R.A. Miller One-of-a-Kind Outsider Folk Art Painted Wooden Box, Signed Original

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R.A. Miller One-of-a-Kind Outsider Folk Art Painted Wooden Box, Signed Original:
$99.00

One-of-a-kind R.A. Miller Folk Art Painted Hinged Wooden Box, Signed

Signed Original
Features Large Devil on the Front
Devil and Angel on the Back
\"Lord Love You\" on the Front and the Back
Hinged Box Opens and Closes with Clasps and has Carrying Handle on the Top
The Box is Old and has has the Expected Dings, Scratches and Raw Corners and Edges.VERY Rustic.
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R. A. Miller is a celebrated Folk Art \"Outsider\" artist who lived in the US South from 1912-2006. His work has been shown at the Georgia Museum of Art and was featured in an R.E.M. music video and on the cover of \"TV Guide\".
Here is a copy of the Wikipedia biography:Biography[edit]Early years through retirement[edit]

The youngest of eight children, R.A. Miller was born July 22, 1912 in theEast Hall Countycommunity ofRabbittown, Georgia;[1][2]on the outskirts ofGainesville. Six months before he was born, his father was shot and killed over a land dispute for the control of a public road. For years after, the fatherless family \"got by on farming cotton, hunting and fishing\".[3]

Miller dropped out of school at the age of 12 and went to work in acotton mill. He also chopped wood for 50 cents a load.[4]Later in life he served as an ordained minister for theFree Will BaptistChurch. Miller retired at the age of 65, after his vision began to deteriorate due toglaucoma,[3][5]and started making the whirligigs that he made as a boy to pass the time.

Later years as an artist[edit]

Miller lived out most of his life on the same property where he was born, only moving to a nursing home in his final years.[6]His home was noted for being within \"a stone\'s throw from the Rabbittown rabbit\",[7]a 20ft. tall sculpture erected in 1993 to commemorate the community\'s namesake.[1][8]Starting in the 1970s through the 1990s, Miller\'s property commanded attention in its own right, as Miller populated the landscape with hundreds of whirligigs and tin artwork, which he sold on the side of the road.[5][6][7]Miller experimented with a number of themes, but the better known pieces, which he produced in numerous variations, are animals, devils, and \"Blow Oscar\".[7]

Inspiration[edit]

Miller used his artwork to help spread the word of God.[3]His materials consisted ofpaint,magic marker, tin, bicycle parts, andscrap metal. His work generally consisted of animal and human figures, and short inspirational messages, most notably \"Lord Love You.\"[5][6]His animal images range frombluebirds,chickens,pigs, andsnakesto an assortment ofdinosaurtypes,[6]which were inspired byNational Geographicprograms on television. The Human figures include reddevils,angels, culturally iconic symbols such asUncle SamandElvis Presley, and more abstract characters that sport hats, cigars, or red claws. In his folk art (also referred to asoutsider art[3]), Miller’s most persistent image is a figure entitled \"Blow Oskar\", which is based on his cousin, who would always blow his horn passionately whenever he would drive by Miller’s property.[3][6]

R.E.M.[edit]

Miller’s artwork gained notoriety, outside of his immediate community, when his whirligigs were featured in the twenty-minute videoLeft of Reckoning,[6]which was a collaboration of theAthensbased rock groupR.E.M.and painter and filmmakerJames Herbert. Images of the “whirligigs” were also implanted into R.E.M.’smusic videofor the song “Pretty Persuasion.”[7]

Recognition and exhibitions[edit]

One of Miller\'s neighbors recollected \"When he first started, we all laughed at him and said \'Who wants that junk?\' When he started making money, we all wanted to help.\"[3]In addition to the recognition he received from R.E.M., Miller\'s artwork appeared on the December 2001 cover ofTV Guide.[3]Miller began receiving visitors from overseas.[3]His artwork, which he had sold for $5–$50 in the early years, by 2006 commanded gallery prices as high as $700–$800.[3]Exhibitions soon followed. In 2006Brenau University\'s Simmons Visual Arts Center featured his works in an exhibit titled \"R.A. Miller: A Tribute.\"[3]TheGeorgia Museum of Artorganized a retrospective of Miller\'s work in 2009.[5]The exhibit, titled \"Lord Love You: Works by R.A. Miller from the Mullis Collection\" ran August 15 through October 24, 2009. It featured 83 paintings, drawings, sculptures and whirligigs by Miller.[7]On July 23, 2012 an exhibit and \"birthday party\" was held at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, in Gainesville, Georgia to recognize the works of R.A. Miller, and to celebrate the 100th birthday of the late artist.[9]

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