Profile: Frank Calloway (1915-2014)

Frank Calloway was a self-taught artist from the United States. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1952, he was committed to Bryce Hospital and the Alabama Department of Mental Health in Tuscaloosa. He lived in the Alice M. Kidd Nursing Facility in Tuscaloosa. His imagery is primarily agrarian, depicting the Old South as he remembers it. He drew on butcher paper using crayons, pen and markers. The scrolls are either 24 or 36 inches high and Calloway made them anywhere from 8 to over 60 feet in length. While he claimed to be 112 years of age in 2008, research by gerontology experts deduced that he was actually born in 1915.Frank Calloway was a self-taught artist from the United States. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1952, he was committed to Bryce Hospital and the Alabama Department of Mental Health in Tuscaloosa. He lived in the Alice M. Kidd Nursing Facility in Tuscaloosa. His imagery is primarily agrarian, depicting the Old South as he remembers it. He drew on butcher paper using crayons, pen and markers. The scrolls are either 24 or 36 inches high and Calloway made them anywhere from 8 to over 60 feet in length. While he claimed to be 112 years of age in 2008, research by gerontology experts deduced that he was actually born in 1915. Continue reading Profile: Frank Calloway (1915-2014)

Profile: Archie Byron (1928-2005)

Archie Byron was an American sculptor, painter, small business owner, city councilman for the city of Atlanta (1981-1989), and political activist. He claimed to have co-founded the first African-American owned detective agency. He is best known for his relief sculptures which he created using sawdust, water and glue. He would just as often paint his “sawdust art” as he would allow the natural hues of the drying wood to stand alone without augmentation. Continue reading Profile: Archie Byron (1928-2005)