Dial Flip Book

JAKOB DWIGHT
Working in multiple media including painting, digital photography, drawing, and collage

Angeles, Berlin, Seattle, Atlanta, London, Salzburg (Switzerland) and Amsterdam. As part of
the Aesthetics + Therapeutics Lab, a collectively run platform developed to initiate
installations and experiments in immersive art and healing, Dwight has installed a multi-
sensory environment at Vortex Immersion Media Dome at LA Center Studios (2014). He was
commissioned by the Seattle Art Museum to create new work for their group exhibition

Brooklyn Museum (2016) and was included in the New York installation of 1:54

Contemporary African Art Fair with London's 50Golborne Gallery (2019). In 2022 Dwight's

paintings were featured in the group exhibition at LA's Honor Fraser

Gallery.

JOHN FIELDS
John Fields is the Lydia Cheney and Jim Sokol Endowed Director and Chief Curator for the
Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Fields is
a visual artist, filmmaker, musician, talk-radio host, and university educator with over 15

or co-curated 80+ exhibitions throughout his career. His exhibitions have been featured in
national media outlets such as

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undated 1652
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial

ROSCOE HALL
Roscoe Hall is an artist creative and culinary with an MFA in Art History from Savannah
College of Art and Design. A truth-teller in pigment, Hall works across media from food to
paint and beyond to call into question, and challenge, previously unexamined histories of

Romare
Bearden, Kara Walker, Purvis Young, and more in fractured narratives of identity, moments

freeze-frame, front page illustrations of personal reflection, they are confronting without

Hall is a painter living and working in Birmingham, AL. He received his BFA in photography
from the University of San Diego and his MA from the Savannah College of Art and Design

Savannah, GA; Graeter Art Gallery, Portland; Lowe Mill Gallery, Huntsville; and the Abroms-
Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (AEIVA), Birmingham.

ASHLEY M. JONES
Ashley M. Jones is Poet Laureate of Alabama (2022-2026). She earned an MFA in Poetry
from Florida International University (FIU), where she was a John S. and James L. Knight
Foundation Fellow. Her work has been recognized in the Poets and Writers Maureen Egen

a finalist in the Hub City Press New Southern Voices Contest (2015); the Crab Orchard Series
in Poetry First Book Award Contest (2015); the National Poetry Series (2015); a nomination for

and the Lucille Clifton Legacy Award (2019). Jones is a recipient of a Poetry Fellowship from

the Alabama State Council on the Arts and an Alabama Library Association Alabama

Author award (2020). She was a finalist for the Ruth Lily Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg

Fellowship (2020), and her collection, was on the longlist for the 2022

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PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry.

Jones has been featured on news outlets including , ABC News, and

the BBC. Her poems and essays appear or are forthcoming in many journals and

anthologies. Her debut poetry collection, (2017), won the Independent

Publishers Book Awards silver medal in poetry (2017). Her second book, won

the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Prize for Poetry (2018). Her third collection,

was published in 2021.

She currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where she is founding director of the Magic City
Poetry Festival, board member of the Alabama Writers Cooperative and the Alabama
Writers Forum, co-director of PEN Birmingham, and a faculty member in the Creative Writing
Department of the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Jones is also a member of the Core Faculty
at the Converse University Low Residency MFA Program. She recently served as a guest ed-
itor for
Libraries Initiative (2013-2015), She was an editor of

In 2022, Jones received a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets.

SHAUN LEONARDO

namely definitions surrounding black and brown masculinities, along with its notions of
achievement, collective identity, and experience of failure. His performance practice,
anchored by his work in Assembly a diversion program for system-impacted youth at the
arts nonprofit Recess, where he is Co-Director is participatory and invested in a process of
embodiment.

Leonardo is a Brooklyn-based artist from Queens, New York City. He received his MFA from

the San Francisco Art Institute, is a recipient of support from Creative Capital, Guggenheim

Social Practice, Art for Justice and A Blade of Grass, and was recently profiled in the

and CNN. His work has been featured at The Guggenheim Museum, the High

Line, and New Museum, with a solo exhibition, , recently

presented at MICA, MASS MoCA and The Bronx Museum.

1674

UMAR RASHID

Umar Rashid makes paintings, drawings, and sculptures that chronicle the grand historical
fiction of the Frenglish Empire (1648 1880) that he has been developing for over 17 years.
Each work represents a frozen moment from this parallel world that often recalls our own
fraught histories both canonized and marginalized with familiar signifiers and
iconographies that channel the visual lexicons of hip hop, ancient and modern pop culture,
gang and prison life, and revolutionary movements throughout time. This alternative history
and its many subplots are told with elaborate visual and literary detail with painterly
tableaus depicting large networks of protagonists that relate to one another across bodies
of work, and with lyrical and humorous artwork titles often a paragraph in length.

