Clementine Hunter

1886 - 1988

Clementine Hunter was the granddaughter of a slave, born on a plantation in northwestern Louisiana. In her teens, the family moved to Melrose Plantation, near Natchitoches in the same county. Hunter remained there for most of her adult life. She gave birth to seven children and worked as a cotton picker and farm hand, and from the 1920’s, as a house maid. Melrose was unusual in that it housed an arts and community center. Hunter’s work as a maid, which included quilting and the decorative domestic arts, brought her incipient artistic talent to the attention of the center’s curator who suggested she paint. The plantation was a rich source of inspiration, though Hunter claimed her main impetus came from God and his creations. She painted every day, after finishing her chores. Beginning with house paint on card or wood panels and other found materials, she later moved on to watercolors, oils and canvas. Her narrative paintings, almost entirely lacking in perspective, document scenes of plantation life, including funerals, weddings, church-going and people at leisure. She also created floral still life and pastoral scenes with animals, painting simple forms in bright colors with bold brushstrokes, set against warm backgrounds. ¹