JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Joe Adams, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Outsider Art and Folk Art," has opened the royal vaults to consign more than 600 works of art on May 30, 2009, at the Kimball M. Sterling gallery in Johnson City, Tennessee. Internet live bidding will be available through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
According to auctioneer Kimball Sterling, the Adams collection is one of the largest single collections of outsider and folk art ever to be offered at public auction. The collection reflects a passion ignited in the early 1980s.
"Mr. Adams has been an avid collector for more than 25 years and loved hitting the Blue Highways (rural roads, off the beaten path) of the South in search of artists and their art," said Sterling. "He often wrote about them for Raw Vision and other publications."
Adams has been an active member of the Museum of American Folk Art and the Folk Art Society of America, and was on the founding board of the South Carolina Folk Art and Craft Museum as well as a founding patron of the American Visionary Art Museum. He serves on the National Advisory Board of the Folk Art Society of America and has curated more than a dozen exhibitions of folk art for museums and art centers, including a major exhibition in Union Station in Washington, DC.
"He likes the idea of taking art to the people. It gives new meaning to the term outreach," Sterling said. "He also did a chicken folk art show for the National Chicken Cook-off."
Adams and his daughter, Laura Carpenter, founded America. Oh, Yes! Folk Art Gallery and at one time, had galleries in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Hilton Head Island, S.C.
"Openings at the Washington D.C. gallery were like Saturday night at Studio 54," said Sterling. "They had to hire college students to keep the lines of people in order."
Another honor bestowed on Adams was being asked to serve on President Clinton's Advisory Committee for the Arts. When asked by a colleague what he advised the President, Adams said, "I told him to buy anything that had a picture of Elvis on it. He loved Elvis, and his Presidential Library has a big collection of Elvis art."
Adams is a popular speaker and loves telling people about folk art. He has done speeches at the Corcoran Museum of Art, the Arkansas Museum of Art, The Telfair Museum, and many other regional museums. He has often loaned his art for touring exhibitions.
Many pieces in the May 30 auction are from Joe Adams' private collection. A number of artworks may be traced back to important earlier collections. "Mr. Adams bought the best Willey Masseys from the Smith Collection, art from the Gitter-Yellen Collection, the Oh Appalachia Collection, Warren and Sylvia Lowe Collection, the James Smith Pearce Collection and many more," said Sterling.
For questions about any lot in the sale, contact Kimball Sterling at 423-928-1471.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet on www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
 Click here to view Kimball M. Sterling Inc.'s complete catalog.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
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