William H. Clarke Folk Art Gallery

William H. Clarke was born in Nottoway County, Virginia. He narrates his rural African-American heritage with old tobacco farming, old country stores, baptisms, funerals and daily life of his childhood. His honest depictions have resulted in a strong national following. His work is in numerous private and museum collections throughout the United States.

Folk art is distinguished from traditional art in that, while collected today based mostly on its artistic merit, and the artist. Folk Artists art tell a story though their art, sometime a untold story. I try to tell the story of a proud people who shoulder we all stand.

Often in my travel I am asked why you paint poor black people laboring in fields of crops ? Why do you painted old wood framed, Country stories, farm house, churches And old barns? I paint what I have lived, I am not ashamed of the hard honest labor of those black and white laborers that made it possible for us to advance our life with there labor. Many of acres of farm crops have made a decent education and life available for us. .I would never want return to those days or would I never ever forget a people who honest hard labor built this country with their blood sweat and tears. I try to paint the untold stories of those laborers and their labor of love.

Emotions that a Folk Artist goes through when creating a painting are deep. Emotions that Folk artists live and feel, the joy and often stress of everyday life come out in their art.

"I William H. Clarke am a Folk Artist"