HERBERT SINGLETON Carved THE CHEF Polychrome OUTSIDER provenance Cavin-Morris Gallery Black folk New Orleans Start Price USD 800.00 Current Price USD 800.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, May 08, 2008 End Time Sunday, May 18, 2008 Location Chicago, Illinois See more about 'HERBERT SINGLETON Carved THE CHEF Polychrome OUTSIDER ' Description Here's a great piece-a carving of a New Orleans Chef.  The late self-taught Singleton made many carvings of New Orleans traditions, such as Jazz funeral processions and this one: a NOLA chef.  Later he began making political and biblical bas-relief carvings.  He painted them with bright colors: polychrome enamel, house and car paint.  This one is: 7" x 17" high x 7 ".  It came from the Cavin Morris Gallery in New York with a gallery sticker on bottom. Its a wonderful piece made out of a log-you can see the branches coming off the base.  There is a wood crack in the base, as you can see and in the back.  Both are stable.  Wonderful and strong depiction of an African American Chef. I'm not sure if the choice of colors in the base are watermelon colors but it has been suggested to me. Singelton's social/political commentary was powerful.  Now that this great carver is gone, his works will be hard to come by.   The photos dont do this one justice-he has got a real presence in person that doesnt come through in the pics. I love this carving and would be happy to see him in my home but unfortunately, it scares my little kid. I think the chef looks a little scared himself.   So it goes-hopefully to a wonderfully appreciative home.  Good luck! MY BUY-IT-NOW COST, JUST COVERS MY INVESTMENT.  I CANT GO ANY LOWER.  tHANKS- From Raw Vision Obituary of Outsider New Orleans Artist (1945-2007): "Algiers, Louisiana artist, Herbert Singleton, died on July 25 of lung cancer. His boldly carved and painted cedar panels both skewered and exalted his life and times. Singleton displayed keen insight into the socio-economic limitations imposed upon many in the New Orleans area. He railed against hypocrisy on both sides of the racial divide. Singleton overcame many hardships, some compounded by his own misdeeds. He survived a near-fatal shooting, drug addiction and, all tolled, nearly 14 years in prison, many of them in the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. He first derived meaningful income from artistic endeavours in the early 1980s, carving walking sticks for New Orleans buggy drivers and 'voodoo protection' stumps for friends. After his final stint of incarceration, the dispirited artist was encouraged by a French Quarter gallery owner to carve out his pain. Singleton dismantled an old chifforobe (clothes cupboard) and created his first bas-relief panel: a stark white skeletal figure cut out of a black background, bordered by red. The heads of serpents peer from the 'infected' figure's ribcage (see Vodou and Catholicism, RV #30). In works such as Who Do We Trust and Who Speak For Man Singleton addressed our seeming inability to meet the standards we set for others (see Herbert Singleton, RV #40). In one masterwork, he carved self-destructive indulgences - drugs, gambling, sex - into a huge cypress log he salvaged from the Mississippi River. Exhibited as the Algiers Rosetta in High on Life: Transcending Addiction at the American Visionary Art Museum, Singleton referred to his work more directly as the Tree of Death. In other more festive works like his Jazz Funeral and Mardi Gras pieces he paid tribute to the uniqueness of New Orleans culture. Sadly, due to failing health, Singleton was unable to complete a post-Katrina work. Perhaps, upon full review of the artist's career, it can be said that he did indeed leave sufficient comment. Singleton's artworks are in numerous important public and private collections worldwide including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland. " Singleton ( 1945-2007, earned a living as a construction worker, working on structures such as the Mississippi River Bridge. In the early 1970s, he began carving the stumps of fallen trees into front-porch totems and branches into ceremonial canes.By the 1980s, his carvings caught the attention of local art collectors as his work became more complicated and political.  He also frequently depicted the poverty, drug abuse and violence that plagued his neighborhood. He painted his carvings in bright colors with ordinary household enamel and inscribed then with cautionary phrases such as "Who do we trust?" His works appear in The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art, but over the years, Singleton's carvings earned him a following far beyond New Orleans. Most major private folk art collections include his artwork and his pieces are exhibited in such institutions as The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore and the Smithsonian.  Singleton is also included in Rosenaks Encyclopedia, Kathy Moses' Outsider Art of the South and in many other publications. Exhibits included Passionate Visions, Souls Grown Deep and most other major exhibits of Southern Black Folk art.   Check out my outsider art, tramp, folk, ethnic art and other fun items! I am downsizing considerably to accomodate my small space so I will be letting go of many pieces I have enjoyed to go to new homes.  They will be priced to sell to make room for work and play!! Business stuff:  I will be happy to answer questions and send additional photos.  I accept personal checks, money orders and PayPal.  I will send out item after check clearance period.  Please be in touch with me within 3 days of auction end and pay within 7 days. Insurance and Delivery confirmation is included in shipping cost.  I pack pieces very carefully for a safe trip to you. Thanks and happy collecting!     Place a Bid!