Howard Finster: The Early Years [Paperback]

Thelma Finster Bradshaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Since bursting onto the folk art scene in the late 1970s with his distinct other-worldly paintings, Howard Finster has become the genre's superstar. Profiled in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Life, and even Penthouse magazine, Finster is collected by galleries and museums worldwide, including the Smithsonian Institution.

He has appeared on The Tonight Show, created covers for the rock bands R.E.M. and the Talking Heads, and counts numerous celebrities among his friends. Now approaching 85 years old, Finster and his paintings of a peculiar heaven show no signs of slowing in popularity.

But no one has ever completely witnessed the early life and work of Howard Finster. No one has seen the Trion Garden, Finster's first environmental work of art. No one has seen the young man and young preacher with his family and his work in the Trion setting. No one except his family--until now.

With the publication of Howard Finster: The Early Years, the artist's daughter Thelma Finster Bradshaw has created a loving memoir and tribute to her father. As a valuable addition to America's folk archives, this family album of rare photos and early work presents a private portrait of the public man who leads the national folk art movement.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"My father was trying to build us Eden out of plywood, homemade tools, hard work and an imagination fed by the hand of God," writes Thelma Finster Bradshaw in her biography of her father, Howard Finster: The Early Years: A Private Portrait. Bradshaw is not speaking metaphorically; Finster filled their garden with miniature churches and mansions adorned with onion domes, turrets and spires, a gazebo, a playhouse, a tiny museum and religious iconography. Originally a Baptist preacher, the eminent octogenarian folk artist "now uses paints instead of the pulpit to deliver his sermons." Blending art with function, Finster deploys many media wood, paint, ceramics to make kitchenware, toys, clocks, bicycles, buildings and sculptures that incorporate photographs, his primitivist painting style and endless discarded materials. Bradshaw's sentimental, evangelical tone will put off some readers, but her family-eye view gives the book down-home appeal. Photos and illus.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Now in his early eighties, Finster is one of the best-known "outsider" artists in the United States. His elaborate backyard structures of Paradise Garden near Summerville, GA, have attracted collectors and tourists since the 1970s, while many more are familiar with his cover art for R.E.M. and Talking Heads recordings. Yet these are just a minor part of his prolific output, and art is by no means his only career. Born into poverty in rural Alabama, Finster became a Baptist preacher at an early age, traveled to revivals, and built a church, a family, and an earlier version of Paradise Garden in Trion, GA. His second-youngest daughter, the author of this brief memoir, says, "To my father's way of thinking, his paintbrush is just a conduit for God, and my father just happens to be the medium." The family history is one of almost cheerful struggle, met with boundless energy, dedication, and resourcefulness. Bradshaw's simple, straightforward prose draws the reader into her enthusiastic portrayal of her father, but there is little to balance her heroic vision. Uplifting reading for general readers and aficionados of folk art. Susan Lense, Upper Arlington P.L., OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Crane Hill Publishers (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575871718
• ISBN-13: 978-1575871714
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #864,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A welcome contribution to American art history, October 14, 2001

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Howard Finster: The Early Years (Paperback)

In Howard Finster: The Early Years, Thelma Bradshaw (Finster's daughter) provides an informative, intimate memoir and tribute to her 80 year old father's life and work. The reader is treated to rare and previously unpublished family photos of Finster in Trion, Georgia, along with his early work. Howard Finster: The Early Years is a welcome contribution to American art history and highly recommended reading for those who appreciate his original artistic visions -- including his "Paradise Garden", which is an incredible maze of found-object art and sculpture which he created near his home in Summerville, Georgia.