Overview
Born September 28, 1928, on the Alabama cotton plantation his family once worked as sharecroppers, Thornton Dial was an artist committed to using his art to convey stories about life for Black Southerners. He did not begin making art until his 50s but his work from then on was informed by his life experiences as a farmer, metalworker, and furniture-maker. Dial did not pursue formal artistic training and saw his work not as “art” in the traditional sense, but as a way to process his feelings and views of the world around him. While better known for his large-scale assemblages of found objects, Dial’s paintings and drawings depict fluid, almost dreamlike figures amongst birds, tigers, stars, and other symbolic beings. Thornton Dial was a true artist who let his work speak for and through him, letting anything and everything be a tool in telling the stories in his head.
Above: Thornton Dial, Sr. (American, 1928–2016), Life Begin at the Tail, 1993, pastel and charcoal on paper, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association Purchase, 2012.14.4; Thornton Dial, Sr. (American, 1928–2016), The Star Sitting on the Stage, 1995, pastel and charcoal on paper, Gift of Lyn and E. T. Williams, Jr., New York, New York, and Naples, Florida, 2013.4
Dial did not pursue formal artistic training and saw his work not as “art” in the traditional sense, but as a way to process his feelings and views of the world around him.
Organizer
Organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama.
Exhibition Sponsors
Annual support for exhibitions is made possible by the following sponsors and grantors:
Lead Sponsors and Grantors: Alabama State Council on the Arts, Art Bridges Foundation, Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC, Mr. and Mrs. Barrie H. Harmon, Ill, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC, Lamar Advertising of Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs. James K. Lowder, Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and Mrs. Helen Till
Sponsors: Mr. Owen Aronov, Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Runkle, Sabel Steel, The S. Adam Schloss Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Weil, III, Laurie J. Weil, D.V.M. and Dr. Tommy Wool, and Ms. Helen Crump Wells
Co-sponsors: Mr. and Mrs. Sam Adams, Alabama Trucking Association, AmeriFirst Bank, Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Campbell II, CAPTRUST, Dr. Robert Combs, Crum Family Charitable Foundation, Mrs. Camille Elebash-Hill, Harmon Dennis Bradshaw, Inc., Mrs. Ann Hubbert, Mr. and Mrs. John E. Ives, Mr. and Mrs. L. Daniel Morris, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Mussafer, Dr. Alfred J. Newman, Jr., River Bank & Trust, Russell Construction of Alabama, Inc., Ms. Micki Beth Stiller, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Taylor, and Warren Averett, LLC.
Special thanks to the Alabama State Council on the Art
