Born in Emelle, AL, 1928
Died in McCalla, AL, 2016
One-Person Exhibitions
2023
Handwriting on the Wall, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
2022
I, Too, Am Alabama, curated by Paul Barrett, Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL; traveling to Samford University Art Gallery, Birmingham, AL and Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL
Year of the Tiger, David Lewis Gallery, East Hampton, NY
2021
Allegory and History, David Lewis Gallery, New York, NY
The Earliest Years: 1987–1989, Parker Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2020
Dial World Part I: The Tiger That Flew Over New York City, David Lewis Gallery, New York, NY
Trip to the Mountaintop, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
2018
Mr. Dial's America, David Lewis Gallery, New York, NY
2016
Green Pastures: In Memory of Thornton Dial, Sr., High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
We All Live Under the Same Old Flag, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY
2015
Works on Paper, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY
2014
Independent Projects, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY
2013
Daybreak, Bill Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2012
Thoughts on Paper, curated by Jonathan Ferrara, Ackland Art Museum at UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; traveled to Fleming Museum of Art at University of Vermont, Burlington, VT; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL; Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN; Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Viewpoint of the Foundry Man, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY Virginia Union University and Art Gallery, Richmond, VA
2011
Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN; traveled to New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Disaster Areas, Bill Lower Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2005
Thornton Dial in the 21st Century, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
2000
Drawings, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York, NY
1998
His Spoken Dreams, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York, NY
1995
Abstraction in the Art of Thornton Dial, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA
1993
Image of the Tiger, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY and American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY; traveled to American Center, Paris, France; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
1992
Works on Paper, Luise Ross Gallery, New York, NY
1990
Strategy of the World, Southern Queens Park Association/African-American Hall of Fame, Jamaica, NY
Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Ladies of the United States, Library Art Gallery, Kennesaw State College, Marietta, GA
Group Exhibitions
2023
Souls Grown Deep like the Rivers: Black Artists from the American South, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
2022
“I made this…”: The Work of Black American Artists and Artisans, Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA
Anyone Can Move a Mountain, Maus Contemporary, Birmingham, AL
Recent Acquisitions: Additions to the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at The University of Alabama 2015 – 2022, Paul R. Jones Museum, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
Black Abstractionists: From Then ‘til Now, curated by Dexter Wimberly, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX
Summer At Its Best, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, NY
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.
Old and New Dreams: Recent Acquisitions in a Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Drawers: Provocative Drawings, curated by Laura Hutson Hunter, OZ Arts, Nashville, TN
Us Them We: Race, Ethnicity, Identity, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA
Elegy: Lament in the 20th Century, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Living Legacies: Art of the African American South, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
2021
Now Is The Time: Recent Acquisitions to the Contemporary Collection, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
Another Tradition: Drawings by Black Artists from the American South, Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY
2020
An Alternative Canon: Art Dealers Collecting Outsider Art, curated by Paul Laster, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY
We Will Walk – Art and Resistance in the American South, Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK
Folk and Self-Taught Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.
Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
African American Art in the 20th Century, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C. and Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA; traveled to Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Winter Park, FL; Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA
Vernacular Woman, Ricco/Maresca, New York, NY
2019
Cosmologies from the Tree of Life: Art from the African American South, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, VA
Souls Grown Deep: Artists of the African American South, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Home Is a Foreign Place, Met Breuer, New York, NY
Artists I Steal From, curated by Alvaro Barrington and Julia Peyton-Jones, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London, UK Memory Palaces: Inside the Collection of Audrey B. Heckler, American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY
2018
Beverly Buchanan, Thornton Dial and the Gee's Bend Quiltmakers, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY History Refused to Die: Highlights from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation Gift, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
2017
Revelations: Art from the African-American South, de Young Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA
Known/Unknown: Private Obsession and Hidden Desire in Outsider Art, Museum of Sex, New York, NY
2016
Southern Accent: Seeking the American South in Contemporary Art, Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, NC; traveled to Speed Museum of Art, Louisville, KY
Post Black Folk Art in America 1930–1980–2016, Intuit Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago, IL
2015
I See Myself in You: Selections from the Collection, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
History Refused to Die, Alabama Contemporary Art Center, Mobile, AL
2014
When the Stars Begin to Fall: Imagination and the American South, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY Social Geographies: Interpreting Space and Place, curated by Leisa Rundquist, Asheville Museum of Art, Asheville, NC
2013
Seismic Shifts: Ten Visionaries in Contemporary Art and Architecture, National Academy Museum & School, New York, NY
2012
Thornton Dial and Lizzi Bougatsos, James Fuentes, New York, NY
Creation Story: Gee’s Bend Quilts and the Art of Thornton Dial, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN The Soul of a City: Memphis Collects African American Art, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN
2011
All Folked Up! Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY
2004
Testimony: Vernacular Art of the African-American South, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library and Exhibitions International, New York, NY; traveled to Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI; Columbia Museum and Gibbes Planetarium, Columbia, SC; AXA Gallery, New York, NY; Tubman African-American Museum, Macon, GA; Terrace Gallery, Orlando, FL
2003
In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., traveled to Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN; Memphis Brooks Museum of Fine Art, Memphis, TN; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI; Bass Museum of Art, Miami, FL
2000
Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
1999
African American Art: A Decade of Collecting, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
1998
Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century: An American Anthology, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1997
The Hirshhorn Collects: Recent Acquisitions 1992 - 1996, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Since Hall: New Acquisitions of Folk and Self-Taught Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Bearing Witness: African-American Vernacular Art of the South, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY
Human/Nature: Art and Landscape in Charleston and the Low Country, Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston, SC
1995
Passionate Visions of the American South: Self -Taught Artists from 1940 to the Present, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; traveled to University Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, University of California, Berkeley, CA; San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
1991
The Dial Family, Ricco/Maresca, New York, NY
1989
Black Art, Ancestral Legacy: The African Impulse in African American Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Catalogues
2023
Anderson, Maxwell L. Souls Grown Deep like the Rivers: Black Artists from the American South. Texts by Paul Goodwin and Raina Lampkins-Fielder. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2023.
2021
Jones, Phillip March, ed. Thornton Dial: The Earliest Years, 1987–1989. Los Angeles, CA: Parker Gallery, 2021.
2018
Finley, Cheryl, Randall R. Griffey, Amelia Peck, and Darryl Pinckney. My Soul Has Grown Deep: Black Art from the American South. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018.
2017
Burgard, Timothy Angin. Revelations: Art from the African American South. San Francisco: de Young Museum; Munich: Prestel, 2017.
Life Go On: The Art of Thornton Dial. Richmond, VA: Virginia Union University, 2017.
Moten, Fred. Black and Blur. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2017.
2012
Scala, Mark. Creation Story: Gee Bend Quilts and the Art of Thornton Dial. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2012.
Jones March, Philip and Karen Wilkin. Thornton Dial: Viewpoint of the Foundry Man. New York: Andrew Edlin Gallery, 2012.
Scala, Mark, ed. Creation Story: Gee’s Bend Quilts and the Art of Thornton Dial. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2012.
2011
Cubbs, Joanne and Eugene Metalf. Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial. Munich: DelMonico Books, 2011.
Herman, Bernard L. Thornton Dial: Thoughts on Paper. Chapel Hill, NC: Ackland Art Museum and University of North Carolina Press, 2011.
2007
Crown, Carol, and Charles Russell. Sacred and Profane: Voice and Vision in Southern Self-Taught Art. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2007.
2005
Arnett, Paul, Joanne Cubbs, and Eugene Metalf. Thornton Dial in the 21st Century. Atlanta: Tinwood Books, 2005.
2004
Fine, Gary Alan. Everyday Genius: Self-taught Art and the Culture of Authenticity. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2004.
