Rev. Howard Finster (1916 -2001)

Limited Edition Multi-color Screenprint with Museum Frame

33.5" x 48"

Self-taught folk artist and preacher Howard Finster (1916-2001), who was born and raised in Alabama, created fantastical paintings, sculptures, and environments that were inspired by religious visions he saw from the time he was a boy. He rose to national prominence during the 1980s and 1990s as a result of his involvement with popular music artists R.E.M. and the Talking Heads and increasing public interest in his Paradise Garden, a property near his Georgia home that he filled with art made from found objects. All of Finster's art was informed by his deep religious faith and his desire to share that faith with others. Indeed, he saw this as his mission as "God's Last Red Light on Planet Earth."

Howard Finster Self-portrait One of 14 children, Howard Finster was born in Valley Head, DeKalb County, on December 2, 1916, to Samuel William Finster, a sawmill lumberjack, and Lula Alice Henegar Finster. At age three, Finster received the first of what would be many visions: his deceased sister, Abbie Rose, came to him on a floating stairway and told him that visions and other religious experiences would continue to play a vital role throughout his lifetime. At age 15, while riding on the back of a wagon, Finster received another vision in which God called on him to become a preacher. He soon began preaching at tent revivals all over Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. In 1935, Finster married Pauline Freeman, with whom he would have five children. In 1940, he became pastor of Rock Bridge Baptist Church near DeSoto State Park and also preached at other small country churches, baptized new members, and washed the feet of churchgoers. In the late 1940s, the Finster family relocated to Summerville, Georgia, near Valley Head.

Finster continued preaching and working odd jobs until 1976, when he saw a vision of a face in a dab of paint on his thumb that commanded him to paint sacred art. He thereafter devoted his working life exclusively to painting and creating works of folk art. Many scholars and critics of art have compared his religious work to nineteenth-century tent-revival posters.

Howard Finster Coca-Cola Bottle Finster's imagery includes historical figures such as George Washington and Henry Ford, visions of heaven and hell, and life on other planets. He also painted popular images, including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Coca-Cola products, that served as an outlet for his sly sense of humor. These creations drew collectors and art historians, and many became as well known as his religious works. The most famous of these are probably his drawings of Coke bottles, which features slogans such as "Some people would stand on their heads all day for a cold Coke," "Drink Coke-Drive Home Sober," and "There are no Cokes in Hell." In 1996, the Coca-Cola Company commissioned Finster to paint an eight-foot Coke bottle to represent the United States in an art exhibit for the 1996 Olympic Games.