Purvis Young
Folk Art Running Horses Oil on Board original Painting with COA
Description
Purvis Young – Running Horses
Oil on wood with carpet surround
Size: 18 ½ x 31 inches
Signed in the upper right by the artist
Certificate of Authenticity included
A self-trained African-American artist, Purvis Young is known for his expressive collages and paintings that embody a fraught yet inspired experience of living in the poor Overtown neighborhood of Miami. Inspired by documentaries, books, American history and spiritual folklore, Young created a unique and compelling visual vocabulary.
In his vast vocabulary, the imagery of horses holds a special place. “I always liked to draw and paint horses, wild horses. I just use horses mostly for freedom,” the artist once explained. “I love to paint wild horses, freedom horses, wild horses running free.”
In his works, the artist often used found and repurposed materials that he gathered from his neighborhood. This practice is exemplified in this work titled Running Horses, painted on wood and decorated by a surrounding carpet ribbon. Expressive brushstrokes and vivid colors dominate the composition and give it a lively feeling. Depicting a herd of wild horses, the work perfectly embodies the spirit of unrestrained freedom. Horses stand tall, reining an imaginary landscape they inhabit. The artist once explained that his works represent a range of life experiences, each symbolizing a vision of hope. Having this in mind, this work also evokes the resiliency of the human spirit in the midst of often dehumanizing urban conditions.
The piece comes in professional, safe packaging. Certificate of Authenticity included. Free shipping.
Collect art in a smart way!
Select our Best Offer option to propose a price. The first bidder to meet the bottom line price wins.
About Purvis Young
Self-taught artist from a poverty stricken neighborhood of Miami, Purvis Young transformed his fraught yet inspired life experience into a unique and compelling visual vocabulary. Through a range of powerful symbols, he articulated the struggles and myths of his heritage.
Drawing from a range of sources such as documentaries, art books, American history and spiritual folklore, Young crafted an immense visual language comprised of motifs such as white horses offering freedom, halos signifying angles, pregnant women with the hope of tomorrow, processions and incarceration, among others. Telling simple, yet powerful stories of everyday life, the artist expressed his community and ethnic background. Using found objects from his neighborhood, such as cardboard, discarded political signs, used paper, doors, plywood scraps, metal sheets, carpet remnants, he transformed these surfaces into richly colored and highly expressionist paintings. Although Young is often associated with Outsider Art, his style could best be described as “Magic realism.”
In 2016, his life and work were the subject of a feature documentary entitled Purvis of Overtown. He was a recipient of the Artists/Fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and was included into the Florida Artist Hall of Fame in 2018. His work is found in the collections of the American Folk Art Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the High Museum of Art, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others.
The subjects of Purvis Young celebrated and historicized the neighborhood where he had spent his entire life. Even though his works chronicled struggle, they always contained an underlining hope for a better future.
Purvis Young was born in 1943 in Overtown neighborhood of Miami, Florida and died in 2010 in Miami. In 2015, almost 400 pieces of Young’s art were donated by The Bass Museum of Art to the permanent collection in the Black Archives History and research Foundation of South Florida located in the heart of Purvis’ hometown.
Oil on wood with carpet surround
Size: 18 ½ x 31 inches
Signed in the upper right by the artist
Certificate of Authenticity included
A self-trained African-American artist, Purvis Young is known for his expressive collages and paintings that embody a fraught yet inspired experience of living in the poor Overtown neighborhood of Miami. Inspired by documentaries, books, American history and spiritual folklore, Young created a unique and compelling visual vocabulary.
In his vast vocabulary, the imagery of horses holds a special place. “I always liked to draw and paint horses, wild horses. I just use horses mostly for freedom,” the artist once explained. “I love to paint wild horses, freedom horses, wild horses running free.”
In his works, the artist often used found and repurposed materials that he gathered from his neighborhood. This practice is exemplified in this work titled Running Horses, painted on wood and decorated by a surrounding carpet ribbon. Expressive brushstrokes and vivid colors dominate the composition and give it a lively feeling. Depicting a herd of wild horses, the work perfectly embodies the spirit of unrestrained freedom. Horses stand tall, reining an imaginary landscape they inhabit. The artist once explained that his works represent a range of life experiences, each symbolizing a vision of hope. Having this in mind, this work also evokes the resiliency of the human spirit in the midst of often dehumanizing urban conditions.
The piece comes in professional, safe packaging. Certificate of Authenticity included. Free shipping.
Collect art in a smart way!
Select our Best Offer option to propose a price. The first bidder to meet the bottom line price wins.
About Purvis Young
Self-taught artist from a poverty stricken neighborhood of Miami, Purvis Young transformed his fraught yet inspired life experience into a unique and compelling visual vocabulary. Through a range of powerful symbols, he articulated the struggles and myths of his heritage.
Drawing from a range of sources such as documentaries, art books, American history and spiritual folklore, Young crafted an immense visual language comprised of motifs such as white horses offering freedom, halos signifying angles, pregnant women with the hope of tomorrow, processions and incarceration, among others. Telling simple, yet powerful stories of everyday life, the artist expressed his community and ethnic background. Using found objects from his neighborhood, such as cardboard, discarded political signs, used paper, doors, plywood scraps, metal sheets, carpet remnants, he transformed these surfaces into richly colored and highly expressionist paintings. Although Young is often associated with Outsider Art, his style could best be described as “Magic realism.”
In 2016, his life and work were the subject of a feature documentary entitled Purvis of Overtown. He was a recipient of the Artists/Fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and was included into the Florida Artist Hall of Fame in 2018. His work is found in the collections of the American Folk Art Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the High Museum of Art, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others.
The subjects of Purvis Young celebrated and historicized the neighborhood where he had spent his entire life. Even though his works chronicled struggle, they always contained an underlining hope for a better future.
Purvis Young was born in 1943 in Overtown neighborhood of Miami, Florida and died in 2010 in Miami. In 2015, almost 400 pieces of Young’s art were donated by The Bass Museum of Art to the permanent collection in the Black Archives History and research Foundation of South Florida located in the heart of Purvis’ hometown.