A Spiritual Journey

Discovering the art of Eddie Lee Kendrick was, as Ruth Kaplan recalls, “like walking into another world.”

In 1977, Kaplan, an administrator at an elementary school in Little Rock, Arkansas, walked into the school janitor’s supply closet and found its walls hung with bright, lively paintings and drawings of Jesus, of angels, and of people in prayer and ecstasy, all created on corrugated cardboard.

It was a world lit by the spiritually-infused art of Eddie Lee Kendrick, an African American self-taught artist whose work is now gathered in A Spiritual Journey: The Art of Eddie Lee Kendrick, containing sixty-five full color examples of Kendrick’s artistry.

Community was central to Kendrick, especially the community of church, home, and work. Alice Rae Yelen says, “Kendrick’s paintings—his personal communications in praise of the Lord—were influenced most strongly, according to the artist, by scriptures, singing, music, praying, and dreams."

Also provided is an insightful description of Kendrick’s technique, a brief biography of his life, and an informed discussion of how Kendrick’s art relates to the world of self-taught artists in the South.

Eddie Lee Kendrick, born in Stephens, Arkansas, in 1928, worked in sawmills, in elementary schools, in a Holiday Inn, and in a meatpacking plant. Like many self-taught artists, he did not rely on his art for his living. He was an ardent gospel singer and church choir member. He died of cancer in 1992.