Awesome figural tin cut out by R.A. Miller (R.I.P 2006) one of Georgia's most celebrated Outsider folk artists! This is a great tin double flag Statue of Liberty cut out!! R.A. hand cut out all of his tin figures, flags and animals and this Lady Liberty is no exception. Paint pens and sharpie pen details, signed on front at bottom. There is a bonus design on the backside (see pic) that was another art piece at one time and R.A. decided to turn into this piece instead! Fantastic treasure to add to your folk art collection! * We have several wonderful R. A. Miller folk art pieces available in the shop so check our other listings, we will happily combine orders to save on shipping!

R. A. Miller, was a resident of Rabbittown, an unincorporated community north of Gainesville, was one of the state's enduring beloved self-taught artists, noted for his "whirligigs," or metal cutout figures and drawings, which typically feature animal or human figures some with short inspirational messages. Born on July 22, 1912, on the property where he lived for most of his life, Reuben Aaron Miller worked in cotton mills, farmed, and served as a preacher for the Free Will Baptist Church. When chronic eye problems began to limit Miller's activities, he started making whirligigs to pass the time. Although Miller's early whirligigs sometimes featured mechanical figures, most were decorated with flat animal or human shapes, cut from tin and painted in enamel. Miller typically attached these cutouts to horizontal wooden supports, ranging from standard two-by-two lumber to salvaged furniture arms and legs. Tin paddles were cut, painted, and attached to wooden cross forms or bicycle wheels to provide surfaces for the wind to catch.

By the mid-1980s Miller's yard was a spectacle a hilltop field of hundreds of spinning windmills. His animated environment attracted frequent visitors, including Athens rock group R.E.M., who in 1984, with painter and filmmaker James Herbert, filmed a twenty-minute video, Left of Reckoning, on Miller's hilltop. R.A. produced paintings and drawings in enamel or marker on masonite, these works include human figures, animals, and dinosaurs, which share space with such short inspirational messages as "Lord Love You" and are surrounded by simple decorative borders.

Miller's work has been included in such exhibitions as Outside the Mainstream: Folk Art in Our Time at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta (1988) and Passionate Visions of the American South at the New Orleans Museum of Art in Louisiana (October 1993-January 1994). Further exhibitions, the inclusion of his work in museums' permanent collections, and articles in such international publications as Raw Vision have contributed to Miller's status as an elder statesman among Georgia's self-taught artists.

In 2004 Miller lost his sight to an eye infection and moved to a nursing home in Commerce, where he died in March 2006. The month before his death, an exhibition of his work entitled R. A. Miller: A Tribute opened at the Brenau University Galleries.

Lady Liberty is in great vintage condition! The usual preloved light surface scuff & scratch wear here and there to the finish from years of adding charm to our home, but nothing that distracts from this wonderful R.A treasure of folk art history. Please see enlarged pics for best description and details.

Makers Mark: Signed: R. A. Miller on front  

Approximate size: 14-1/2" tall by 4-1/2" wide at bottom   •   Weight: 4oz before packing material and shipping box

We adore combining items to save $ on shipping & our footprint! International buyers please ask for quote to your country for the most economical shipping options.

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