Robert Cargo FOLK ART GALLERY

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Henry Speller (1900 - 1997)

Raised by his maternal grandmother in the rural Mississippi Delta region, Henry Speller dropped out of school at the age of twelve and began working on Delta farms and on the levees of the Mississippi river, where he often drew pictures during his lunch breaks. In 1939, Speller moved to Memphis where he held a succession of odd jobs as a landscaper, sanitation worker, janitor. He lived in public housing just a few blocks from Beale Street, the musical heart of Memphis, and was in fact an accomplished blues guitarist. He began producing art near the end of his life, creating scenes from life experiences as well as fantasy. His drawings of women and men are frequently erotic and always imaginative. Works by Speller are included in museum collections including the High Museum in Atlanta and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.

		Nude 1 (gold frame) 23 x 17 (framed dim 34 x 28) $2000

		Nude 3 24 x 18 (framed dim 29 x 23) $1500

		Woman (gold frame) 23 x 17 (framed dim 34 x 28) SOLD

		Nude 4 18 x 24 (framed dim 23 x 29) SOLD

		Airplane/Helicopter 18 x 24 (framed dim 33 x 27) $1750

		Three Men (unframed) 18 x 12 $700

		Guitar (unframed) 11 x 8 1/2 $500

References:
American Self-Taught (Ricco & Maresca, 1993)
Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art (Rosenak, 1990)
Souls Grown Deep (Arnett, 2000)
Raw Vision (No.64, 2008)