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Vernon Burwell

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Vernon Burwell (1916–1990) was an African-American sculptor known for his painted cement sculptures of animals and busts of historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Sojourner Truth, and Martin Luther King Jr.[1]

Life and career

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Burwell was born on April 28, 1916, in North Carolina into a sharecropping family.[2] His parents died when he was thirteen and he was subsequently cared for by seven other farming families.[3] At age sixteen, he joined the Missionary Baptist church, where he later became a deacon. At age 26, in 1942, he married and began working for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. He was promoted to master mechanic and repaired diesel locomotives for the rest of his career.[3] He and his wife raised five children, three girls and two sons, together in Rocky Mount.[2][4]

After 33 years of service to the railroad industry, Burwell retired in 1975 on disability due to diabetes-related eye sight deterioration. He began making cement sculptures within a year of retirement. When he first began sculpting, he painted his sculptures in vivid, life-like renderings using automobile paint. As his eye-sight worsened, he covered his sculptures in monochrome gold spray paint. A cataracts surgery eventually restored his vision.[3] He worked out of his garage in the Black Bottom neighborhood of Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Burwell's daughter fell ill in 1987 and died shortly thereafter. Burwell was so grief-stricken that, during the last two years of his life, he ceased making work entirely.[1]

Sources of inspiration

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Burwell's muses came from his immediate surroundings, the novel accomplishments of African-Americans in the 20th century, and imaginary animals. He stated some sources of inspiration as "different people-- friends, biblical characters, and people I sees in the daily papers."[4]

Materials and techniques

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Burwell began by constructing a skeleton for his sculptures made of found metal objects such as steel rods, pipes, and clothes hangers. He would then apply concrete (a mix of lime, gravel, sand, cement, and water) to the armature, sculpting the figure as he went along. Burwell rarely smoothed the surfaces of his sculptures. Instead he left them rough and painted over them to give added surface texture. Although most of his work is smaller than three feet tall, he recorded making one or two life-size sculptures. Burwell estimated making about 200 objects during his career.[4]

Exhibitions

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Burwell's work has been featured in the following exhibitions:

Permanent collections

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Burwell's works are in the permanent collections of the following museums:

  • St. James Place Folk Art Museum
  • Gregg Museum of Art and Design[6]
  • High Museum of Art[7]
  • John Michael Kohler Arts Center
  • Milwaukee Art Museum[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Selen, Betty-Carol (2000). Self-Taught, outsider, and folk-art: A guide to American artists, locations, and resources. McFarland & Company Inc. pp. 76–77, 88–89, 94–95, 144.
  2. ^ a b c Williams, Jonathan (2000). Arnett, William (ed.). "Le Garage Ravi de Rocky Mount: an Essay on Vernon Burwell". Souls Grown Deep. I. Tinwood Books: 122–125.
  3. ^ a b c Steele, David (1989). Signs and Wonders: Outsider Art Inside North Carolina. North Carolina Museum of Art. p. 21.
  4. ^ a b c Rosenak, Chuck and Jan (1990). Museum of Folk Art Encyclopedia of twentieth-century American Folk art and artists. New York: Abbeville Press, Inc. p. 65. ISBN 1-55859-041-2.
  5. ^ "Vernon Burwell | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art.
  6. ^ "Collections Object Detail | Gregg Museum of Art & Design". searchgreggcollection.arts.ncsu.edu.
  7. ^ "High Museum of Art Acquires 54 Works of Art from Souls Grown Deep Foundation | Souls Grown Deep". www.soulsgrowndeep.org.
  8. ^ "Untitled | Milwaukee Art Museum". collection.mam.org.