Elizabeth Bradford
Elizabeth Bradford
Spanish Moss, 2014
oil on canvas
Museum purchase funded by Wells Fargo, 2014.9
“I am descended from generations of North Carolina farmers and I reflect those strong southern roots in my work. … During most of my adult life I have watched the loss of open spaces, the harvesting of old growth forests and the construction of thousands of new houses — the ‘final harvest’. Raised a naturalist I couldn’t escape painting an elegy for the land as I remember it and as it can still be found, in hidden pockets of the forests. … My work attempts to seize the look and feel of this place before it is forever changed, and to perhaps cause the viewer to weigh the value of those changes.
“[My] work is informed by the needlework traditions of southern women since North Carolina was settled. … It bows to the traditions of abstraction, while also striving to clearly represent the depth of my experience of nature. Most of all, I hope it communicates both a meditation and a prayer for this lovely place on earth.” (Artist Statement 2016)
Bradford studied art at Randolph Macon Woman’s College, the University of North Carolina, and at Davidson College. She was the featured artist for North Carolina’s 1st statewide women’s conference in 2006. She is widely collected and appreciated.
Currently, Spanish Moss is one of the works in the HMA exhibit "Playing with Light: Reflections from the Hickory Museum of Art Collection." (January 13 - March 11, 2018) The show illustrates how artists use many different surfaces to depict reflections: water, mirrors, windows, and even spoons. It was also part of HMA's Woman Made exhibit in early 2017, where it evoked memories of special summertimes for visitors of many ages. Before that was loaned to BRAHM for their exhibit “Elizabeth Bradford: Time + Terrain”.
Bradford shares a range of personal impressions on the blog that is part of her web site.
Post by Karin Borei, HMA Project Coordinator, writer and editor as needed, and HMA blogger since March 2015.