Large Mose Tolliver Painted Wood Birdhouse

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Fine Antiquities, Asian, Ethno, Fine Art

By Artemis Fine Arts

May 1, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-05-01 10:00:00 2025-05-01 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Antiquities, Asian, Ethno, Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-antiquities-asian-ethno-fine-art-19334
Showcasing an extraordinary array of artifacts and art, including Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Near Eastern, Asian, Pre-Columbian, Native American, Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial treasures, fossils, fine and visual arts, and more! All ancient items are ethically sourced and legally available for sale. Enjoy the ease of in-house shipping for a seamless experience! Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisfinearts.com

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• Lot Description
  Mose Ernest Tolliver (American, 1919-2006). Painted wooden birdhouse, n.d. Hand-signed on the roof & black star on underside. A whimsical and quite sizeable painted wooden birdhouse by self-taught outsider artist Mose Tolliver, also known as Mose T - just like the signature on his artworks which usually features a backwards "S" as we see in this piece. Tolliver painted abstract figures riding bizarre zoomorphic creatures on each side of the rooftop as well as playful birds on the front and back ends of the birdhouse. There are four holes providing ports of entry, two one each side. All is hand painted in Tolliver's signature naive style in shades of red and black against a slate blue ground. Size: 11" L x 16.5" W x 12.5" H (27.9 cm x 41.9 cm x 31.8 cm)
  
  About the Artist: Mose Tolliver was one of twelve children born to sharecroppers Ike and Laney Tolliver in the Pike Road community near Montgomery, Alabama. He only attended school until the third grade. According to Toliver, "I didn't like school. I remember I wanted to be outdoors working with my older brothers or even stacking wood … One thing I remember about our farm house - it was just a shack, but my Mama had pictures all over the walls." His family moved to Montgomery, Alabama in the thirties where he worked odd jobs to help support the family. He married his childhood friend Willie Mae Thomas in the forties, and the couple had thirteen children. Mose did not begin creating art until the sixties after suffering a serious injury to his legs when a load of marble fell from a forklift as he was sweeping in a furniture factory. Art provided Tolliver with solace from the pain and boredom that resulted from this tragic accident.
  
  In the first article published about Tolliver he declared, "I'm not interested in art. I just want to paint my pictures." Nevertheless, the art world took notice. For example, Dr. Robert Bishop, former Director of the Museum of American Folk Art, stated about Mose's artworks, "You can hang him beside a Picasso, and you have the same kind of creativity and deep personal vision." (Montgomery Advertiser, February 1981). One year later, Toliver's work was included in the blockbuster exhibition entitled, "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980" at Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. thus introducing him to the art world at large. Tolliver's artwork has been exhibited at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Philadelphia College of Art, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the American Folk Art Museum in New York (a retrospective), and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. His works have been collected by Birmingham Museum of Art, Akron Art Museum, Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art, and University of Michigan Museum of Art.
  
  Please note: There is an American Primitive Gallery label on the underside of this birdhouse. American Primitive is an art gallery located on Broadway in the Soho neighborhood of New York City known for selling artwork of the outsider art or folk traditions.
  
  Provenance: private Rochester, Minnesota, USA collection, acquired from 1990 -1998
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #192094

  Condition

  Hand-signed on the roof & black star on underside. Expected surface wear commensurate with age. Label for American Primitive Gallery of New York City on underside.
• Shipping Info

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