Portrait of Hank Williams, Sr. in the style of record labels and carnival banners

Roger Brown
(American, 1941–1997)
Hank Williams, Honky Tonk Man,
1990
Oil on canvas
Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art,
Auburn University; museum purchase

By Dennis Harper, curator of collections and exhibitions

Alabama native Roger Brown frequently returned to subjects close to his southern upbringing. In this case, he portrays the early country music legend and fellow Alabamian, Hank Williams, in a fittingly monumental scale. Brown had a long-running fascination with folk art and craft, and imagery prevalent in popular culture. His heroic portrait of Williams recalls both the format of the once ubiquitous record album cover as well as the type of hand-painted banners found in circuses and fairground sideshows.

Portrait of Hank Williams, Sr. in the style of record labels and carnival banners

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