of sand. A solitary figure, rendered in a dark, almost shadowy hue, stands against a lighter background. The figure is minimally defined, yet suggestions of a hat, a collared shirt, and perhaps a belt are discernible through the artist's intuitive lines. Splatters and variations in the paint application, along with the embedded sand, create a tactile surface that speaks to the raw and immediate nature of Sudduth's artistic process. Size: 16.25" W x 60" H (41.3 cm x 152.4 cm)
Jim "Jimmy Lee" Sudduth was raised on farm in Caines Ridge, Alabama. His interest in creating art began during childhood. Jimmy Lee enjoyed making hand-carved dolls and drawing on tree trunks or in the dirt. He continued to develop his artistic expression by finger painting on found objects - doors, signs, and plywood boards - creating pigments from plants and the earth, using house paint, and mixing in unusual binding agents like sugar and syrup. Also a blues musician, he played harmonica and banjo.
Inspired by Manhattan and other American cities, Sudduth painted several paintings that featured crowds and skyscrapers - like the Smithsonian's "Big City Skyline" (ca. 1988 - accession number 1997.124.39) - to "emphasize the anonymity of America's large cities." According to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, "Jimmy Lee Sudduth began making art as a child in his native Alabama. To create his own paints and dyes, he would collect leaves, mud, and foodstuffs, a skill he learned from his healer mother, who gathered plants from the woods to make medicines and remedies. Using his fingers as brushes, he would compose images on whatever surface was available to him, often boards from a local plywood factory. His art often depicted everyday life in Alabama, but he also created views of New York and other cities. In Big City Skyline, lines of people move toward imposing skyscrapers, emphasizing the anonymity and isolation of Americas large cities."
Sudduth's works have been exhibited and collected by many museums such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the High Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery, and the Birmingham Museum of Art. Among numerous honors, Sudduth served as an artist-in-residence at the New Orleans Museum of Art, appeared on "60 Minutes" and the "Today Show", and was invited to exhibit his art and play harmonica at the Smithsonian Institution's Bicentennial Festival of American Folk Life. In 2005, the Birmingham Museum of Art honored the artist with a solo exhibition, and Sudduth's painting entitled, "Self Portrait with Banjo" is exhibited at the Smithsonian Luce Foundation Center.
Provenance: private Rochester, Minnesota, USA collection, acquired from 1990 -1998
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#192976
- Condition: Signed "X" at lower right. Small fissure to upper periphery. Some small areas of chipping and scuffs to paint, as well as marks to white ground. Otherwise, nice with clear imagery. Suspension wire on verso for display.
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