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Clementine Hunter  "Watermelon Slice," by Clementine Hunter American, (1886-1988) Watermelon Slice Oil on Wood One of the original American “outsider” folk artists, African-American Hunter created over 5000 paintings of cotton plantation life before her death at 101. She is best known for scenes of workers picking cotton, dancing, eating watermelon, and religious scenes of weddings, funerals, and baptisms. Born in Natchitiches, Louisiana, Hunter worked for much of her life as a field hand at Melrose Plantation before being promoted to tending the garden, doing the laundry, and cooking at the “big house.” There the mistress of the working plantation created an artist colony, allowing painters and writers to stay on the premises. At the age of 57, working in the kitchen, Hunter discovered paint and brushes discarded by another artist. She asked permission to paint a picture of her own and painted a Cane River baptism on a window shade. Her life changed forever. Her works are held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Morris Museum of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, The Museum of American Folk Art in New York, the High Art Museum, and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. 2004 Gift to the Museum from Dr. and Mrs. Ronald McGough Previous • Back to List • Next |