First published: Summer 2015
Over the past thirty years, the Philadelphia-based collectors Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz have acquired many remarkable works by American self-taught artists. Their holdings bring together the creations of numerous masters in the field, most of which the Bonovitzes bought long before these men and women became well known.
Among many others, for example, they own pieces by such artists as Eddie Arning, James Castle, Sam Doyle, William Edmondson, Howard Finster, Lee Godie, William L. Hawkins, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Elijah Pierce, Martín Ramírez, Jon Serl, Bill Traylor, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein and Joseph Yoakum.
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William Hawkins, Boffo
When asked about the criteria they consider in choosing a piece to add to their collection, their answer is always the same. Jill Bonovitz, an artist herself, says, “It has to resonate with us.” Her mother, Janet Fleisher, was one of the first American dealers to champion outsider art. Jill’s husband Sheldon, an attorney, developed an interest in art during his college years. Together the Bonovitzes share a passion and a respect for the kind of art they have long collected.
This is an article extract; read the full article in Raw Vision #86
