The African American Museum in Dallas will open a new exhibition next week celebrating the work of self-taught Louisiana painter Clementine Hunter, who depicted worship, work and community on a former plantation in her work.
“Sunday Call to Church: The Art of Clementine Hunter” brings together 22 paintings collected by Bank of Texas chairman Norman Bagwell and four of the museum’s own holdings.
Hunter, born in 1887 on a Louisiana plantation, didn’t begin painting until she was about 50. She worked most of her life as a field laborer and house worker at Melrose Plantation, where she started out quilting and doing other crafts before an artist visiting the property gave her leftover paint and brushes. From there, Hunter began working on whatever surfaces she could find.
Museum associate curator Lakeem Wilson said Hunter painted from memory rather than life, creating landscapes of the plantation as she experienced it…