Howard Finster Halftone "Spirit of America"

Item Details

Reverend Howard Finster (American, 1916 – 2001)
Spirit of America, circa 1989
Halftone on paper
Signed to lower margin

Reverend William Howard Finster was a minister for over forty years in Alabama, the place where he was born. After retirement he moved to Summerville, Georgia, where he turned his swampland into Paradise Garden in reflection of his religious beliefs and a vision that sent him on a mission to create sacred art. Finster used oil, watercolor, lacquer and other paints on found objects and salvaged pieces of glass and cardboard to make religious folk art creations. His works have been featured on album covers for popular rock bands such as the Talking Heads which was featured as the 1985 album of the year in Rolling Stone magazine, as well as on REM’s Reckoning album cover. Perhaps his most well-known work is the eight-foot-tall Coca-Cola bottle commissioned for the 1996 Olympic Games global art project. Finster promised God he would create 5,000 paintings in his lifetime and in the end created 46,991 numbered pieces.