Willie Massey (American, 1906-1990), Folk Art Mixed Media Painting of Two Birds

Late 20th century, painting applied to verso of stretched canvas, featuring geometric design to wood frame, two painted birds to applied paper backing with aluminum foil eyes and paper tail feathers, with carved and painted wood pediment adhered to canvas, signed "WILLIE. MASSEY." to bottom.

16 x 20 in.

From the Estate of the late Susan C. Frankenberg, Hillsborough, North Carolina

Willie Massey was born in 1906. He was a self-taught artist from Kentucky who spent his life as a tenant dairy farmer. He made only utilitarian objects before his wife's death in 1955. After, he began to make sculptures, which he called "tricks". Massey fashioned animals and birds, farm equipment, birdhouses and airplanes from found objects and repurposed material. He would also buy stretched canvases and paint on the backs to create pre-made frames for his images. Massey is probably best known for his birdhouses, his wingless birds made from aluminum foil painted with enamel, and his airplanes. He died in 1990 as a result of burns suffered in a fire in his home. In 1998 Massey's art was featured in the exhibition African-American Folk Art in Kentucky at the Kentucky Folk Art Center . His work is included in many permanent collections, including the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL; Morris Museum of Art, Morristown, NJ; and the University of Mississippi Museum, Oxford, MS.

Bio courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center

Insect damage to top portion and scattered liquid stains to paper lining; pediment not attached to stretcher; some minor surface marks.