Freed slave Willie Howard only has two known works, two 1870s desks covered in strange applique, including snakes and kitchen appliances. In a strange coincidence, the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts each bought one of these pieces in a January antiques fair. Little is known of Willie Howard’s life except he worked as a slave on the Kirkwood Plantation near Jackson, Alabama. Experts posit his work is an expression of post-war trauma finding voice in new-found creative freedom. Read more about this here.
