Thornton Dial

Thornton Dial (1928–2016) was a self-taught American artist from Bessemer, Alabama, celebrated for his large-scale assemblages and paintings that explore African American history, social injustice, and human struggle. Using found materials like metal, wood, and fabric, Dial created dense, textured works filled with symbolic imagery and emotional intensity. His art, both raw and visionary, has been widely exhibited and is recognized as a major contribution to American outsider and contemporary art.