Untitled
Date1997
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsImage: 24 × 18 inches (61 × 45.7 cm)
Sight: 23 9/16 × 17 3/4 inches (59.8 × 45.1 cm)
Framed: 27 1/4 × 21 1/4 × 1 1/2 inches (69.2 × 54 × 3.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Dr. Barbara Fertig.
Object number2008.21.2
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextAllen Fireall was raised in part by grandparents Pearl and Nathan Bentley, in an area just outside Hardeeville, South Carolina. Fireall was familiar with the Gullah community, and he injected this rich perspective into his paintings that document the history and culture of African Americans in the Southeast.
“For a long time I struggled with being identified as a Gullah artist. My grandparents raised me, and they spoke the Gullah language. We used to laugh at the way they spoke, but when I became grown, I understood the importance of preserving the language and the culture.”
Fireall was a women’s clothing designer for many years, and his interest in fashion, fabrics, and patterning is evidenced in this simple yet energetic composition of a young girl posed in a chair. Fireall celebrated stories told to him by his grandmother, and he termed his scenes as “art from the other side”—paintings that exude a character of everyday experience.
