Sale 2528 - African-American Fine Art, January 30, 2020

24 c JIM S. SMOOTE II (1950 - ) Two fabric works. Untitled (Three Women) , looped and woven wool on stitched felt and burlap, 1969. Approximately 914x1117 mm; 36x44 inches. Stitched signature and date, lower right * Untitled (Watermelon) , looped wool tapestry, 1971. 1219x610 mm; 48x24 inches. Woven signature and date, lower right. Provenance: the Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., Chicago. Mixed media and fabric artist Jim Smoote has had a long career and has exhibited internationally - including in the important 1998 national traveling exhibition and catalogue Spirits of the Cloth: Contemporary Quilts by African American Artists at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC. Born in Grenada, Mississippi, Smoote moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1956, and was educated in the Chicago Public School system. He earned both a BFA and MFA from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago with degrees in Textile Design and Art. The now retired Smoote taught elementary and high school art in the Chicago public schools for 35 years. He was included in Dr. Caroline Mazloomi’s 2010 monograph Journey of Hope: Quilts Inspired by President Barack Obama . [500/750]