1950 – 2018, Alabama
ANNIE TOLLIVER
A short drive around the corner from Mose T’s Montgomery home lives his daughter Annie. Entering her house we could see a figure sat painting in front of a screen door, the light from outside creating a silhouette, making it difficult for us to see just who it was. “Are you Annie?” Karen called out. “Yes, I’m Annie”, replied the silhouette timidly. “Come on in, have a look around.”
Annie Tolliver began painting in the mid 1980’s. Her father, unable to keep up with the demand from galleries and collectors, taught his children to paint in his style. They would paint for him, and then Mose would sign his signature “Mose T” (with a backward “s” of course). While some collectors are shocked by this and will want to reevaluate their collection, others don’t mind because family enterprise falls into the definition of folk art.
By 1989, Annie had begun to develop her own unique style and began to sign her paintings “Annie T”. While there are distinct similarities between Annie and her father’s “pictures”, Annie’s paintings depict memories of her childhood, growing up with her brothers and sisters in a large family. Annie is prone to utilizing more detail in her work and she also uses more vibrant colours than her father does.