Mose Tolliver Tree of Life

Mose Tolliver

Tree of Life, 1999

House Paint on found object 

27” x 22” 

Provenance: The Oliver Collection; acquired directly from the artist  

Mose Tolliver, born Moses Earnest Tolliver on the fourth of July 1918, was a self educated and self taught artist from Alabama. His paintings are signed Mose T, with the S backwards. In the 1960’s Mose was injured at his workplace, leaving him unable to walk without crutches. It was at this point that he began to paint morning til night, finishing several works each day. The paintings filled every wall of the house and began to attract visitors, collectors, and eventually museums. His paintings are in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian, The American Folk Art Museum, and several other important public and private collections.