Chinese Kites by Ellis Wilson
ELLIS WILSON, an African-American, was born April 30, 1899 in Mayfield, Kentucky to Frank and Minnie Wilson. His father was a barber but also an amateur painter who encouraged Ellis’ painting. Ellis Wilson died January 1, 1977 in New York, New York.
After high school in Mayfield, Ellis attended the all Black Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute in Frankfort, Kentucky (which is now Kentucky State University) and the Chicago School of the Art Institute. He lived in Chicago for five (5) years working as a commercial artist and moved to New York City in 1928. There he became involved in the New Negro Art Movement of the 1920-30s. Wilson was always a painter of Negro life wherever he found it.
Ellis was employed from 1935 to 1940 by the WPA. In 1944 he won a Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 1952 won the Terry Art Exhibition in Miami which allowed him to travel to Haiti.
He is best known for his picture, Funeral Procession, purchased by Bill Cosby and displayed in the living room set of the Bill Cosby Show in 1985. An episode of the show dealt with Mrs. Huxtable’s purchase of the painting and this revived interest in Ellis Wilson and his work.
Wilson’s had an art exhibit at the Mayfield/Graves County Library in Mayfield, Kentucky in 1947 and in the J. B. Speed Art Museum in Louisville in 1948. In 1950 Murray State College (now University) purchased his End of the Day painting and in 1952 held an exhibit of his work, before the University even accepted African-Americans as students.
Picture of Miss Helen’s sister’s house, circa 1942
HELEN LA FRANCE ORR, an African-American, was born November 4, 1919 in Hickory Groves (Graves County), Kentucky. She was the second eldest daughter of John Franklin Orr and Lillie Mae (Ligons) Orr. At an early age, she had a love for reading and painting. She is a self-taught painter, and she paints from precious memories of things in her early life. Her mother inspired her as a child to paint. She showed her how to mix laundry bluing with dandelions and berries to make paint for her paintings. She received no formal art instruction nor did she attend high school. Her mother instructed her to paint what she saw. The first thing she remembered painting was a gray rabbit on an old building of felt fabric. Most of her pictures featured church picnics based on the church in north Graves County, Shelton Chapel A.M. E. Church, where she attended school during the week and church services on Sundays.
Miss Helen not only paints but she, in her younger days, carved and built doll houses. She tells of the story about one of her carvings she did of geese in flight. She mentioned how when one goose is sick or dying that two other geese would hold the sick goose up while in flight until they are sure it is dead before letting it fall to the ground. Miss Helen stills paints almost daily.
Her works are seen in the book titled “Art of the South” by Kathy Moses. When Miss Helen worked at the Kennedy Tobacco Barn, a buyer from Holland Amsterdam purchased a painting of a worker working in the barn. It was published in a book in Holland titled, “Tabak in DeKunst”. Her works are offered in galleries in Kentucky and Indiana and can be located using the Internet.
Helen LaFrance at her 89th Birthday Tea, 2008
A birthday party was given in her honor on her 89th birthday (in 2008) by the Matters of the Heart Youth Group of the Smith Temple Presbyterian Church and the Ellis Wilson Society, both of Mayfield, Kentucky.
Miss Helen has been acknowledged by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights as a Great Black Kentuckian and she is featured on their website which can be visited by going to www.kchr.ky.gov.
THE ELLIS WILSON SOCIETY was created in 2008 in Mayfield, Kentucky to promote the art of Ellis Wilson, to promote the art of other Graves County artists such as Helen LaFrance Orr, and to encourage Graves County citizens to research the county’s African-American history and genealogy. Prints (8-1/2 x 11) of the paintings of Ellis Wilson and Miss Helen pictured above are available from the Society for $10 each (includes postage and handling) by contacting the treasurer, Wanda, at www.wanda@wk.net
GEORGE W. FOREE, an African-American female, was born in 1904 in Ballard County, KY. She was a member of the Paducah Art Guild. Her artwork, which came from remembered images, has been included in several exhibits. Ms. Foree died in 1989 in Paducah.
