The Journey of Ellis Wilson

Traveling is an aspect of what is perceived from our day to day lives, to something new that has never been seen. Ellis Wilson traveled throughout life with many struggles, and trials that created barriers in his overall success as an artist. Faced with many obstacles, he set on a journey with a paintbrush, visions, and stories all throughout his life. Regardless what life presented to him he kept treading on. He was met with new opportunities with each experience and that led him to his epiphany of his artistic ability when he was inspired by his travels to Haiti and the African culture of the people and their interaction. He moved forward with his talents, and his greatest influence, when his father passed away in the 1930’s. Ellis Wilson portrayed this emotion of losing a loved one in his painting Funeral Procession. (Wilson). This painting he expressed the significance of losing a loved one, overcoming a tragedy, but still being able to move forward and celebrate that lost soul. He had a personal connection to this losing his father at such an early period of his artistic and personal life. He left landmarks with all the various jobs he took to display his artistic talents, he never was discouraged, and moved forward creating a path that would be influential to later African American artists, decades and centuries later. He found comfort and warm close feeling still being connected to his home town; he still shared his success with them. His documentary explained, “Ellis’ continued interest in sharing his accomplishments and artwork with his hometown and home state reflected his strong connection to his community and family roots. He once told an interviewer that his only real regret was that his father, who had inspired his love of art in the first place, did not live to see his son’s success”(King). Wilson’s painting Funeral Procession created in 1958 was an exhibition of his signature style of angularity and elongation, a dedication of his

Cited: University Press, 2009. 540-543. Print. Lewis, Samella S.. "Ellis Wilson (1899-1977)." African American art and artists. 3rd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003 Saunders, Shellie. "Ellis Wilson."Answers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.<http://www.answers.com/topic/ellis-wilson#ixzz1bQaeR6xZ>. Wilson, Ellis. Funeral Procession. 1958. Aaron Douglas Collection, Amistad Research Center, New Orleans, LA