Open: Wed-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 2-6pm

4 Chiltern St, W1U 7PS, London, United Kingdom
Open: Wed-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 2-6pm


Visit    

Sam Doyle: What I Paint is History

The Gallery of Everything, London

Sun 4 Oct - Sun 22 Nov 2026

4 Chiltern St, W1U 7PS Google

Wed-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 2-6pm

Artist: Sam Doyle

WHAT I PAINT IS HISTORY is the first solo UK exhibition dedicated to the life and work of African-American visual documentarian, Sam Doyle (1906 - 1985).

Born into the tightly knit community of St Helena Island, a former plantation in South Carolina, Doyle was a self-taught painter steeped in the myths, traditions and language of Gullah: a culture born from the descendants of enslaved people from Angola.

The front yard of Doyle’s homestead was his platform. His bold housepaint renderings, on corrugated roofing tin, sheet metal and found lumber, were layered across the frontage to form the self titled St Helena Outdoor Art Gallery.

Today Doyle is widely regarded as a central figure in 20th century African-American art. His pieces are held in major institutional collections, such as the High Museum (Atlanta), LACMA (Los Angeles), PMA (Philadelphia) and MFA (Houston), Smithsonian (Washington DC) and American Folk Art Museum (NY).

all images © the gallery and the artist(s)

By using GalleriesNow.net you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience. Close