Rashid lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. He received his BA in cinema and photography

from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL. His work was featured at The Huntington and

the Hammer Museum as part of the biennial institutional

solo exhibitions include Uni-

versity of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ (2018); and

sented in public collections throughout the world and
his first solo museum exhibition in New York at MoMA PS1 in Queens, NY, runs through March
2023.

JERRY SIEGEL
Jerry Siegel was born and raised in Selma, AL, and graduated from the Art Institute of
Atlanta. After graduating college, he photographed the Atlanta Hawks as a team
photographer for fifteen years. In 1986, he opened Siegel Photography to work with
advertising agencies and other corporate clients, and traveled across the US making pho-
tos for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2004, Siegel was offered a show of his photos of
found objects, encouraging him to focus more on personal projects. Siegel was awarded
the Grand Prize at the first Artadia Awards in Atlanta (2009), a national program founded in
New York that awards substantial, unrestricted funds to artists and connects them to a

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professional network of opportunities. His first monograph,
(2011) features portraits of 100 Southern artists. This body of work has been featured in

focuses on documenting the unique, cultural landscape of the South,
concentrating on the Black Belt region of Alabama. His work is in many public, private, and
corporate collections, including the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL; Do Good
Fund; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Jule Collins
Smith Museum, Auburn, AL; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL; Morris
Museum of Art, Augusta, GA; Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, GA; the
Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA; The Telfair Museum, Savannah, GA;
Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL; and many more.

LESLIE SMITH III

material specificity, application, and pictorial perception. He engages the prospect of
uncoupling previous histories from the process of identifying unfamiliar forms. He re-imagines
the pictorial possibilities of a two-dimensional surface and creates paintings that exhibit a
distinctive space not dependent upon traditional three-dimensional perspectives. He
fractures singular shaped canvases into multiple shapes that relate to each other
tangentially.

Smith received his MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University School of Art (2009)

and his BFA in Painting with a minor in Art History from Maryland Institute College of Art

(2007). His recent solo exhibitions include at Galerie Isabelle Gounod,

Paris, France (2022) and at Maus Contemporary Gallery, Birmingham, AL

(2022). He was recently awarded a 2022 Joan Mitchell Fellowship and has served as an

Associate Professor of Drawing and Painting at the University Wisconsin-Madison since 2017.

1696

16770 2014
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial

RENEE STOUT
Renée Stout grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and received her BFA from Carnegie-
Mellon University (1980) where she chose to focus was on painting after being inspired by
the works of realist and photo-realist painters such as Edward Hopper, Robert Cottingham,
and Richard Estes. However, immediately after moving to Washington, DC, in 1985, she
began to explore the spiritual roots of her African American heritage through her
increasingly sculptural works, which found their early inspiration in the aesthetics and
philosophy Kongo ritual objects. Her narrative, mixed media sculptures eventually attracted
the attention of museum curators and anthropologists which lead to her becoming the first

Art. Inspired by the African Diaspora, historical and current world events, the effects of
technology on human interactions, as well as everyday life in her DC neighborhood. Stout
now employs a variety of media, including painting, drawing, mixed media sculpture,
photography, and installation to create works that encourage viewers to reflect on the
absurdities of life as we witness the developments in our rapidly changing world. She
describes her aesthetic as Zora Neale Hurston, meets Octavia Butler in The Matrix. She has
been the recipient of awards from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Joan Mitchell
Foundation, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, and the Gottleib Foundation. She was
also the recipient of the Driskell Prize, awarded by the High Museum of Art and received a

found in many museums and private collections, nationally and internationally.

17618

- Dan Dial
16792

Index of Dated, Undated, and Referenced Works

The following index comprises works from the exhibitions I, Too, am Alabama (2022) at the Abroms-
Engel Institute of Visual Arts at UAB and I, Too, am Thornton Dial (2022) at the Samford University Art
Gallery in addition to other pieces from Thornton Dial’s life’s work referenced in the catalog essays.
We have simplified some of the image credits in the footer on each page, which denotes the
artist’s name, the main photographer’s name, and the copyright information for every image.
We chose to sort the work in chronological then alphabetical order, with all undated pieces
following, and finally a list of works referenced in the essays for which we were unable to provide
the indexed information. We hope you find this index helpful when studying the prolific career of
Thornton Dial.

