Friday, February 22, 2019, 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Bill Traylor (c. 1853–1949) is among the most important American artists of the 20th century. SAAM organized a groundbreaking exhibition of Traylor’s work, Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor, which brings together 155 drawings and paintings to provide the most encompassing and in-depth study of the artist to date.
During this Symposium, a distinguished group of scholars present new insights and information about how one man’s visual record of African American life gives larger meaning to the story of the nation.
Bill Traylor, Untitled (Seated Woman), ca. 1940–1942, pencil and opaque watercolor on paperboard. Smithsonian American Art Museum; The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson © 1994, Bill Traylor Family Trust. Photo by Gene Young
Program Schedule
12:30 p.m.
Doors open/opening remarks
Session One
1:00 p.m.
Margaret Lynne Ausfeld, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Introduction
1:10 p.m.
Leslie Umberger, exhibition curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum
“The Art of Bill Traylor: Interpreting a Visual History”
1:40 p.m.
William Ferris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Memory and Sense of Place in the Art of Bill Traylor”
2:10 p.m.
Richard J. Powell, Duke University
“Bill Traylor's Yellow Chicken”
2:40 p.m.
Discussion with Session I Panelists
3:15 p.m.
Break
Session Two
3:45 p.m.
Randall Seth Morris, independent curator, writer, and co-owner of Cavin-Morris Gallery
“Hoodoo in the Homeground: The Conjure Context in Bill Traylor's Drawings”
4:15 p.m.
Diana Baird N'Diaye, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
“Bill Traylor’s Stylescapes”
4:45 p.m.
Radcliffe Bailey, artist
“Bill Traylor Blue”
5:15 p.m.
Discussion with Session II Panelists
6:00 p.m.
Reception, McEvoy Auditorium lobby
Credit
This program is the inaugural symposium in the Margaret Z. Robson Symposium Series. Support for the series is provided by Douglas O. Robson.