Bill Traylor

David Zwirner is pleased to present works by Bill Traylor (c. 1853–1949) from The William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation and Family Collections.

Organized in collaboration with the Foundation, the exhibition offers a comprehensive look at the artist’s distinctive imagery, which mixes subjects and iconography from the American South with a strong formalistic treatment of color, shape, and surface. As part of the Foundation’s broader philanthropic mission, proceeds from the sales of its artworks will benefit the Harlem Children’s Zone, as well as the Foundation itself.

Cover Image: Bill Traylor, Blue Rabbit Running, 1939–1942

All Bill Traylor artwork is used with permission from Bill Traylor Family, Inc., and The Artistry of Bill Traylor, LLC.

Location

34 East 69th Street New York

Dates

October 29, 2019—February 1, 2020

Opening reception

Tuesday, October 29, 6–8 PM

Artist

Bill Traylor

Press Release

Bill Traylor

Alabama artist Bill Traylor working under a shade tree in a Montgomery neighborhood, 1946. Photo courtesy of the Alabama State Council on the Arts

Bill Traylor

Brown House with Multiple Figures and Birds, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

20 1/2 x 17 5/8 inches (52.1 x 44.8 cm)

“Bill Traylor’s brilliant but meteoric artistic moment is unprecedented… The real adventure of finding meaning in Bill Traylor’s art is ours alone.”
—Kerry James Marshall

Bill Traylor

Pointing Man in Hat and Blue Pants with Cane, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

19 3/4 x 9 1/8 inches (50.2 x 23.2 cm)

Bill Traylor

Preaching in Circle with Figures, c. 1939-1940

Colored pencil on cardboard

16 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches (41.3 x 33.7 cm)

Bill Traylor

Exciting Event, Snake, Plow, Figures Chasing Rabbit, 1939-1942

Pencil on cardboard

22 1/8 x 14 1/8 inches (56.2 x 35.9 cm)

Bill Traylor

Green Man with Two Bottles, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

13 3/4 x 10 5/8 inches (34.9 x 27 cm)

“One day Traylor picked up a stub of pencil and a scrap of cardboard and began to draw…. He produced hundreds of drawings and paintings that rank among the greatest works of the twentieth century.”
—Roberta Smith

Bill Traylor

Hunter on Horseback with Spotted Dog, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

16 1/2 x 23 1/4 inches (41.9 x 59.1 cm)

Bill Traylor

Man in Red Shirt with Hat, Umbrella, and Lunchbox, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

12 3/8 x 6 3/4 inches (31.4 x 17.1 cm)

Bill Traylor

Red Dog, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

11 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches (29.2 x 29.8 cm)

Bill Traylor

Two Men, Dog, and Owl, 1939-1942

Colored pencil and charcoal on cardboard

13 7/8 x 11 inches (35.2 x 27.9 cm)

“His imagery seemed to just well up from the experiences of his long life. Some seemed to be based on memories of specific people or animals; others were obviously inventions.”
—Charles Shannon

Bill Traylor

Woman with Umbrella and Blue Skirt, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

11 1/4 x 6 3/8 inches (28.6 x 16.2 cm)

Bill Traylor

Brown Mule, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

12 3/4 x 15 inches (32.4 x 38.1 cm)

Bill Traylor

Exciting Event (Man on Chair, Man with Rifle, Dog Chasing Girl, Yellow Bird and Other Figures), 1939-1942

Poster paint, pencil, colored pencil, and charcoal on cardboard

15 x 11 1/8 inches (38.1 x 28.3 cm)

Bill Traylor

Blue Man with Hat atop Construction, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

15 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches (39.4 x 24.1 cm)

Bill Traylor

Man with Cane Grabbing Foot, 1939-1942

Pencil and charcoal on cardboard

11 3/8 x 6 7/8 inches (28.9 x 17.5 cm)

Bill Traylor

Wild Animal, 1939-1942

Pencil and charcoal on cardboard

14 x 11 inches (35.6 x 27.9 cm)

Bill Traylor

Blue Rabbit Running, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

9 x 11 7/8 inches (22.9 x 30.2 cm)

Bill Traylor

Figures on Construction, Dog Treeing, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

15 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches (39.4 x 18.1 cm)

“What red was to Titian, yellow to Van Gogh, a high, singing blue was to Bill Traylor…. The same blue those who grew up in the America South remember from the hand-painted signs in the window of the local grocery stores.’’
—Phil Patton

Bill Traylor

Black Heron, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

11 3/8 x 7 3/4 inches (28.9 x 19.7 cm)

Bill Traylor

Brown Spotted Snake, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

10 3/8 x 17 3/4 inches (26.4 x 45.1 cm)

