UNTITLED (YOUNG MULE)

Painted on the back of an advertisement for Granger Pipe Tabacco, Traylor's Young Mule exhibits the spontaneous creativity of one of the most important 20th century self-taught artists. Traylor was born into slavery in circa 1853. After a lifetime on a plantation, Bill Traylor moved to Montgomery, Alabama. There, from a doorstep on Monroe Street, he composed starkly modernist images of lively animals, vibrant landscapes, and active people. The present subject was likely taken from memories on a plantation and the remarkable, large-format mule demonstrates Traylor’s mastery over space, his subject matter and his media.