Purvis Young was born in the poor neighborhood of Liberty City in Miami. In the early 1960s, he spent three years in prison for armed robbery. There he began drawing with passion and searched for information on art. After his release, he continued to produce thousands of drawings, which he accumulated in shopping carts or glued in old magazines or books that he found. He used as support pieces of wood, bottles, anything that he got hold of. He represented buildings, animals (especially horses), boats, people on the street, or faces of angels. Sometimes he added a poetic message on his paintings. Despite certain success, he continued to live in poverty, blending in the “landscape” of the deserted streets of Overtown. His art — as well as his technique — are difficult to classify: calligraphy, collage, graffiti?
YOUNG purvis
