Lot 768: Herbert Singleton (American/New Orleans,

Herbert Singleton (American/New Orleans, 1945-2007) "Big Hat Willie - Chained in Evil Love", painted and bas-relief carved on found chifferobe door, titled at top and bottom of panel, 44-1/4" x 15-3/4"; together with Two Painted and Carved Wood Ceremonial Walking Sticks, vividly decorated, both with carved African masks as handles, h. 36". Note: Herbert Singleton was a self-taught artist known for his brightly painted bas-relief carvings depicting poverty, drug abuse and the crime that affected his neighborhood. In this work, Singleton illustrates the ill-fated love story of Big Hat Willie, a notorious pimp, and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend. The young girl's parents killed the lovers as represented by the artist's placement of a coffin at the bottom of the panel. His work is in the public collections of The Ogden Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.