Josephus Farmer - Artist Info

About Josephus Farmer

  • Biography from Rago Arts and Auction Center

    Josephus Farmer, an African-American Pentecostal minister and itinerant preacher, is known for the bas-relief woodcarvings and banners he used as preaching tools. Born in Tennessee in 1894, the son and grandson of enslaved people, Farmer felt himself called to the ministry in 1922. He supported himself with working class jobs and through the sale of his art. His works are in many private collections, as well as the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Josephus Farmer passed away in 1989.

** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at .

Share an image of the Artist: .