EILEEN WEST GALLERY

MOSE TOLLIVER "MOSE T" (1925- 2006)

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Born in Pintala Alabama, Tolliver worked as a day laborer and in a furniture factory. He was injured by falling lumber and was never able to walk unable to walk very well again.

He began to paint in the 60's to pass the time. Mose was dyslexic which may have also contributed to his painting as he was limited in other communication skills. Tolliver worked with what he had at hand, house paint and plywood, and created primitive artworks from his life experience. BIrds, animals, florals, and people became the content of his minimalist style. He painted erotic images of all sorts of humans and animals as well as himself with his crutches many times over.

Tolliver's work has been exhibited at the Philadelphia College of Art, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, and the Cocoran Gallery of Art. In 1993, a retrospective of his work was held at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City.His works were among those that helped create interest when the Corcoran held its landmark exhibition.

“His work was influenced by what he drew from his life,” said Micki Beth Stiller, a Montgomery lawyer and collector of Mose T and other outsider artists. “He painted in a simple, naïve, direct style of things from his life.”

His self-portraits over the years conveyed a range of emotions, she said, from the early years when he painted himself with a pipe to the later years when he included a crutch.

She said his handling of color was superb, especially in his early years. Later he would often paint for the marketplace. “He did a thousand watermelons,” she said.

Mose T’s paintings can sell for thousands of dollars today and are in many museum collections, including those of the American Folk Art Museum in New York, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the New Orleans Museum of Art and the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.

Mose Tolliver died on October 30, 2006 at a hospital in Montgomery, Alabama from pneumonia, aged 82.

Mose Tolliver and Jeffre Lynn West Oct 1995

Mose T on his front porch in Montgomery Alabama 1995

Check the GUESS Tshirt!

Mose Tolliver and Eileen West on his front porch.

October 1995

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EWG is fortunate to have a beautiful selection of early MoseT paintings that have never been shown before.

The colors are as perfect as when they were painted because they have been kept wrapped in a closet. They were painted before 1989 and kept in the family. The collectors will make themselves known to the buyer.

There are three paintings offered at a very nice price:

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"Tico Bird" 1989

19.75' x 5.25" House Paint on Wood Board

One of MoseT's favorite images, the "Tico" Bird

$450.

"Easter Basket" 1989

Click the image for a close up of the color values.

16.5" x 15" House paint on 1/2" plywood

Pop top hanger.

$450.

"Bunny Rabbit" 1989

13.5" x 11.5" House paint on 1/2" plywood

$450.

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The following two pieces are from different collectors.

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"Tall Fish" circa 1993

5" x 37" House Paint on Wood Panel $250.

"Blue Tico Bird"

15.25" x 11.5" House Paint on 3/4" plywood

Beautiful color. Click for a close up.

$600.

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CONTACT GALLERY

EMAIL

850.502.1847 / 850.225.3024

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