Mary Whitfield was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1947 when her mother was nineteen. Her father walked out on their wedding day so Mary spent the first years of her life in the home of her maternal grandparents. It was a loving environment with two aunts who each had eight children. The home was filled with family stories and traditions. Marys grandmother was an active soldier in the Civil Rights struggle. As a child, Mary developed a vivid imagination and loved to spend hours entertaining her younger sister and cousins, by telling stories that she illustrated with drawings. When Mary was seven, her mother remarried a man from New York and moved there with her sister. She and her sister would spend every summer in Alabama. In Great Neck, Mary and her sister were pioneers in integration, being the only black members of the student body. During the early years of her marriage, Mary began having the compulsion to create things after her children were put to bed. She would often find old plywood and housepaint in her garage and would paint paintings. This compulsion became a continuation of her love for storytelling that filled her lonely nights. Bringing to visual life a variety of stories became her escape from the sadness in her marriage. Over time, she found that creating art was a way of coping with her depression. Whitfield focuses her rich paintings on the historical and modern plight of African-Americans. The powerful works contain little detail; the figures have no facial features. Instead, the drama of their gestures or body language conveys the feeling of the painting. The paintings of Mary F. Whitfield are found in renowned the museums and private collections. The important American folk artist, Mary Whitfield, created this unusually large acrylic/watercolor on artist hewn wood board by special commission in 1989. Miss Whitfield has aptly titled the painting,’PRAISING THE LORD. Inscribed on the reverse of the painting by the artist herself is a particularly personal memento. To my dear Timothy who believes in me. He has given me such confidence, I cannot repay. All I know is that I love him and may the Lord God always be with him in his successes in life. Love always your friend Mary F. Beautifully framed in gold gilt the signed painting measures approximately 37 1/2 inches x 25 inches. The item “IMPORTANT American Folk Art Painting Sunflowers & Church by Mary F. Whitfield” is in sale since Friday, August 10, 2018. This item is in the category “Art\Paintings”. The seller is “caritas1″ and is located in Eureka, Montana. This item can be shipped to United States, Philippines, Cayman islands.

• Style: Folk Art
• Medium: Oil