NORM BROTHERS - MEET THE COLLECTOR SERIES PART SIXTY-SIX

I was introduced to Norm Brothers at the Outsider Art Fair in New York earlier this year and it has been fun to get to know Norm and to place a work in his collection. Norm, residing in Atlanta, features as part sixty-six in my Meet the Collector Series.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? And what do you do for work now?
I am a Corporate attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. But my roots are in the Northeast. I grew up in Rhode Island and went to college in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). I was a first-generation college student and paid for college through an ROTC scholarship—I served on active duty in the Army for several years after law school to fulfill my commitment. Law school and my first duty assignment in the Army brought me to Georgia, and when my commitment was finished, I started working for a large law firm in Atlanta and have been here ever since.

2. What year did your interest in the field of outsider/folk art begin, and what was it that triggered this interest?
In Atlanta during the mid-90’s, I lived and worked in a neighborhood that was close to a gallery called “Modern Primitive” owned by Mark Karelson that featured self-taught artists. I was immediately taken with the accessibility of the work. If memory serves, Mark had several Minnie Evans and some Sybil Gibson works that he showed me. But most importantly, he turned me onto the Rosenak paperback American Folk Art: A Collectors Guide and The Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists. I immediately purchased both books. The paperback Collector’s guide went with me everywhere. Mark also recommended I subscribe to the Museum of American Folk Art Magazine and Raw Vision—and I was off and running.

At that time, there were several galleries like Modern Primitive in Atlanta that focused on Self-Taught Art, such as Archer/Locke (a venture between Barbara Archer and Charles Locke) and Dave Knoke at Knoke Galleries. There also was Steve Slotin’s annual Folk Fest that in those early days had quality items and gallerists attending. Thousands of people would turn out over the long weekend. We also are fortunate in Atlanta to have the High Museum that continues to have a commitment to the field with a dedicated and passionate full-time curator—Katie Jentleson.

Norm’s first purchase of a Jake McCord, that still hangs in his home today

3. When did you become a collector of this art? How many pieces do you think are in your collection now? And do you exhibit any of it on the walls of your home or elsewhere? Also do you mix this art alongside contemporary art pieces?
Interestingly, while I loved the art, I was initially uncomfortable with calling myself a “collector.” I didn’t have much money as a young professional and the idea of collecting art seemed a luxury. But although you could argue I started “late,” there were some important local artists still creating that I could visit and afford. My first purchase was of an early Jake McCord. I drove down to Thompson, Georgia one Saturday morning from Atlanta with a couple of hundred dollars in my pocket to meet Tom Wells, who discovered and worked with Jake. Tom introduced me to Jake and showed me the only work he had available for sale. Jake would display his work outside of his house but would not sell them until they were “ready.” The work was a big old spotted cat with pink whiskers painted on plywood. The piece had been hanging in a local barbershop in Thompson for a decade before it was returned to Tom after the owner passed away. He accepted the cash I had on hand for the Cat and a small ZB Armstrong (also from Thompson) doomsday calendar—my journey as a collector had officially started. I now have around 50 pieces in my collection that I have displayed in my home and office at work.

4. What style of work, if any, is of particular interest to you within this field? (for example, is it embroidery, drawing, painting, sculpture?)
I think my eye tends toward drawings and paintings, but more recently some sculptures and carvings. For me the context of the work is very important. While I did not have the opportunity to meet or know many of the artists in my collection, I tend to exhaustively research and learn about an artist that I bring into my collection before I acquire—to hone my eye, but so that when I live with a piece, the backstory and history of the artist is inextricably intertwined for me with what I see when I look at the art.

A William Edmonson bird and photographs relating to William’s other works and a portrait

5. A conflicted term at present, but can you tell us about your opinion of the term outsider art, how you feel about it and if there are any other words that you think we should be using instead? Also, what term you tend to use for the art that you have?
I am not an academic and have not engaged in this debate. For me, self-taught feels right because it captures the essence of how most of these artists developed their own form of self-expression generally without formal training or outside influence.

