Lot 2012
Howard Finster (AL/GA, 1916-2001), Camel Folk Art Construction
Lot Details & Additional Photographs
11 3/4 x 12 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.
Private Collection, Chicago and North Carolina
Inscription to base reads:
"God made the camel for man. to cross the long hot desert sand. / why i sent the camel every where. Because his place is where he is kneeded [sic] / for sure. God placed all the animels [sic] in their place of range just like / the wheat and other places of the golden grain. Just like the salt / water and the wide sea and the springs of fresh water where they should / be. All planed [sic] and created for man by Gods word and his great hand don't / tell others it just formed in the age of a spell unless you would like / to live on the planet of hell where all unbelievers have fell / and cant. come back to tell."
One of America’s most recognized outsider artists, Finster was a preacher for 45 years until 1976, when he experienced a vision and afterward began painting, in bright colors, religious art as well as everyday objects such as Coke bottles. The Rev. Howard Finster was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Valley Head, Alabama, and died Oct. 22, 2001, in Summerville, GA. He worked up album covers for R.E.M., Talking Heads and other bands, appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” and welcomed a steady stream of people (from regular folks to the famous, such as artist Keith Haring) who made the pilgrimage to his roadside attraction/folk art environment, Paradise Garden.
Break to camel's front two legs but stable; otherwise good estate condition.
