Artist: Purvis Young
Title: Untitled (Angels)
Medium: Oil Painting on Paper
Size: 23" x 34.75"
Year: c. 2008
Inscripton: Signed "Young" in front center, noted inventory number "P13-08" on reverse.
Condition: In the style of found art with an intentionally weathered appearance. Expected imperfections include heavy creasing, unfinished edges, and marks
Documentation: Includes a Certificate of Authenticity from the Purvis Young Foundation
Angels are among the most enduring symbols in Purivs Young's body of work. For the self-taught artist, these spiritual figures embodied hope, guidance, and the possibility of human resilience. Though Young never attended church, his belief in higher powers was deeply personal and frequently explored through his art. His angels are not distant or decorative—they are active presences, often appearing in groups or gestural outlines, engaged in the lives of the people they protect.
Here, the muted tones and loosely defined forms lend the composition a dreamlike, introspective quality. The figures seem to float within the picture plane, evoking both movement and stillness—an ethereal tension that reflects Young's intuitive process and spiritual themes. Created around 2008, this work demonstrates the artist's ability to communicate complex emotion through minimalist means, channeling his lived experience into a universal visual language.
As with much of his work, Untitled (Angels) stands as a meditation on survival, faith, and the unseen forces that shape human lives. The work carries the hallmarks of Young's distinctive approach to found materials—its surface marked by heavy creases, unfinished edges, and expressive layering that contribute to its tactile, timeworn character. Purchase includes a certificate of authenticity from the Purvis Young Foundation.
Please note: This piece is currently not framed. The images showing a frame are mock-up images to show you what it might look like when framed.
About Purvis Young
Purvis Young (1943–2010) was a self-taught American artist whose vibrant, expressive work fused painting, drawing, and assemblage to chronicle the everyday struggles and spiritual resilience of life in Miami's Overtown neighborhood. A prolific and visionary figure in contemporary art, Young transformed found materials—discarded doors, plywood, cardboard, and scrap metal—into powerful visual narratives that combined elements of urban realism, religious iconography, and social commentary.
Born in Liberty City, Miami, Young had limited formal education and served time in prison as a young man, where he began to draw and immerse himself in art history. Upon his release, he returned to Overtown, a historically Black community facing economic hardship and systemic neglect. Inspired by artists such as Rembrandt, El Greco, and van Gogh, as well as the political energy of the civil rights movement, Young began producing art prolifically in the early 1970s. He nailed his paintings to boarded-up storefronts and abandoned buildings in an alley off NW 14th Street, which became known as "Goodbread Alley." This outdoor gallery attracted local attention and eventually brought Young national recognition.
Young's work is defined by its raw energy and spiritual urgency. Repeating motifs—angels, horses, boats, protestors, faces, and cityscapes—reflect his concerns with freedom, oppression, migration, and redemption. His figures are often engulfed in a whirlwind of motion, evoking both chaos and hope. Though he lacked formal training, his instinctive approach and intense productivity led to comparisons with Jean-Michel Basquiat and the broader tradition of outsider art.
Over time, Young gained recognition from collectors, curators, and institutions. His work has been exhibited at major museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pérez Art Museum Miami, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Despite his success, he remained deeply rooted in his community and never strayed far from the streets that inspired his work.
Purvis Young's art continues to resonate as a raw, poignant reflection of urban Black life in America. Through his bold use of color, improvisational technique, and recycled materials, he forged a singular visual language—one that documented pain, celebrated resistance, and searched for transcendence in the everyday.