Untitled (Pig with Corkscrew Tail)

Bill Traylor, Untitled (Pig with Corkscrew Tail), ca. 1940, pencil and opaque watercolor on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, 1983.11, © 1994, Bill Traylor Family Trust
Bill Traylor, Untitled (Pig with Corkscrew Tail), ca. 1940, pencil and opaque watercolor on paperboard, sheet: 12 x 18 in. (30.5 x 45.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, 1983.11, © 1994, Bill Traylor Family Trust

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Pig with Corkscrew Tail)
Artist
Date
ca. 1940
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 12 x 18 in. (30.5 x 45.7 cm)
Copyright
© 1994, Bill Traylor Family Trust
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak
Mediums
Mediums Description
pencil and opaque watercolor on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Animal — pig
Object Number
1983.11
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.11

Artwork Description

Bill Traylor was part of the first generation of black people to become American citizens. Born into an enslaved family in rural Alabama, he was an eyewitness to history: the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, the Great Migration, and the steady rise of African American culture in the South. In his late years, Traylor put down a lifetime of memories, dreams, stories, and scenes. His images reflect on seven long decades of farm labor and an evolving black citizenry in urban Montgomery. Some of his works are serene, others reflect the violent atmosphere of his time and place. Animals depicted alone on found cardboard are among Traylor's most easily recognizable works. He portrayed them as individuals, creatures he knew well, unique in shape and character in ways that went far beyond their species. 

Works by this artist (9 items)

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Ulysses Davis, Untitled (Hart/Heart), ca. 1950-1960, carved wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2015.48
Untitled (Hart/​Heart)
Artist
Dateca. 1950-1960
carved wood
On view
Ulysses Davis, Sputnik, ca. 1957, carved and stained wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.22
Sputnik
Artist
Dateca. 1957
carved and stained wood
On view
Ulysses Davis, Where Life Comes From, ca. 1950-1990, carved and stained wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.23
Where Life Comes From
Artist
Dateca. 1950-1990
carved and stained wood
On view
Ulysses Davis, Headhunter, ca. 1950-1990, carved and painted wood and rhinestones, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.20
Headhunter
Artist
Dateca. 1950-1990
carved and painted wood and rhinestones
On view

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Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Shell), early 1930s, mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1985.64.37
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mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells
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Emery Blagdon, The Healing Machine, ca. 1955-1986, mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and gift of Dan Dryden, friend of Emery Blagdon, the Kohler Foundation, Inc., and John E. and Douglas O. Robson, from the Margaret Z. Robson Collection, VR.2014.49.GRP
The Healing Machine
Artist
Dateca. 1955-1986
mixed media
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