6. Would you say you had a favorite artist or piece of work within your collection? And why?
I think the almost modernist impulse of Traylor and Edmondson would put them at the top of my list. But Yoakum may be the artist right now that I could not live without. I have a piece from each period of his career. While he is an amazing colorist, and the popular focus is generally on these later works, I find his earlier line drawings to be sublime and my favorites—I could stare at them all day. I also love Frank Jones. He is underappreciated and I own several of his smaller works, that are gems.

7. Where would you say you buy most of your work from: galleries, studios, art fairs, exhibitions, auctions, or direct from artists?
It is a mix for sure. I have purchased great pieces from all the above. More recently, as I have tried to add only “A” pieces to my collection, almost exclusively from galleries or private sale. I have learned a lot and my collection has benefited from my relationships with Frank Maresca, Yolanda Farias, Claire Iltis, Shari Cavin, Duff Lindsay and Karen Lennox.

8. Is there an exhibition in this field of art that you have felt has been particularly important? And why?
The Yoakum exhibit, What I Saw, at MOMA was incredible. I think it may have provided a unique “cross-over” opportunity for fine art patrons not as familiar with the field to see and appreciate one of the masters in a spectacular and unforgettable exhibition. While visiting MOMA for that show, it was wonderful to see other self-taught artists on display that are part of MOMA’s permanent collection, such as Minnie Evans, Frank Jones, and Henry Darger.

Three Frank Jones drawings hanging in Norm’s home

9. Are there any people within this field that you feel have been particularly important to pave the way for where the field is at now?
I think the gallerists I mentioned have been vitally important to maintaining the integrity of the work, creating and maintaining the market, and of course supporting the artists and their estates with integrity. I also would mention collectors that have selflessly donated important works to museums so that future generations will be able to appreciate the best work in this area. Someone like Marshall Hahn comes to mind, who donated his best pieces to the High Museum, and they now serve as an anchor to their world class collection.

This is something all collectors with important pieces should consider. Trying to practice what I preach, I am very excited about 26 of Inez Nathaniel Walker’s earliest drawings that I am donating to the High Museum this year. I acquired the work from the daughter of Elizabeth Bayley, the English teacher that discovered and supported Inez’s creative output while she was incarcerated. Although Inez was part of the Corcoran’s seminal Black Folk Art in America exhibit, I feel that she remains very much underappreciated. I am excited to see what Katie Jentleson and the High Museum will do with these works to broadly share her story and brilliance.

Bill Traylor and three Martin Ramirez works in Norm’s office

10. Are there any artists that you are still looking to add to your collection and why? And are there any that you wished you had but maybe they now seem a little out of reach?
Most recently I have been focused on an adjacency—loosely the Chicago Imagists. I have been very interested in how some of these artists (Jim Nutt, Karl Wirsum, Ray Yoshida, Roger Brown, Gladys Nilsson, etc.) befriended, supported, and collected self-taught artists like Joseph Yoakum when they were students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In fact, many of the works in the Yoakum MOMA exhibit were from the personal collections of Brown, Nutt and Nilsson, and Yoshida. I also find it interesting that there was some cross-over in that some of these Chicago artists were represented early on by Phyllis Kind and then director Karen Lennox (as were many self-taught artists over the years). I saw an interview of Jim Nutt and Gladys Nilsson at their home and there was an exquisite Yoakum prominently displayed. And I saw another article with an image of Roger Brown’s workspace with a William Dawson figurative sculpture that I like to think he looked to for inspiration. I am not sure where this will lead, but I am enjoying the journey very much.

11. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Jennifer, thank you for doing these interviews and supporting this area with your gallery. Your recent recognition of Roger Cardinal was wonderful and appreciated. And a special thanks for the Yoakum you placed in my collection that previously was owned by Roger (and Phyllis Kind before that)!