Telfair Museum of Art
Savannah, GA
912-232-1177
http://www.telfair.org
Hard Knocks, Hardship and
A lot of Experience: The Maritime Art of William O. Golding
March 14 - May 28, 2000
"Hard Knocks, Hardship and A lot
of Experience: The Maritime Art of William O. Golding" represents the
first major museum exhibition devoted to the art of self-taught African-American
artist William O. Golding (1874-1943). Kidnapped at the age of 8 from the
Savannah waterfront in 1882, Golding became a cabin boy on board a sailing
ship, and later made numerous voyages to far-flung corners of the globe
during a career at sea that spanned almost 50 years. (left: Chefoo,
China, 1939, pencil and crayon on paper, Private collection)
Golding's reputation rests on a group of approximately
60 color drawings made during the years 
1932-1939, while he was a patient at the Marine Hospital
in Savannah. Golding (whose birth name may have been Golden) was 59 and
suffering from bronchitis and other ailments when he was encouraged to draw
from memory by the hospital's recreation director, Margaret Stiles, a member
of the Savannah Art Club. (right: U.S.S. Isendaga, 1934, pencil
on paper, 8 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches, Collection of Rita Trotz)
Golding's fanciful color drawings primarily depict ships
he had seen or served on, and views of exotic ports. His images range from
views of the Savannah harbor to scenes of sailing ships chasing whales in
the Arctic, South Seas ports featuring erupting volcanoes, and remembered
renditions of Chinese architecture. Golding's work relates not only to maritime
painting but also to the phenomenon of memory painting in self-taught art.
Although
Golding's art has been shown and published, this exhibition of 42 drawings
loaned from private and public collections, marks the first major museum
survey of his work. (left: U.S.S. Constitution, 1933, pencil,
8 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches, Collection of Rita Trotz)
On Wednesday, March 22 at 12:30 p.m., Senior Curator of
Education Harry DeLorme will present a free lecture, "The Art of William
O. Golding: A Black Seaman Remembers" at the Telfair.
Thanks to a grant from The City of Savannah Department
of Cultural Affairs/Leisure Services Bureau, the Telfair will be open free
to the public the week of May 21-28, 2000.
Read more about the Telfair
Museum of Art in Resource Library Magazine
For further biographical information please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national
registry of historic artists.
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"Hard Knocks, Hardship and A lot
of Experience: The Maritime Art of William O. Golding" represents the
first major museum exhibition devoted to the art of self-taught African-American
artist William O. Golding (1874-1943). Kidnapped at the age of 8 from the
Savannah waterfront in 1882, Golding became a cabin boy on board a sailing
ship, and later made numerous voyages to far-flung corners of the globe
during a career at sea that spanned almost 50 years. (left: Chefoo,
China, 1939, pencil and crayon on paper, Private collection)
