David Butler
(1898-1997) Patterson, LA
David Butler created an outdoor environment around his home in southeast Louisiana, filling his yard with brightly painted tin cutouts, whirligigs, and other assemblages. He was one of the artists featured in the groundbreaking Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980 traveling exhibition which debuted at the Corcoran in D.C. in 1982. Like many other artists in that show, the exposure led to a sudden increase in interested visitors to his home, which had both positive and negative effects. (His art became widely known and collected, though it led to a dismantling, via purchase and theft, of what, in its prime, must have been an incredible art environment.)
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