Bill Traylor

Construction, Fleeing Figure, Two Men, Bird and Dog, 1939-1942

Poster paint and colored pencil on cardboard

13 3/8 x 7 3/8 inches (34 x 18.7 cm)

“Traylor’s style has about it both something very old … and something spanking new. Songlike rhythms, evoking the time’s jazz and blues, and a feel for scale … give majestic presence to even the smallest images.”
—Peter Schjeldahl

Bill Traylor

Blue Construction with Black and Orange People and Dogs, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

17 3/8 x 11 1/8 inches (44.1 x 28.3 cm)

Bill Traylor

Man Bent at Waist with a Bottle, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

12 x 7 1/4 inches (30.5 x 18.4 cm)

Bill Traylor

Man with Cane on Construction, with Dog, 1939-1942

Poster paint, pencil, and colored pencil on cardboard

14 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches (36.2 x 18.4 cm)

Bill Traylor

Two Fighting Dogs, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

18 1/4 x 20 inches (46.4 x 50.8 cm)

Bill Traylor

Turtle Swimming Down, c. 1939-1940

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

11 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches (29.8 x 19.7 cm)

Bill Traylor

Man with Spotted Shirt, Hat, and Umbrella, 1939-1942

Poster paint and pencil on cardboard

12 1/2 x 6 7/8 inches (31.8 x 17.5 cm)

“Traylor produced a body of work which is ... as important to America’s artistic contribution as are the scrupulously exquisite watercolors of Winslow Homer or the structured paint drippings of Jackson Pollock.”
—William Louis-Dreyfus

References:

Kerry James Marshall, “The Beatitudes of Bill Traylor,” in Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor, 2018
Roberta Smith, “The Shape of the World Passing Before His Eyes,” The New York Times, 2013
Charles Shannon, in an interview published in Bill Traylor: His Art, His Life, 1991
Phil Patton, “High Singing Blue,” in Deep Blues: Bill Traylor 1854–1949, 1999
Peter Schjeldahl, “The Utterly Original Bill Traylor,” The New Yorker, 2018
William Louis-Dreyfus, “Bill Traylor: An American Prodigy,” 1997

Installation view of the exhibition, Bill Traylor at David Zwirner New York, dated 2019.

Download Fact Sheet

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

“Bill Traylor’s brilliant but meteoric artistic moment is unprecedented… The real adventure of finding meaning in Bill Traylor’s art is ours alone.”—Kerry James Marshall

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

“One day Traylor picked up a stub of pencil and a scrap of cardboard and began to draw…. He produced hundreds of drawings and paintings that rank among the greatest works of the twentieth century.”—Roberta Smith

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

“His imagery seemed to just well up from the experiences of his long life. Some seemed to be based on memories of specific people or animals; others were obviously inventions.”—Charles Shannon

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

“What red was to Titian, yellow to Van Gogh, a high, singing blue was to Bill Traylor…. The same blue those who grew up in the America South remember from the hand-painted signs in the window of the local grocery stores.’’—Phil Patton

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

“Traylor’s style has about it both something very old … and something spanking new. Songlike rhythms, evoking the time’s jazz and blues, and a feel for scale … give majestic presence to even the smallest images.”—Peter Schjeldahl

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

Bill Traylor

“Traylor produced a body of work which is ... as important to America’s artistic contribution as are the scrupulously exquisite watercolors of Winslow Homer or the structured paint drippings of Jackson Pollock.”—William Louis-Dreyfus

“Bill Traylor’s brilliant but meteoric artistic moment is unprecedented… The real adventure of finding meaning in Bill Traylor’s art is ours alone.”
—Kerry James Marshall

“One day Traylor picked up a stub of pencil and a scrap of cardboard and began to draw…. He produced hundreds of drawings and paintings that rank among the greatest works of the twentieth century.”
—Roberta Smith

“His imagery seemed to just well up from the experiences of his long life. Some seemed to be based on memories of specific people or animals; others were obviously inventions.”
—Charles Shannon

“What red was to Titian, yellow to Van Gogh, a high, singing blue was to Bill Traylor…. The same blue those who grew up in the America South remember from the hand-painted signs in the window of the local grocery stores.’’
—Phil Patton

“Traylor’s style has about it both something very old … and something spanking new. Songlike rhythms, evoking the time’s jazz and blues, and a feel for scale … give majestic presence to even the smallest images.”
—Peter Schjeldahl

“Traylor produced a body of work which is ... as important to America’s artistic contribution as are the scrupulously exquisite watercolors of Winslow Homer or the structured paint drippings of Jackson Pollock.”
—William Louis-Dreyfus