Bill Traylor’s Goat, Camel, Lion and Figures Leads Christie’s Upcoming Outsider Art Auction

From the cotton fields of Alabama rose a self-taught artist who drew stories on papers. He was William (Bill) Traylor. Born into slavery in 1853 Alabama, Traylor spent most of his life as a sharecropper. It was not until his 80s that he started drawing since he could no longer work in the fields. Today, Traylor is revered as one of the few self-taught artists from the American South whose works reveal untold stories of slavery and segregation. Goat, Camel, Lion and Figures by Traylor, completed in 1939, leads the upcoming Outsider Art auction, presented by Christie’s. The reverse bears an original Shannon label. This iconic work by Bill Traylor is important from a historical standpoint because it is the drawing Traylor rendered throughout a series of now-famous images by Charles Shannon.

Another notable lot is Judas Kissing Jesus, an enamel on carved wood piece by Elijah Pierce (1892 – 1984). It was completed in September of 1960 and sold to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bittle. The artist took pride in his work and ownership of his success. For Pierce, wood was his page and a pocket knife his quill, tools with which he left an enduring legacy. Christie’s upcoming Outsider Art auction features diverse masterpieces by other notable artists such as Henry Darger, Thornton Dial, Charles A. A. Dellschau, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, David Butler, James Castle, Sam Doyle, William Hawkins, Clementine Hunter, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Nellie Mae Rowe, Minnie Evans and Joseph Yoakum. The auction also features sculptures and works by European artists such as Anna Zemankova and Sava Sekulic. Find the listed items and more on Christie’s and register to place a bid.