On this day in Alabama history: Myrtice West was born in Cherokee County
Cherokee County native Myrtice S. West (1923-2010) is one of Alabama's best-known folk or "outsider" artists. Her paintings evoke rural Alabama, where she was born and raised, as well as religious themes such as 14 pieces depicting events in the book of Revelation. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of Ginger Ann Brook)
September 14, 1923
Folk artist Myrtice West was born in Cherokee County. With little formal education and no arts training, West used religious painting as comfort through a series of tragedies, including the murder of her only daughter. West is best known for her Revelation Series, a set of 14 oil paintings depicting the Bible’s Book of Revelation on a variety of mediums. Her first showing was at the Alabama State Council on the Arts‘ 1991 exhibition “Outsider Artists of Alabama,” and her paintings are housed in numerous museums and private collections. See her paintings in the book “Wonders to Behold: The Visionary Art of Myrtice West.”
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