2002
Giovanni, Nikki, Gary Miles Chassman, and Walter Leonard. In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Atlanta: Tinwood Books, 2002.
2001
Anderson, Brooke Davis and Stacy C. Hollander. American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
Conwill, Kinshasha and Arthur C. Danto. Testimony: Vernacular Art of the African-American South: The Ronald and June Shelp Collection. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
Russell, Charles, ed. Self-Taught Art: The Culture and Aesthetics of American Vernacular Art, Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2001.
2000
Arnett, William and Paul Arnett. Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art, Volumes 1 and 2. Atlanta: Tinwood Books, 2000.
1998
Longhauser, Elsa, Harald Szeemann, Lee Kogan, and Gerard C. Wertkin. Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century: An American Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998.
1997
Beardsley, John. Art and Landscape in Charleston and the Low Country. Charleston: Spoleto Festival, 1997.
1995
Griffin, Roberta T. Abstraction in the Art of Thornton Dial. Marietta, GA: Kennesaw State College, 1995.
1994
Hall, Michael D. and Eugene W. Metcalf Jr. The Artist Outsider: Creativity and the Boundaries of Culture. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994.
1993
Whelchel, Harriet and Margaret Donovan. Thornton Dial: Image of the Tiger. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993.
Yellen, Alice Rae, ed. Passionate Visions of the American South: Self Taught Artists from 1940 to the Present. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1993.
Johanson, Cynthia J. 20th Century American Folk, Self-Taught, and Outsider Art: A Resource Guide. Chicago: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1993.
1990
Rosenak, Cuck and Jan Rosenak. Museum of Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists. New York: Abbeville Press, 1990.
Bishop, Robert. Thornton Dial: Strategy of the World. New York: Southern Queens Park Association, 1990.
1989
Rozelle, Robert V. and Alvia Wardlaw. Black Art, Ancestral Legacy: The African Impulse in African American Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1989.
1983
Ferris, William R. Afro-American Folk Art and Crafts. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983.
Articles and Reviews
2023
McFadden, Jane. "Thornton Dial: Handwriting on the Wall." Brooklynrail.org, June 7, 2023.
Rahman, Sharmin. "Los Angeles’ Most Exciting Art Exhibits by Artists of Color." Shondaland.com, May 31, 2023.
Yohannes, Neyat. "Thornton Dial at Blum & Poe." Contemporaryartreview.la, May 25, 2023.
Garner, Alex. "PUBLISHER’S EYE: Thornton Dial." Artillerymag.com, May 4, 2023.
Vargas, Steven. "This exhibition of LGBTQ+ artists uses clay to embrace identity and community." Latimes.com, May 3, 2023.
2022
Thomason, Shannon. “UAB’s AEIVA Presents “I, Too, Am Alabama,” a Retrospective of Artist Thornton Dial Sr.” UAB.edu, July 11, 2022.
“The Best Booths at New York Art Week 2022.” Artsy.net, May 6, 2022.
Solomon, Tessa. “The 7 Best Booths at TEFAF New York 2022, from Raw Assemblages to Dazzling Arrays of Color.” ArtNews.com, May 6, 2022.
Downes, Annabel. “TEFAF and Independent Art Fair: Advisory Selections.” Ocula.com, May 5, 2022.
Acheampong, Nicole. “Looking Back to Fly Forward: ‘Another Tradition’ at the Morgan Library & Museum.” ArtNews.com, January 20, 2022.
2021
Cooper, Ashton. “Review: Thornton Dial at Parker Gallery.” Artforum (October 2021): 181.
2020
Berning Sawa, Dale. “America’s Deep South Heads to the UK’s South Coast for Remarkable Exhibition.” Theartnewspaper.com, February 4, 2020.
Thomas, Alexandra M. “Enter the Rich, Vibrant Worlds of Thornton Dial.” Hyperallergic.com, December 15, 2020.