1960s-1980s
Untitled (fishing lures) (1960s-1980s)
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
See title page, pp. 26, 44, 116

1980s
Untitled (door), c. 1980s
72 x 32.5 x 8
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 4

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

173

1987
The Beginning of the World, 1987
47 x 17 x 6 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 64

Climbing, 1987
61 x 34 x 15 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 121

Dog Show, 1987
Dimensions Variable
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 120

Hoodoo People, 1987
Variable (highest 16 in.)
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 122

Man with His Bream, 1987
44 x 27 x 12 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See front cover, p. 27

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

174

Men Discussing a Shoe, 1987
19 x 38 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 66

Operators, 1987
47 x 25 x 6 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 64

Singers, 1987
47 x 25 x 6 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 64

The Three Stooges, 1987
19 x 48 in.
Private Collection
See p. 158

1988
Traveling the Dangerous Roads, 1988
50 x 121 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama.
See p. 88

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

175

Sculptures from the series referenced as “can men”
Untitled (man), c. 1988
20 x 11 x 6 in.
Private Collection
See p. 114

Untitled, c. 1988
32.5 x 12 x 5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 115

Bird-Catcher Lady, c. 1988
31.75 x 9.25 x 7 in.
Private Collection
See pp. 110, 1412

Untitled, c. 1988
10.25 x 22 x 4 in.
Private Collection
See p. 114

Untitled. c. 1988
15.25 x 4.5 x 2.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 111

Untitled, c. 1988
10.5 x 2.5 x 3.5 in.
Private Collection
See pp. 115, 1412

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

176

Untitled, c. 1988
9 x 12 x 3 in.
Private Collection
See pp. 114, 1412

Untitled, c. 1988
9.5 x 12.5 x 4.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 115

Untitled, c. 1988
11 x 2.5 x 2.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 111

Untitled, c. 1988
9.5 x 4 x 2.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 111

Untitled, c. 1988
14.5 x 11.5 x 5 in.
Private Collection
See pp. 62, 1412

Untitled, c. 1988
18 x 4 x 4.5 in.
Private Collection
See pp. 114, 1412

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

177

1988-1989
The Little Tigers and the Man that Came to the Jungle, 1988-1989
51 x 51 x 3 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 65

1989
Everybody Loves the Movie Star Lady, 1989
48 x 60 x 6 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 41

Fishing for Business, 1989
39.5 x 50 x 12.5 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 24

Life Picture; World Picture; Strategy; Hard Trials and Tribulations, 1989
49 x 121 in.
Private Collection
See p. 136

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

178

Nobody Know What Go on Behind the Jungle, 1989
48 x 96 x .5 in.
Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art, Gift of Doug McCraw
Birmingham, Alabama
photo by M. Sean Pathesema
See p. 149

Struggling Tiger, 1989
60 x 84 in.
Collection of Robert S. Taubman
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
photo courtesy of Robert S. Taubman
See p. 140

Untitled, 1989
51 x 51 x 7 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 18

1989-1990
An Up and Down Life Picture, c. 1989-1990
60 x 36 x 3 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 36

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

179

1990
This is What People Like to Wear When They Out for Business, 1990
22.5 x 30 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 48

The Tiger in Control of His Jungle, 1990
60 x 84 x 3 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 23

The Tigers Will Protect the Ladies, 1990
Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University
Gift of Calynne and Lou Hill
Auburn, Alabama
photo courtesy of the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
See p. 17

Untitled, 1990
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 156

Untitled, 1990
31 x 22.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 71

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

180

Untitled, 1990
30 x 22 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 71

1991
The Indian Is Still Here, 1991
48 x 48 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 58

The Ladies Will Hold the Long Neck Bird, 1991
Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University
Gift of Calynne and Lou Hill
Auburn, Alabama
photo Courtesy of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
See p. 17

Shedding the Blood, 1991
47 x 60.5 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 40

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

181

Upsidedown Lady with the Longneck Tiger, 1991
30 x 22 in.
Collection of the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, UAB
Gift of Rebecca & Jack Drake
Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 157

Untitled, 1991
22 x 30 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia.
See p. 106

Untitled, 1991
32 x 22 in.
Collection of the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, UAB
Gift of Rebecca & Jack Drake
Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 154

1992
Climbing the Tree of Life - The Long Yellow Man and the Alligator, 1992
68 x 50 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 39

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

182

How Things Work: The Parade of Life, 1992
65 x 88.5 x 8 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 82

No Right in the Wrong, 1992
60 x 90 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 102

