Talking With Tebe: Clementine Hunter, Memory Artist

by Clementine Hunter, Mary E. Lyons

Born in northwest Louisiana in 1886. Called Tebé by her family, Hunter lived and worked on Melrose Plantation for more than 75 years. In colors as bright as the Louisiana sky, she shows the backbreaking work required to pick cotton, gather figs, cut sugar cane, and harvest pecans. Tebé's art portrays the good times, too. Scenes of baptisms, weddings, and church socials celebrate a rich community life that helped the workers survive. Hunter's work holds a special place in art history. She was the first self-taught artist to receive a fellowship from the Rosenwald Fund, in 1945, and the first self-taught African-American woman artist to receive national media attention. Between 1945 and 1987, over fifty museums and galleries showed her works. Some writers have called Clementine Hunter a creative genius. To others she was not a real artist but a "plantation Negro." Many were surprised that an older woman with no training could produce art at all. Now considered one of the finest folk arti

Genres: Art, Biography, Biography Memoir

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 1998

Reviews

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reading about Folk Art Quilts and came across a lead to this book. The link is that Tebe is a folk artist.
I LOVED this book. The author captured the cadence of the artist's speech. It tells a wonderful story, and her pictures are a story in themselves.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clementine Hunter’s art fascinated me so much, I was excited to have my own copy of this book and learn more about her life. Amazing woman!!!

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book uses Hunter's artwork and words to tell the story of plantation life. I like how, lacking canvas, she used jugs, wine bottles and frying pans for her paintings.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author could have done more justice to Clementine Hunter if she infused more intelligent wording throughout Clementine's words. The continual babble seemed inaccurately written as a monologue.

[Virginia]

I really enjoyed that most of this was in her own words. Really solidified for me that she was just painting her history as she saw it, simple as that. 💛