2019
Heinrich, Will. “New York Galleries: What to See Right Now.” NYTimes.com, November 6, 2019.
Sheets, Hilary M. “There’s No Business Like Art Fair Business for Sanford Smith.” NYTimes.com, October 30, 2019.
Goldstein, Andrew. “5 Outstanding Works at Frieze London, From a Gripping Painting by Thornton Dial to Some Unsettling Photos by Cindy Sherman.” Artnet News, October 3, 2019.
Valentine, Victoria L. “Crystal Bridges Museum Announced 29 Acquisitions, Adding Works by Emma Amos, Jordan Casteel, Clementine Hunter, Henry O. Tanner, and Kehinde Wiley to Collection.” Culturetype.com, September 13, 2019.
Freeman, Nate. “What Sold at Art Basel in Basel.” Artsy.net, June 17, 2019.
Wolff, Natasha. “This Summer’s Can’t-Miss Art Fairs.” Forbes.com, June 6, 2019.
Curran, Colleen. “‘Our Goal Is to Be in the Top Three in the World When It Comes to African American Art,’ VMFA Opens Art from the African American South.” Richmond.com, June 6, 2019.
Ringle, Andrew. “New VMFA Exhibition Celebrates African American Art, Culture.” CommonwealthTimes.org, June 5, 2019.
Selvin, Claire. “Four U.S. Museums Acquire Works from Souls Grown Deep Foundation.” Artnews, April 29, 2019.
Nicholas, Elizabeth. “A Sotheby’s Vet Aims to Bring Downtown’s Spirit Uptown.” Garage.vice.com, January 21, 2019.
2018
Strugatch, Warren. “Filling Their Lives with Art, and Not Just One Piece at a Time.” NYTimes.com, November 22, 2018.
Montes, Bianca R. “DMA Acquires Works from Souls Grown Deep Foundation.” Peoplenewspapers.com, November 13, 2018.
Cascone, Sarah. “Making a Statement, Five Major Museums Acquire 51 Works by African American Artists from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation.” Artnet News, November 13, 2018.
Sheets, Hilarie M. “Five More Museums Acquire Art from Souls Grown Deep Foundation.” NYTimes.com, November 12, 2018.
Schwabsky, Barry. “A History of Salvage.” Thenation.com, October 18, 2018.
Sheets, Hilarie M. “High Museum of Art’s New Galleries Honour Their Public.” Theartnewspaper.com, October 12, 2018.
Fiske, Courtney. “Beverly Buchanan, Thornton Dial, and the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers.” Artforum (October 2018), 228.
The Editors of ARTNews. “Muses: Lonnie Holley on Thornton Dial, African Village in America, and Gee’s Bend Quilts.” Artnews.com, September 24, 2018.
Muelrath, Forrest. “Thornton Dial and Looking Good for the Price.” Hyperallergic.com, August 6, 2018.
“The Met Breuer’s Upcoming Exhibition Explores Abstract Expressionism.” Blouinartinfo.com, July 25, 2018.
Alexander, Aleesa P. “Thornton Dial Takes Fifth Ave.” Brooklynrail.org, July 11, 2018.
Kinsella, Eileen. “Does Being Labeled an ‘Outsider Artist’ Stall a Market? Thornton Dial, Now a Museum Sensation, Is Poised to Break Out.” Artnet News, June 29, 2018.
Scott, Andrea K. “An Invaluable, Incomplete Show of Black Southern Art at the Met.” Newyorker.com, June 18, 2018.
Wilkin, Karen. “‘History Refused to Die’ Review: A Visual Equivalent of Jazz.” Wsj.com, May 30, 2018.
Gomez, Edward M. “Outsider Art Comes to the Metropolitan Museum.” Hyperallergic.com, May 26, 2018.
Smith, Roberta. “At the Met, a Riveting Testament to Those Once Neglected.” NYTimes.com, May 24, 2018.
