Sulton Rogers (1922 – April 5, 2003) was a
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...
folk artist
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically ...
who spent most of his life in
Syracuse, New York working at a chemical plant. He moved back to
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County. Founded i ...
in 1995 and lived there until he died.
Rogers referred to his carvings as "haints" and primarily carved humans with oversized features. The oversized features included multiple eyes, animals coming out of body parts, and extra breasts. He would also carve multiple related carvings known as "haint houses". These pieces sometimes included
dollhouse
A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North Americ ...
s that would be filled with the human carvings. While he normally carved people, he would also carve animals.
– Sulton Rogers, 1991 (Artist's Alliance- It'll Come True).
His pieces are the part of permanent collections at the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...
Museum of Art, the
African American Museum, the
Pérez Art Museum Miami
The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)—officially known as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County—is a contemporary art museum that relocated in 2013 to the Museum Park in Downtown Miami, Florida. Founded in 1984 as the Center for t ...
, and the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum. His carvings have also appeared in the
Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...
,
New Orleans Museum of Art
The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the ...
, and the
American Visionary Art Museum
The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) is an art museum located in Baltimore, Maryland's Federal Hill neighborhood at 800 Key Highway. The museum specializes in the preservation and display of outsider art (also known as "intuitive art," "raw ...
. Collectors should be aware that auction houses and some publications misspell his name as "Sultan Rodgers".
Family life
Rogers was married in 1941 at age 19 and had a son named Van. He later married Ardeula in 1945 and they conceived seven children together, RV, Allie B., Willie Sulton, Eddie, Sammie, Lossie, and Loretta. He also fathered Bobby, Roy, Jackie, Katie, and Jimmy. Although he left his family in Mississippi to seek employment in New York, he reunited with his family many years before his death.
References
* Delahanty, Randolph, ''Art in the American South''
* Artist's Alliance, ''It'll Come True''
External links
Mississippi Museum of ArtAmerican Visionary Art MuseumUniversity Art MuseumDallas Museum of ArtNew Orleans Museum of ArtAfrican American Museum
American folk artists
1922 births
2003 deaths
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