Pharaoh Baker's paintings and sculptures

Sculptors

Painters

Fieldwork

Painting

Art

Sculpture

Figurines

African Americans

Decorative arts

Material culture

Artists

Eighteen color slides. Baker served as a master artist in the 1984-1985 apprenticeship program. For an interview with Baker and his apprentice (Ellis Wright) see S 1576, Box 11, tape C84-2. Baker, whose first painting was a copy of a church hand fan for which he was paid five dollars when he was a child, studied art at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. He worked for years as a professional sign painter in Lake City, but also created his own emotionally charged and religiously influenced paintings and sculptures on the side. Folklorist Blanton Owen has described his work as 'blues on canvas'. Baker died in 2002. Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program began in 1983 with a NEA grant of $22,000. The program provided an opportunity for master folk artists to share technical skills and cultural knowledge with apprentices in order to keep the tradition alive. Apprentices must have had some experience in the tradition and agreed to train for at least six months. The first project director was Blanton Owen, later replaced by folklorist Peter Roller. The program was continued each year through 2003.

State Archives of Florida, Series S1577

1984-05

Florida Folklife Program

slides (photographs)

Still Image

S1577

v. 36

S86-1691 - S86-1708

Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program

Owen, Blanton, 1945-1998

Baker, Pharaoh, 1925-2002

African American

1983

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