Jimmy Lee Sudduth Painting - Banjo Player

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Exceptional Finds | Ancient, Ethno, Fine Art

By Artemis Fine Arts

Mar 20, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-03-20 10:00:00 2025-03-20 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Finds | Ancient, Ethno, Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-finds-ancient-ethno-fine-art-18151
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• Lot Description
  Jimmy Lee Sudduth (American, 1910-2007). Banjo Player painting, house paint, black pencil and sand on plywood, n.d. Signed twice on figure's body. A delightful painting by self-taught master Jim Sudduth (also known as Jimmy Lee Sudduth) depicting a lively banjo player. Sudduth's artworks were inspired by the life he lived as an African American in the rural South, and he painted this scene with his signature folk art style and bold color palette. An outsider artist, Sudduth began by painting with his fingers, because as he stated "they never wore out". He also experimented with binders such as sugar and syrup. Interestingly, in this composition, sand was mixed with pigment to create a gritty texture in areas. The banjo player is a traditional theme for African American artists as the banjo is rooted in African traditions. Also of note, Sudduth's "Self Portrait with Banjo" is on view at the Smithsonian Luce Foundation Center. Size: 23.875" L x 24.125" W (60.6 cm x 61.3 cm)
  
  About the Artist: 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.
  
  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 America’s 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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  #191949

  Condition

  Signed twice on the banjo player's body. There is a pencil drawing on the verso as well as an old label. Small nail holes at each corner within the red border. Minor scuffs to peripheries (most at the corners) that do not impact the central image.
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