Sam Doyle
(American, 1906 – 1985)
Onk Sam, 1982
House paint on wood panel
31 x 26.25 inches
On loan from the Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC
Dr. Y.B. (York Bailey), 1982
Acrylic on metal siding
53 ½ x 26 inches
On Loan from the Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC
Sam Doyle worked in the traditional genre of portraiture to elevate exemplary citizens in his own community of St. Helena Island, off the coast of South Carolina. Using discarded materials such as plywood and roofing metal as substrate and enamel house paint as medium, Doyle employed a flat painting style to create colorful portraits that incorporate recognizable gestures and character traits of his subjects. During Doyle’s lifetime, portraits such as Dr. Y.B. (York Bailey) and his self-portrait Onk Sam, both included in True Likeness, would have been displayed on the exterior of his house in what he referred to as the Nationwide Outdoor Art Gallery.
Biography
Doyle, a descendant of slaves, was a folk artist born on the island of St. Helena, SC. His work gained national attention after being included in Black Folk Art in America: 1930-1980 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1982, and has since been exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Art Museum of the University of Memphis; New Orleans Museum of Art; and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; among others. His work was collected by the late Jean-Michel Basquiat and can be found in notable institutions such as the American Folk Art Museum, New York; Milwaukee Museum of Art; New Orleans Museum of Art; Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. In 1985, contemporary artist Ed Ruscha posthumously dedicated a painting to Doyle, Where Are You Going, Man? (For Sam Doyle), which is now in the collection of Eli Broad and The Broad Museum, Los Angeles, CA.