J.B. Murry was a Georgia sharecropper when a religious vision at 70 led him to start painting; 10 years later, his work had entered major US museum collections

The idea of a late bloomer has become a commonly shared phenomenon on the internet every few months. Whether it be someone who had a change in direction mid-career or a novel written by someone who's retired, they're easy to share and slightly too perfect. However, what if we looked at another example of a late bloomer?

A man who spent most of his career as a sharecropper and couldn't even read or write, but still included handwritten text in his pieces of art. J.B. Murry (or Murray) was a self-taught African-American artist from Georgia. The Smithsonian Archives of American Art notes that ‘Murry had a vision at 70 and began painting’. While this is a good summary for the caption of an artwork, the full story is much more interesting.

Seventy, and then a flood of work


The first thing that can be noticed when learning about Murry is how much he created in a short amount of time. He created a large body of work within 10 years of having his vision. He was born in 1908 and died in 1988. The American Folk Art Museum provides some texture. In an entry on their collection of Murry’s work, art historian Judith McWillie, who conducted an interview with Murry, stated that he started working with a non-semantic language (a language that does not form regular words) using adding machine tape, wallboard, and stationery paper after receiving a vision from God at about age 70.

A script nobody else could translate

According to the Archives of American Art’s catalog entry on his paintings, Murry had developed a system for using colour and a freeform script called spirit script. He incorporated this into his paintings. Only he could translate it. Imagine keeping a diary that no one else can understand. His work has been shown in various Southern exhibitions celebrating Black ‘outsider artists,’ that is, those who create art outside of traditional art circles.

The Archives of American Art also states that Murry started to draw and paint due to retiring from farming as he had a dislocated hip. However, the biographical note states that he had a vision. While this may not be conflicting information, it shows that the reason for his late blooming was down to both physical and spiritual reasons. However, it isn't explained how both of these could have happened. Other differences include that he was sometimes said to have been born in 1907. His surname is also sometimes spelled as Murray. Overall, there are many notes on small details regarding his life.

Where his work lives now

The Archives of American Art note that his work can be found in collections at the American Folk Art Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. However, this does not tell us how fast his work was collected. The idea of a late bloomer is a comforting one, hence why they are shared so often. It can be relatable if you've ever felt like you're falling behind in your career, or in a group chat filled with milestone achievements.

However, the documents show that he had a complex backstory, a secret visual language, and a short period of intense creation. No sources give any tips on how to have a late-life transformation. This shows that some people's stories cannot be summarised into a short caption, and his seems to be one of them.