Allen, Brian. “The Met Unpacks its Souls Grown Deep Gift.” Theartnewspaper.com, May 23, 2018.
Stapley-Brown, Victoria. “Jackson Pollock and Thornton Dial Given Equal Billing in Met Exhibition.” Theartnewspaper.com, May 21, 2018.
Emerson, Bo. “What Caused the Shake-up at the High Museum?” AJC.com, April 16, 2018. Schwabsky, Barry. “Thornton Dial.” Artforum (April 2018), 178.
“Thornton Dial.” Newyorker.com, March 5, 2018.
Holmes, Jessica. “Thornton Dial: Mr. Dial’s America.” Brooklynrail.org, March 5, 2018.
Smith, Roberta. “What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week.” NYTimes.com, March 1, 2018.
Cascone, Sarah and Caroline Goldstein. “Editors’ Picks: 14 Things to See in New York This Week.” Artnet News, January 22, 2018.
Smith, Roberta. “The Outsider Fair Once More Confirms That Art Is Everywhere.” NYTimes.com, January 18, 2018.
2017
“Thornton Dial.” Wsimag.com, August 22, 2017.
“New Orleans Museum of Art Acquires Works from Souls Grown Deep Foundation.” Artforum (July 2017).
Stapley-Brown, Victoria, “Souls Grown Deep Expands the Canon of US Art.” Theartnewspaper.com, June 7, 2017.
“High Museum of Art Acquires Fifty-Four Artworks from Souls Grown Deep Foundation.” Artforum.com, April 25, 2017.
Valentine, Victoria. “Recognition: Souls Grown Deep is Collaborating with Museums on Acquisitions of Art by African Americans from the South.” Culturetype.com, March 14, 2017.
Cascone, Sarah. “Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Acquire 62 Works by African American Artists Including Purvis Young and Thornton Dial.” Artnet News, February 7, 2017.
Jovanovich, Alex. “Band of Outsiders.” Artforum.com, January 31, 2017.
Emerson, Bo. “Thornton Dial, Alabama artist, remembered as ‘extraordinary’” AJC.com, January 27, 2017.
Stapley-Brown, Victoria. “Three to See: New York.” Theartnewspaper.com, January 26, 2017.
Angeleti, Gabriella. “25 Years of Outsider Art Fair.” Theartnewspaper.com, January 20, 2017.
Daccela, Aria. “Why You Need to Check Out the New Exhibit at Museum of Sex.” Fashionunfiltered.com, January 19, 2017.
Lehrer, Adam. “New Exhibit at The Museum of Sex Examines Sexuality in the Work of Outsider Artists.” Forbes.com, January 18, 2017.
Straaten, Laura van. “Bringing Sexy Back: Private Obsession and Hidden Desire at the Museum of Sex.” Artnet News, January 17, 2017.
2016
“Donation of 93 Works by Self-Taught Artists Given to Smithsonian.” Artforum.com, December 1, 2016.
Victory, Constance. “A Timely Dial Tone: We All Live Under the Same Old Flag at Marianne Boesky Gallery.” AfterNyne.com, May 12, 2016.
Droitcour, Brian. “Thornton Dial.” Art in America (May 5, 2016).
Watson, Devon. “Marianne Boesky Gallery Commemorates Thornton Dial.” Theartreport.org, May 5, 2016.
Corral, Alexis. “15 Blockbuster Gallery Shows You Need to See in New York This May.” Artsy.net, April 29, 2016.
Laster, Paul. “Weekend Edition: 10 Things to Do in New York’s Art World Before May 2.” Observer.com, April 28, 2016.
“9 Art Events to Attend in New York City This Week.” Artnews, April 25, 2016.
Reid, Zachary. “VMFA Adds 18 Works, Including Nine from African-American Artists.” Richmond.com, March 21, 2016.
Herman, Bernard. “Thornton Dial (1928–2016).” Artforum.com, February 18, 2016.
