Lorenzo Scott facts for kids

Lorenzo Scott (born 1934 in West Point, Georgia) is a modern American artist. His artwork became well-known in the late 1980s.

Early Life

Lorenzo Scott was born on July 23, 1934, in West Point, Georgia. This was a busy town with cotton mills and a railroad. When his mother lost her job during the Great Depression, his family moved to Atlanta. They were looking for work.

Lorenzo was one of eleven children. He remembers seeing his mother draw a sketch when he was young. He knew then that he wanted to draw like her. Even though he went to school until the tenth grade, he loved drawing more than schoolwork. He said he had been sketching since he was about five years old. He learned a lot by looking at art in museums.

His family lived across from a Southern Baptist church. They were very active members. Here, young Lorenzo developed a strong Christian faith. This faith has guided his art and his life. He often shares stories about amazing things that happened because of his faith.

For example, he once watched a funeral at the church. He asked his mother why people had to die. He thought if he stayed awake, he wouldn't die. So, one night, his mom let him stay up all night.

Art Career

As a young man, Scott worked as a house painter and in construction. He did not create his first oil painting until he was 25. It took another 20 years for him to be recognized as a serious artist. This happened after he visited New York in 1968. There, he discovered the paintings of the old masters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Scott loved the paintings of the Italian Renaissance artists. He spent hours studying their methods and styles. He looked closely at images in books and museums. Then, he practiced with oil paints, learning how to balance colors.

Karen Towers Klacsmann, an art expert, said Scott's journey was like an old-time apprenticeship. But he had no teacher to guide him. With his talent for drawing and strong will, he learned from the paintings themselves. He figured out how artists from hundreds of years ago made their amazing works.

Scott explained his journey: "In 1968, I went to New York. I saw people painting on canvas on the street. I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I thought, that's what I need to do... paint." He went back home and started painting on canvas. It was hard, but he kept trying. He visited museums in Atlanta, like the High Museum of Art, to study old paintings. He looked at how they painted eyes and noses. He spent a lot of time there!

Finding places to show his paintings was difficult at first. Then, one night, something special happened. Scott had a vision. He was coming home from a construction job. He was very tired. On that Sunday night, a light appeared on his bed. It came and went, then came back very bright. He felt like the Lord was talking to him.

After this, his paintings started selling. He sold one painting for a small amount. The buyer sold it to someone else who wanted to find Scott. One day, Scott was handing out flyers. The person saw one and called him. It was a strange way for them to connect. That person bought more paintings and brought other people to see his art.

Scott's work was first shown in an exhibition called Revelations: Visionary Content in the Work of Southern Self-Trained Artists. This was at the Atlanta College of Art in 1986. His first solo show at a national museum was in 1993. It was at the Springfield Museum of Art in Ohio.

Thanks to Bert Hunecke, Scott's art is now in major museum collections. These include museums in New York and Washington. In 2002, he received the Folk Art Society of America's Award of Distinction. This award called him a "Modern Renaissance Painter of Folk Art."

Prominence

Two art collectors and a gallery owner in Atlanta helped Lorenzo Scott's art become known. Scott rented a house on Dill Avenue in East Point. He called it his "Dill Avenue Gallery." He could hang his art on the walls there to show and sell it.

Atlanta collector William "Bill" Arnett visited the Dill Avenue house. He bought many paintings and even a painted piece of furniture. These works became part of his Soul's Grown Deep project. This project aimed to show the art of "folk or outsider artists of the black American South." It highlighted their important place in world art.

Around the same time, Bert Hunecke learned about Scott. He visited the Dill Avenue house and was amazed by the art. He bought all the paintings Scott had there. Hunecke was key in getting Scott's paintings into the Smithsonian and High Museums.

Also, in the late 1980s, gallery owner Mark Karleson met Scott. Scott was selling his paintings on the streets of Atlanta. Karleson decided to show some of Scott's work in his Modern Primitive Gallery. Scott usually sold his art directly for cash. Most galleries prefer to sell art on consignment (where the artist gets paid after the sale). But Karelson bought the paintings directly from Scott. Then, he sold them at his gallery to various collectors. One important sale was a large number of paintings to the House of Blues Art Collection.

Artistic Practice

Scott's paintings often show religious and spiritual themes. He also paints everyday subjects. These include rural landscapes, African American children, and sometimes social issues.

He creates both large and small paintings. He uses oil paints on canvas or wood. He developed his own painting process over many years of trying different things. For much of his life, he worked from his home. For a few years, he had a small studio in Decatur, Georgia. There, he made his own frames as well as his paintings.

His "fancy, gold-leaf, Renaissance style" frames are a key part of his art. Lynne Browne, a writer for the Folk Art Messenger, noted this. Scott once explained how he makes them: "The frames take a long time. I get lumber from Home Depot, some Bondo [car body repair material], spray paint - Pittsburgh quick-dry gold enamel. I use a jigsaw to cut out all the shapes. I use sticks, old pencils, little screwdrivers and other things to make lines on the Bondo. The frame is a work of art."

Browne also noticed how gently Scott treated his subjects. She said he pays close attention to his process. He carefully layers oil paints. The amazing handmade frames complete each painting. She thought of the Italian Renaissance masters when she saw his work.

Kathy Moses, in her book Outsider Art of the South, explained Scott's art. She said his interest in old masters is not just copying. He goes beyond their styles to create something very unique. He taught himself oil painting techniques by studying Italian Renaissance art. He learned how to arrange shapes and balance colors. He applies thin layers of oil paint. This creates the calm, serious look of 14th-century Italian portraits. His art often features Catholic themes, like the life of Christ. His paintings are very beautiful and refined.

Scott has been called "a self-taught genius." His painting Lazarus was called "one of the museum's treasures." This was in the book Treasures of American Folk Art from the Museum of American Folk Art. His work has been shown in over 40 American museums. It is part of the permanent collections of many important museums. These include the Smithsonian Institution's American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. Also, the American Folk Art Museum in New York, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Other museums include the Tubman African American Museum in Macon, and the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta.

Exhibitions and Collections

Lorenzo Scott's art has been shown in many museums and public places. This includes solo shows, themed shows, and group exhibitions.

Museum Exhibitions

• 1986 Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
• 1993 Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, IL
• 1999 High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
• 2000 Smithsonian American Art Museum (Traveling Exhibition, 2000 - 2003)
• 2002 American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY
• 2007 Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA
• 2009 High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
• 2012 Heaven+Hell exhibition, Intuit, Chicago, IL
• 2015-16 Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC

Museum Permanent Collections

• American Folk Art Museum, New York City
• Asheville Art Museum, Asheville NC
• Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, GA
• Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA
• High Museum of Art, Atlanta GA
• Morris Museum of Art, Augusta GA
• Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC
• Tubman African-American Museum, Macon, GA

Gallery Exhibitions and Other Showings

Lorenzo Scott's work has also been shown in many commercial galleries and collections.

• America Oh Yes!, Hilton Head, South Carolina
• Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
• Folk Fest, Atlanta, Georgia
• Modern Primitive Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
• Slotin Folk Art Auction, Buford, Georgia
• Woodward Gallery, New York, N.Y.