Description:

Mary Tillman Smith (American/Mississippi, 1904-1994) , "Untitled (Five Figures Against Yellow Background)", paint on found tin, signed en verso, 22 1/4 in. x 59 3/4 in., unframed . Provenance: The Doug and Cathy Gitter Collection. Note: Mary Tillman Smith was born in 1904 in Mississippi. The daughter of two sharecroppers, she faced difficulties early in her life due to a hearing impairment. She spent many years working as a domestic servant and only began to explore her artistic talent following her retirement in the 1970s. Often working with found scrap metal and house paint, Smith created strong and audacious compositions regularly inspired by her faith. Her paintings are highly coveted today and can be found in collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and High Museum of Art. Smith’s art was on display earlier this year in the solo show Mary T. Smith: I WE OUR at Shrine in New York. In the lot offered here, the intense, undiluted warm palette reverberates when offset by bold dark blue outlines on a yellow background. Smith’s hand proves steady and her brushstrokes strong and confident. The resulting work is a monumental opus of texture and visual noise resulting in an undeniably impactful masterwork. Ref.: Gómez, Edward M. “The Bold, Blessed Paintings of a Sharecropper’s Daughter”. Hyperallergic. June 8, 2019. www.hyperallergic.com. Accessed July 29, 2019.

  • Condition: All lots are sold “As is” and “Where is”. Neal Auction provides condition reports on items with a low estimate over $500 as a courtesy to aid in your bidding decision. No statement regarding age, condition, kind, value, or quality of a lot, whether made orally at the auction or at any other time, or in writing in this catalogue or elsewhere, shall be construed to be an express or implied warranty, representation, or assumption of liability. Completed condition reports are posted as an additional image with the lot. Neal Auction does not give refunds.

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September 14, 2019 10:00 AM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US

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$1,000 $2,999 $100
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$10,000 $49,999 $500
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