Russeth, Andrew. “Thornton Dial, Pioneering Artist Who Channeled Everyday Materials into Intricate Constructions, Dies at 87.” Artnews, January 26, 2016.
Cascone, Sarah. “Outsider Artist Thornton Dial Dead at 87.” Artnet News, January 26, 2016.
Grimes, William. “Thornton Dial, Outsider Artist Whose Work Told of Black Life, Dies at 87.” NYTimes.com, January 26, 2016.
2015
Valentine, Victoria. “After His Work Enters Met Museum Collection, Thornton Dial Joins New York Gallery.” Culturetype.com, November 24, 2015.
Halle, Howard. “The Top 10 NYC Gallery Exhibitions in November.” Timeout.com, November 6, 2015.
Gold, Sarah. “‘Outsider-Art’ under One Roof at Katonah Museum of Art.” NYTimes.com, August 13, 2015.
Watson, Devon. “Marianne Boesky Gallery Commemorates Thornton Dial.” Theartreport.org, May 5, 2015.
Kennedy, Randy. “Boesky Gallery to Represent Thornton Dial.” NYTimes.com, October 20, 2015.
Archibald, John. “Alabama Man Feted around the Globe, Forgotten at Home.” Al.com, June 5, 2015.
Gamerman, Ellen. “The Inside Guide to Outside Art.” Wsj.com, January 29, 2015.
Gomez, Edward. “From the Deep South, an Overlooked Chapter in Art History.” Hyperallergic.com, January 24, 2015.
Sellman, James. “Truly Transformative: Souls Grown Deep Foundation Gifts 57 Works of Art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” Folk Art Messenger (Winter 2015).
2014
Bienvenu, Loren. “Thornton Dial & Lonnie Holley at 333 Montezuma.” Pasatiempo.com, December 19, 2014.
Williams, Paige. “The Met Embraces Neglected Southern Artists.” New Yorker (December 4, 2014).
Kennedy, Randy. “For Met Museum, a Major Gift of Works by African-American Artists from the South.” NYTimes.com, November 24, 2014.
Niland, Josh. “The Met Hit the Jackpot of African-American Art.” Artnet News, November 24, 2014.
Sutton, Benjamin. “The Met Museum Nets Major Collection of Outsider Art from the South.” Hyperallergic.com, November 24, 2014.
2013
Hicks, Cinque. “Fallen Fruit of Atlanta.” Artforum.com, December 7, 2013.
Lowe, William. “Gallery Feature: Bill Lowe Gallery and Artist Thornton Dial.” Artnet News, September 30, 2013.
Williams, Paige. “Composition in Black and White.” New Yorker (August 12, 2013).
Doran, Anne. “Thornton Dial.” Art in America (March 27, 2013).
2012
Russeth, Andrew. “‘The Perfect Show’ at 303, ‘Out of the Blue’ at Bortolami, ‘Problem Play’ at Leo Koenig, Thornton Dial: ‘Viewpoint of the Foundry Man’ at Andrew Edlin.” Observer.com, December 4, 2012.
Cullem, Jerry. “Review: Engaging Politics, Race and Hope, Thornton Dial’s Masterful Art Rises above Labels.” ArtsATL.org, December 6, 2012.
Feaster, Felicia. “Art Review: ‘Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial’ at High.” Ajc.com, November 9, 2012.
Danto, Arthur C. “The Kids Are Alright.” TheNation.com, April 29, 2012.
McCash, Doug. “Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial a Must-See at Noma.” The Times-Picayune (March 1, 2012).
2011
Wilkin, Karen. “Museums Reveal Degas’s Nudes and Islam’s Splendor.” Wall Street Journal (December 23, 2011).
Sellman, James. “Truth and Consequences: The 25-Year Friendship of Thornton Dial and Bill Arnett.” Folk Art Messenger (Summer 2011).
