Clementine Hunter: Her Life and Art
''This is a clear-eyed account of Clementine Hunter's extraordinary journey from plantation cotton picker to nationally recognized folk painter and muralist. Shiver and Whitehead have tirelessly researched their subject and peeled away the thick web of legends and fictions that have spun around the artist in the past. They tell us many new things about the people who helped Hunter along the way and some of them make up a rogue's gallery: zealous do-gooders, clever imposters, and outright forgers. Good illustrations and a full bibliography top off this marvelous study.'' --Wanda M. Corn, author ofSeeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories''I consider myself indeed fortunate to have met Clementine Hunter as she sat at her easel painting on the grounds of the plantation where she had been born, grew up, and raised her children. Artists are indeed born and Clementine Hunter had a God-given gift to be able to translate the world around her onto canvas or planks. She gave a glimpse of her world to all of us and to generations to come. This book helps ensure her work and story of life reaches far into the future.'' --Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, former congresswoman''For Clementine Hunter's legions of admirers, this book is cause for celebration. For those who require an introduction to her life and work, it's an invitation to discover a great American artist who somehow left the fields and the kitchen of the plantation where she worked and landed in the world's best museums. Shiver and Whitehead share decades of research in building a portrait of a lady whose beautiful pictures will live on forever as a testament to her beautiful life'' --John Ed Bradley, author ofIt Never Rains in Tiger Stadium