Born in 1920 in the Bahamas, Amos Ferguson was one of 14 children.  At this time, the Bahamas were under the sovereign rule of Great Britain, and the majority of Bahamians were carving out a meager existence, mainly surviving by subsistence farming.  Ferguson received little formal education, but his father, a Baptist preacher, farmer, and carpenter, taught him the practical skills he used to earn a living.

In 1937, he moved to Nassau, where he worked for a furniture maker, upholstering, polishing, and finishing the wood before sale, and painting houses.  Ferguson was deeply religious and believed that his art was a divine mission from God. In fact, he began painting after a dream his nephew had, where Jesus had told him that Ferguson was wasting his time simply house painting. He needed to beautify the world. He began painting biblical stories, the glory of the natural world, and the family unit. Ferguson’s only desire was to spread the word of God, love, and light, and perhaps make enough money to survive.

But there was more to this divine plan. There were a few galleries that appreciated his work, but he mostly sold his paintings at the Straw Market in Nassau with his wife, Bea. Until an American collector, on vacation in the Bahamas, saw his work and brought it to the attention of Ute Stebich, a specialist in international folk and contemporary art.  The two set out to pitch an exhibition of his work for a major museum.  In 1985, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford mounted an exhibition of 50 of his paintings. This exhibition, Paint by Mr. Amos Ferguson, traveled to several museums over the course of the next two years.

With international acclaim, the people of the Bahamas came to appreciate Ferguson’s work,  and the government purchased 25 of his paintings to be placed in the national collection. In 1990, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed on him the distinguished Order of the British Empire.

Ferguson died in 2009, having painted until the very end. His vibrant works are instantly recognizable and have a place in many collections, including the Studio Museum in Harlem, NY; the American Folk Museum, NY; and many more.

Selected Exhibitions

Amos Ferguson, TooGood’s Studio, Nassau, 1972

Amos Ferguson, Lyford Cay Gallery, Nassau, Bahamas, 1977

Paint by MR. AMOS FERGUSON, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, 1985

Amos Ferguson, Alexander Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 1985

Amos Ferguson, Casey/Gould Gallery, New York, NY, 1985

Amos Ferguson, Ute Stebich Gallery, Lenox, MA, 1988

Amos Ferguson, Central Bank of the Bahamas Art Gallery, Nassau, Bahamas, 1998

On the Edge of Time: Contemporary Art from the Bahamas, Cultural Center of the Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, 2000

Collected: Propositions on the Permanent Collection, Studio Museum in Harlem, NY, 2009

Master Artists of the Bahamas, Waterloo Center for the Arts, Davenport, IA, 2011-12

AMOS FERGUSON: Bahamian Outsider, National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, Nassau, 2012