1993
Life Begin at the Tail, 1993
30 x 44.25 in.
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association
Montgomery, Alabama
photo Courtesy of Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
See p. 100

Looking for the Treasures in the Big Man’s Yard, 1993
84 x 60 x 10 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 86

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

183

1994
Always in Your Face, 1994
45.625 x 29.5 in.
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association (purchase)
Montgomery, Alabama
photo Courtesy of Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
See p. 101

Flea Market, 1994
30 x 22.25 in.
The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at The University of Alabama
Gift of Richard & Theresa Zaden
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
photo courtesy of the Paul R. Jones Museum
See p. 16

Game Time (Contest), 1994
41.5 x 29.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 72

Performing (Watching Sports), 1994
30 x 22 in.
Private Collection
See p. 70

Time Clock, 1994
26 x 19.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 28

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

184

World Peace, 1994
75.5 x 41.5 x 6.5 in.
Collection of Robert S. Taubman
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
photo courtesy of Robert S. Taubman
See p. 77

1995
Posing with a Laying Bird (1995
26 x 19.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 29

1996
Coming in From the Background, 1996
54 x 62 x 8 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
photo courtesy of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
See p. 12

Untitled, 1996
31 x 22.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 25

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

185

1991/1997
Untitled (Bird, Cat Sculpture/Lady and Tiger Painting), 1991/1997
30 x 68 x 15 in.
Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art
Gift of Doug McCraw
Birmingham, Alabama
photo by M. Sean Pathesema
See p. 1312

1997
The County, 1997
64 x 36 x 7 in.
Collection of Brett & Lester Levy, Jr.
Dallas, Texas
photo courtesy of Brett & Lester Levy, Jr.
See p. 51

The Penny Girls, 1997
30 x 44 in.
Private Collection
See p. 60

1998
Scratching for Life, 1998
48 x 48 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 146

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

186

1999
Changing the Life: Any Man Can Move a Mountain, 1999
72 x 84 x 8 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 145

Lines of the Tree of Life, 1999
30 x 22 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia.
See p. 108

2000
Business on the Road, 2000
47 x 45 x 10 in.
Private Collection
See p. 76

2003
Changes of the Moon, 2003
76 x 61 x 4.5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 135

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

187

Homeless, 2003
41.5 x 29 in.
Private Collection
See p. 50

Looking Out, 2003
30 x 22 in.
Private Collection
See p. 71

Secretaries at Work, 2003
30 x 22 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 161

The Way a German Man Makes Art, 2003
44 x 30 in.
Private Collection
See p. 73

2005
Clara’s Dream, 2005
72 x 72 in.
Private Collection
See p. 57

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

188

Having Nothing is Having Everything, 2005
74 x 84 x 30 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 46

Untitled, 2005
14 x 8.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 107

Untitled, 2005
14 x 8.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 109

Untitled, 2005
14 x 8.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 109

Untitled, 2005
14 x 8.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 109

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

189

Untitled, 2005
14 x 8.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 109

Untitled, 2005
8.5 x 14 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 20

2007
Fairfield, 2007
94 x 70 in.
Private Collection
See p. 10

Walking into Yesterday, 2007
80 x 58 in.
Private Collection
See p. 139

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

190

2008
Lost Americans, 2008
72 x 96 x 13.5 in.
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association (purchase)
Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection
Montgomery, Alabama
photo Courtesy of Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
See p. 98

2009
Always Down to Pray for Help, (Always Down to Pray for Help, verso), 2009
30 x 44 in.
Private Collection
See p. 49

January 20, 2009, 2009
47 x 31.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 92

January 20, 2009, 2009
30 x 44.25 in.
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia.
See p. 94

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

191

2010
February, 2010
48 x 57 x 3 in.
Private Collection
See p. 52

Looking Back, Fear No Evil, 2010
84 x 96 x 12 in.
Private Collection
See p. 84

2012
In the Mind of Emelle, 2012
48 x 59 x 6 in.
Collection of Robert S. Taubman
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
photo courtesy of Robert S. Taubman
See p. 78

Pain and Joy (Everyday Life), 2012
45 x 46 x 8 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 148

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

192

2014
In Honor of the Last Flower, 2014
38 x 41 x 8 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 203

Love on the Kitchen Floor, 2014
48 x 60 x 5 in.
Private Collection
See p. 118

2015
Antioch, 2015
72 x 96 in.
Private Collection
See p. 89, back cover

Migration, 2015
Private Collection
See p. 144

Patching the Wounds, 2015
63 x 81 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 91

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

193

Separation, 2015
64 x 84 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 85

