The Preacher

The Preacher

Portrait of a Preacher

The subject of this lithograph is the portrait of a preacher, surrounded by images of the religious activities that Cloar experienced in his youth. The center of the image is the preacher, in suit jacket and tie, dark, parted hair and a thick mustache. His hands are folded before him and he wears a serious expression. At the viewer's top right, a baptism is taking place in Tyronza River, with the preacher putting his hand up, the other arm wrapped around another figure, with four more wading waste-deep behind him. At the viewer's top left, men are sitting in the pew and washing each other's feet. Below that image, a path is winding through the country with a couple taking a stroll. On the viewer's right of the preacher is a scene of filled pews, a woman breastfeeding her baby in the front row. The bottom left depicts a tent set up filled with benches in preparation for the big church meeting that happened every summer before converts were baptized in Tyronza River. At the bottom right, the preacher is standing over two men bent down in prayer, one hand on one's head, the other in the air, with his head bowed. A choir can be seen behind him.

Carroll Cloar

University Center, University of Memphis

Art Museum of the University of Memphis

1940

Rachel Wilson

Lithograph, 19-5/8 x 12-7/8"

English

American

2012.004.015