Mose T A to Z

Title: Mose T A to Z: The Folk Art of Mose Tolliver
Author: Anton Haardt
Publisher: Saturno Press
ISBN: 0975384201
Genre: Nonfiction

Little-known artists sometimes receive the recognition they deserve and their names become known to the art world. Such is the case of Mose Tolliver, a talented, self-taught folk artist.

Injured on a job, he took up painting as a way to productively fill his hours. After several years, Mose was discovered by collectors and his work now hangs in several collections and has been included in many shows by famous galleries like the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, DC.

The concept largely held by society that uneducated people are simple is disproved by men and women like Mose Tolliver. If opportunity knocks, they prove they have talents that place them in a special category apart from the rest of society.

Mose didn't care for the trappings that go along with success, he said he wanted only to paint. And so he did. The subjects of his work cover a wide range and change over the years.

Author Anton Haardt lets us see beyond the artist into the personality of a complex man who took defeat and turned it into victory, an example for all.

I'm happy to recommend Mose T as an introduction to folk art, a field I know little of, and a starting point for learning about the artists who create that art. Definitely a book worth reading.

Anne K. Edwards