Bessie Harvey
Encyclopedia
Bessie Harvey was an American
artist
best known for her sculptures constructed out of found objects, primarily pieces of found wood. Harvey was the seventh of thirteen children born to Homer and Rosie Mae White. At the age of fourteen she married Charles Harvey, from whom she separated in her early twenties and relocated independently to Alcoa, Tennessee
. In 1977 Harvey began working at Blount Memorial Hospital where she first began to exhibit her artwork. In 1995 Harvey was included in the Whitney Biennial
at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her work "Cross Bearers" was subsequently purchased by the museum for its permanent collection. Work by Bessie Harvey may be found in the permanent collections of the Knoxville Museum of Art
and the American Folk Art Museum
, New York.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
best known for her sculptures constructed out of found objects, primarily pieces of found wood. Harvey was the seventh of thirteen children born to Homer and Rosie Mae White. At the age of fourteen she married Charles Harvey, from whom she separated in her early twenties and relocated independently to Alcoa, Tennessee
Alcoa, Tennessee
Alcoa is a city in Blount County, Tennessee, United States, south of Knoxville. Its population was 7,744 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. In 1977 Harvey began working at Blount Memorial Hospital where she first began to exhibit her artwork. In 1995 Harvey was included in the Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her work "Cross Bearers" was subsequently purchased by the museum for its permanent collection. Work by Bessie Harvey may be found in the permanent collections of the Knoxville Museum of Art
Knoxville Museum of Art
The Knoxville Museum of Art is a contemporary art museum located at 1050 World's Fair Park in Knoxville, Tennessee. The KMA is committed to developing exhibitions by emerging artists of national and international reputation.- History :...
and the American Folk Art Museum
American Folk Art Museum
The American Folk Art Museum is a museum devoted to American folk art, as well as the work of international self-taught artists. It has branches at 45 West 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, in Midtown Manhattan .In May 2011 the Museum of Modern Art bought its 53rd Street location...
, New York.