Naomi Polk

1892 - 1984

Naomi Polk was born in 1892 in Houston, Texas. Her father was part Cherokee and her maternal grandmother had been brought here from Africa as a slave.  Her grandmother’s vivid stories of Africa provided subject matter for Naomi’s paintings in later years.  Polk tried various things to make extra money.   Though she only completed 6th grade, Polk considered her true life’s work to be writing and making art.  She wrote poetry and kept a diary of life in the Fourth Ward.  A fire destroyed her home and possessions including her journals and paintings in 1961.  She devoted the rest of her life to rewriting and repainting all the work that was lost.  Like most self-taught artists, Naomi Polk selected her media without concern for archival stability.  She worked with found materials, mixing oil based enamel paint with whatever agent was available, often kerosene or turpentine.  She painted on a variety of surfaces like old cloth window shades, ceiling tiles, wood scraps, and cardboard.  The main influences on her art and her writing were her deep religious beliefs, her strong sense of her African American heritage, the deep sense of racial inequality she felt throughout her life, and her growing awareness of her own mortality.  Polk died in 1984 without experiencing recognition as an artist.  ⁷