Clementine HunterAmerican, 1886–1988The Wash
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Clementine Hunter, a Louisiana plantation worker, did not begin to paint until she was nearly sixty. Born about 1886, she spent much of her life working in cotton fields; she later became a cook for the owners of the Melrose plantation. In 1940, by chance, she found paints and brushes discarded by a visiting artist, and her experiments pleased her and impressed family and guests at Melrose. She began a second career as a folk painter, continuing to work until her death in 1988.
Read on
Like many folk painters, Hunter chose her subject matter from her own daily life. Scenes of picking cotton, threshing pecans, and boiling wash are interspersed with weddings, funerals, and even brawls at the local honky-tonk. Her paintings record a distinctive time and place, with a degree of detail borne of a lifetime of experience. Transformed through her composition, original use of color, and subtle wit, these events become timeless.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Particulars
- Accession number
- 91.88.2
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — © Clementine Hunter
