“Prophet” William J. Blackmon

A folk artist and self-proclaimed preacher, William Blackmon's first paintings were the signs he made to advertise his shoe repair shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was encouraged to begin painting seriously when a passerby purchased one of his signs. Blackmon used inexpensive materials such as scraps of wood found in dumpsters and household paint straight from the can. Friends and followers gave the artist the name "Prophet" after a number of his predictions about future events came true. In 1974, Blackmon founded the Revival Center and Shoe Repair Shop in Milwaukee, where he lived, preached, painted, and repaired shoes. His work focused on religious subjects and often tackled the themes of heaven and hell. (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-century American Folk Art and Artists, 1990)