Kuspit, Donald. “Thornton Dial.” Artforum (Summer 2011).
Wilkin, Karen. “Biography, History, Self-Evident Beauty.” Wall Street Journal (April 21, 2011).
“Thornton Dial.” New Yorker (April 11, 2011).
Doran, Anne. “Thornton Dial.” Timeout.com, March 15, 2011.
Lacayo, Richard. “Outside the Lines.” Time Magazine (March 14, 2011).
Sesser, Stan. “Big Museum Show for an Ex-Welder.” Wall Street Journal (February 26, 2011).
Kino, Carol. “Letting His Life’s Work Do the Talking.” New York Times (February 17, 2011).
Gómez, Edward M. “On the Border.” Art & Antiques Magazine (February 2011).
Miller, Monica L. “Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial.” Artforum (January 2011).
2010
Jones, Phillip March. “Thornton Dial, Sr.” White Hot Magazine (February 2010).
2005
Wallace, Michele. “Thornton Dial Sr.” Artforum (September 2005).
2000
Danto, C. Arthur. “2000 Biennial Exhibition.” Artforum (November 2000).
Siegel, Katy. “Biennial 2000.” Artforum (May 2000).
1997
McEvilley, Thomas. “The Missing Tradition.” Art in America (May 1997).
Kimmelman, Michael. “By Whatever Name, Easier to Like.” New York Times (February 14, 1997).
Smith, Dinitia. “Bits, Pieces and a Drive to Turn Them into Art.” New York Times, (February 5, 1997).
1995
Borum, Jenifer P. “William Edmondson.” Artforum (November 1995).
Borum, Jenifer P. “Thornton Dial.” Artforum (February 1995).
1994
Cardinal, Roger. “The Self in Self-Taught Art.” Art Papers (Sept–Oct 1994): 28-33.
Glueck, Grace. “Folk Art with Tigerish Force; Cunning and Trompe l’oeil.” New York Observer (January 1994).
Goodman, Jonathon. “Review of Thornton Dial, New Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of American Folk Art.” ARTnews (March 1994).
Page, Judith. “Review of Thornton Dial: Image of The Tiger, The New Museum of Contemporary Art.” Art Papers (September 1994).
Seaman, Donna. “Review of Thornton Dial: Image of the Tiger.” Booklist 1 (January 1994).
Thompson, Robert Farris. “In the Forest of the Night.” Artforum (April 1994).
1993
Johnson, Ken. “Significant Others.” Art in America (June 1993).
Lloyd, Ann Wilson. “Thornton Dial at Luise Ross.” Art in America (May 1993).
Scott, Sue. “Thornton Dial [exhibition review].” ARTnews, no. 92 (April 1993).
Smith, Roberta. “A Young Style for an Old Story.” New York Times (December 19, 1993).
1991
Kuspit, Donald. “The Appropriation of Marginal Art in the 1980s.” American Art, 5, no. 1/2 (Winter–Spring 1991): 132-141.
Harper, Glenn. “Clyde Broadway.” Artforum (March 1991).
1990
Drennen, Eileen M. “Exhibition Preview.” Atlanta Journal Constitution (July 1990).
Drennen, Eileen M. and Bill Arnett. “Collector Backs Self-Taught Artist.” Atlanta Journal Constitution (July 1990).
Fox, Catherine. “Self-Taught Artist Makes Compelling Case for Human Rights.” Atlanta Journal Constitution (March 1990).
1988
Moorman, Margaret. “From Outside In.” ARTnews (October 1988).
1987
Kroll, Jack. “The Outsiders Are In: American Folk Artists Move into the World of Money and Fame.” Newsweek (December 2, 1987).
Museum and Public Collections
Ackland Art Museum, UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Aidekman Arts Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA
American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
de Young Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI
Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.
Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH
Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago, IL
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ
Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, Washington D.C.
Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
The United Nations, New York, NY
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
Virginia Union University, Richmond, VA
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY