Royal Robertson
"Prophet" Royal Robertson grew up in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. When he was a teenager he traveled to the West Coast, but came back after a few years to take care of his mother. He was married to Adell Brent in 1955, but after nineteen years of marriage she took their eleven children and left him for another man. This devastation fueled Robertson's art practice, as he began to adorn his house with drawings to reconcile the betrayal he felt. He covered every inch of his Baldwin, Louisiana home and yard with hand-made signs and apocalyptic paintings. Visitors of this self-proclaimed prophet were greeted with large, weather-beaten signs warning “NO DIVORCE WHORE'S ALLOWED” (sic) and “ALL CRAZY PERSONS KEEP OFF LOT” before entering his home. Once inside, shrines to his both beloved and despised ex-wife came into focus amid poster board renderings of future cities, space autos, couples engaged in sex, and detailed calendars chronicling his daily woes. Referencing sources as disparate as the Bible, science fiction magazines, pornography, and cheap tabloid newspapers, his work manages to graphically illustrate the daily concerns that occupied his mind, both real and imagined. The self-taught artist's vibrant works possess an imagination that is otherworldly, …
"Prophet" Royal Robertson grew up in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. When he was a teenager he traveled to the West Coast, but came back after a few years to take care of his mother. He was married to Adell Brent in 1955, but after nineteen years of marriage she took their eleven children and left him for another man. This devastation fueled Robertson's art practice, as he began to adorn his house with drawings to reconcile the betrayal he felt. He covered every inch of his Baldwin, Louisiana home and yard with hand-made signs and apocalyptic paintings. Visitors of this self-proclaimed prophet were greeted with large, weather-beaten signs warning “NO DIVORCE WHORE'S ALLOWED” (sic) and “ALL CRAZY PERSONS KEEP OFF LOT” before entering his home. Once inside, shrines to his both beloved and despised ex-wife came into focus amid poster board renderings of future cities, space autos, couples engaged in sex, and detailed calendars chronicling his daily woes. Referencing sources as disparate as the Bible, science fiction magazines, pornography, and cheap tabloid newspapers, his work manages to graphically illustrate the daily concerns that occupied his mind, both real and imagined. The self-taught artist's vibrant works possess an imagination that is otherworldly, and have made him a celebrated figure of the Outside Art Movement.
Courtesy of Shrine
