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About
Us
Introduction and History
Exhibition Announcements
The Robert Cargo Folk Art
Gallery opened in l984 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and has been in continuous
operation since that time. In 2004, our twentieth anniversary year, we
closed the original location and moved the gallery holdings to the
Philadelphia Main Line. At that time, Caroline Cargo became
the new director of her father's gallery.
We
currently maintain a rotating selection of works for you
to view on display in a residential setting. We will also
gladly make additional works available for you to view if you
will let us know your particular interests. We are happy
to schedule a time to meet with you at your convenience when you
are visiting the Philadelphia area. Daytime or evening,
weekday or weekend appointments are all possible.
The strength
of the gallery collection derives not only from the breadth of the collection
but also from the early works of major Alabama artists represented in the
inventory: Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, Rev. Benjamin Perkins, Fred
Webster, Joseph Hardin, and Sybil Gibson. Most of the works we sell were
obtained directly from the artists.
The inventory is built around
Robert Cargo's
personal collection, the folk art segment of which began in l968 with the
purchase of two Jimmy Lee Sudduth paintings. That personal collection was
expanded significantly in the l980s and to some extent in the l990s. The quilt
collection, which Robert began fifty years ago with his great-grandmother's quilts,
has always emphasized Alabama quilts. Around l980, he also began collecting
African-American quilts, likewise of Alabama origin.
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Inside the original gallery in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
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Sunshine and Surprise:
African
American Quilts from the Robert Cargo Collection and Eli Leon Collection
2007 Festival of Quilts in
Birmingham, England / August 16 - 19,
2007. Curated by Yoshiko Wada.
An exciting glimpse into the vibrant works of African
American men and women in this eye-opening exhibition that continues in
the footsteps of the quilts of Gee's Bend hailed by The New York Times
as "some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has
produced." Read more at the
Festival of Quilts website.
Pure Paint: A Retrospective of Montgomery's
Mose "T"
The National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and
African-American Culture in Montgomery, AL / May 6 through July 31,
2007.
A wide variety of works by Mose Tolliver works
displayed in his hometown of Montgomery, Alabama,
including a number of painted objects on loan from
the Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery.
From Pulpit to Prison: Works by Roger Rice
McInnis Gallery at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA / January 17
- February 28, 2007. An exhibition of works by Roger Rice,
ordained fundamentalist minister and now prison inmate. Oil
paintings prior to his conviction depict a tortured view of the sinful
nature of humanity. Drawings from the time of his incarceration
express Rice's views of politics, the criminal justice system, and life
behind bars.
Welcome to My Home! Paintings and Environment
Signs by Rev. Benjamin F. Perkins
McInnis Gallery at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA / October 1
- October 27, 2006.
Who Do You Say That I Am? Portraits by
Outsider Artists
McInnis Gallery at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA / August 25
- September 29th, 2006. Featuring works by more than a dozen
artists, ranging from elegant paintings of women by Sybil Gibson and
bold caricatures of pop culture icons by "Artist Chuckie" Williams, to
obsessive line drawings of male faces by Ted Gordon and subtly textured
mud paintings by Jimmy Lee Sudduth.
Menagerie: Artists Look at Animals
Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco, CA / August 3 –
October 22, 2006. Focuses on contemporary animal art by craft and
folk artists, and those influenced by folk art, created from a variety
of materials—wood, clay, glass, fiber, metal, and found—and techniques,
from stitched to painted to carved, sculpted, or welded.
Peep Show: Exploring Erotica through Folk Art
Orange Hill Art in Atlanta / March 9 – April 22, 2006. An
exhibition of erotic folk art created by generations of self-taught
artists, “Peep Show” features both vintage and contemporary works which
range from subtle to explicit erotic imagery. From a
web review of the show regarding some of Sudduth paintings on loan
from the Robert Cargo gallery : Jimmy Lee Sudduth takes
the folky fascination with religion in an unexpected direction by
rendering angels with gaping you-know-whats, and Adam and Eve performing
the kinds of acts that get people booted from public parks. The hijinks
of conceptual art are one thing, but Sudduth's "Fucking Angel"? Now
that's transgressive.
Thirty-Seven by Fifteen:
African-American Quilts by Alabama
Quilters from the collection of Dr. Robert Cargo
The GoggleWorks Community Arts Center in Reading, PA / February 5 -
March 30, 2006
photos of the show
Just How I Picture It in My
Mind:
Contemporary African American Quilts from the Montgomery Museum of
Fine Arts
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, AL / March 4
through May 7, 2006
You Must Withstand the Wind: Transformation
of the Urban Landscape (Mark Anthony Mulligan)
Traveling exhibition organized by the Kentucky Folk Art Center in
Morehead, Kentucky / May 2005 - Feb 2006
The Life and Art of Jimmy Lee Sudduth
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, AL / January 15 -
March 27, 2005
Coming Home! Self-Taught Artists, the Bible
and the American South
Art Museum at The University of Memphis in Memphis, TN / June 18 -
November 13, 2004
The Museum of the Bible in Arts in New York, NY / May 13 - July 23, 2005
Revelations and Reflections of American Self-Taught
Artists
Traveling exhibition organized by Mid-America Arts Alliance /
September 2002 - August 2005
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Jimmy Lee Sudduth
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
January 15 - March 27, 2005
Jimmy Lee Sudduth
John the Baptist (1986, 42 x 25)
Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery
A self-taught African-American
artist, Jimmy Lee Sudduth (b. 1910) is one of
the most appreciated and celebrated folk artists of
the twentieth-century. The essayist and organizing
guest curator for this exhibit is Susan Crawley,
Curator of Folk Art at the High Museum in Atlanta.
A number of Sudduth's early works
from the 1980's have been selected from our gallery
collection to be included in this show.
The accompanying book, The Life and
Art of Jimmy Lee Sudduth, edited by Ms. Crawley,
includes photographs of all works from the show and
an excellent essay on Sudduth as a gifted painter
with remarkable formal skill.
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Coming Home!
Self-Taught Artists, the Bible,
and the American South
Art Museum at The University of Memphis
June 18 to November 13, 2004
and
The Museum of the Bible in Arts:
The American Bible Society
New York City
May 13 - July 23, 2005
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 We
are pleased to have twenty two works from our
gallery on loan for this important show, including
paintings, drawings, and carvings
by Felix Virgous, Fred Webster, Rev. Benjamin Perkins,
Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Roger Rice, Yvonne Wells, Leroy Almon,
Bernice Sims, Mose Tolliver, Artist Chuckie Williams,
and Raymond Coins.
Coming Home! traces the work of contemporary self-taught
artists influenced by evangelical Christianity in the
southeastern United States. The 125 paintings, drawings,
sculpture and multimedia works by 78 artists illustrate
the powerful role that religion – specifically American
Protestantism – plays in the art of many of today’s
“outsider” artists working in the Bible Belt.
This exhibition is
organized by Professor Carol Crown, University of
Memphis, and the Art Museum of the University of
Memphis. A full scholarly catalog edited by Dr. Crown
accompanies the exhibition, which was funded in part by
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Rockefeller
Foundation.
We recommend the
catalogue with essays and color plates that accompanies
this exhibition.
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