Sunset, 2015
64 x 72 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 90

Undated
Advertising, undated
55 x 77 x 30 in. (sculpture)
30 x 38 in. (collage)
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett
Atlanta, Georgia
See p. 55

Blown Away, undated
14 x 13.5 in.
Collection of Rebecca & Jack Drake
Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 56

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

194

By the Roses, undated
30 x 30 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 8

Circus Bird, undated
39.5 x 27.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial.
McCalla, Alabama.
See p. 165

Counting Birds, undated
39.5 x 27.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 113

The Dreaming Tiger, undated
Collection of Rebecca & Jack Drake.
Birmingham, Alabama.
See p. 162

Face to Face with the Tiger, undated
22 x 28 in.
Collection of Rebecca & Jack Drake
Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 22

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

195

Falling From the Top, undated
30 x 22 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 43

Fighting Tiger, undated
7 x 9.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 129

Gymnastic Girl, undated
12.5 x 12.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 56

Having a Bad Day, undated
39.5 x 27.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama.
See p. 68

Holding Up the Roses, undated
39.5 x 27.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 131

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

196

It’s My Birthday, undated
13 x 14 in.
Private Collection
See p.

Jumping for Joy, undated
16 x 15 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 56

On the Tiger Back, undated
9.5 x 12 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 129

One Eye Open, One Closed, undated
39.5 x 27.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 83

Protestor, (Protestor, verso), undated
30x22 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 97

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

197

Shadow of the Rainbow, undated
24.5 x 19 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama
See p. 112

She’s Searching for the Poo Hog While He’s Cracking Nuts, undated
Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University
Gift of J. Mark Jones
Auburn, Alabama
photo courtesy of the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
See p. 17

Slave Ship, undated
41.5 x 29.5 in.
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial
McCalla, Alabama.
See p. 96

Stepping Up, undated
Collection of Michael Straus
Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 155

Time Alone, undated
30 x 22 in.
Collection of Rebecca & Jack Drake
Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 128

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

198

Twisting Around the Colors, undated
12.5 x 12.5 in.
Collection of Rebecca & Jack Drake
Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 56

Wrestling with the Cat, undated
22 x 30 in.
Collection of Rebecca & Jack Drake
Birmingham, Alabama.
See p. 130

Untitled, undated
49 x 35 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 19

Untitled, undated
50 x 36 in.
Collection of Doug McCraw
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 127

Untitled, undated
Collection of Lydia Cheney & Jim Sokol
Birmingham, Alabama
See p. 153

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

199

Referenced Works (No Photo Unavailable)
Everybody Got a Right to the Tree of Life, 1988
48 x 102.5 in.
Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Gift of Ron & June Shelp
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Last Day of Martin Luther King, 1992
80 x 113.5 x 4.5 in
Collection of Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Beginning of Life in the Yellow Jungle, 2003
Collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
partial Gift of Debbie Simon & Tim Grumbacher and museum purchase
Washington, DC

Feeding the Cupola, 2012
Private Collection

It’s Just Life, 2015
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial

The Black Tree of Life
Private Collection

By Myself (Wondering about Life)
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

200

Grinder (The Long Life of the Working Man)
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett

Hot and Cold (Life in the Rolling Mill)
Private Collection

Life Go On in the Tiger’s Jungle
Collection of the Estate of William Sidney Arnett

People Who Looked for a Better Life and Didn’t Get It
Private Collection

Pig’s Life
Private Collection

Rough Road through the Beautiful Life
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial

Scrambling for Life
Private Collection

The Spirit of Life
Private Collection

The Way of Life: The Freedom Picture
Private Collection

All artwork by Thornton Dial Sr. All photos by Jerry Siegel unless otherwise noted. © 2022 Estate of
Thornton Dial / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photos not available at press time are noted.

201

Acknowledgments
Special thanks are extended to all the artists, galleries, and collectors involved in the exhibition. Thank you
to all the members and supporters of AEIVA—without you this exhibition and programming would not be
possible. Thank you to the Alabama Humanities Alliance, Doug McCraw, and the National Endowment for
the Arts for their generous support of this exhibition and its programs. Finally, we extend our gratitude to the
Dial family, whose partnership in telling their father’s story was essential to the creation of this exhibition.

202

In Honor of the Last Flower, 2014 203
Collection of the Estate of Thornton Dial

I'd tell him, "You got something great right there, man. That's nice." I mean, I love it. I
mean, I love his work. I love all his work. It could be a sculpture. It could be works on
paper. It could be a canvas. I mean, I just love all of it. I love all his work.

- Dan Dial

204