For more than two decades, Jane Fonda has been a supporter and collector of the work of Thornton Dial, a self-taught artist known for his assemblage works incorporating found and repurposed materials. Often called an outsider artist — a term that some admirers feel dismisses Dial’s innate stature as an artist — Dial lived and worked far away from the mainstream of the art world in the city of Bessemer, Alabama. Before he passed away in 2016, Dial had seen his works presented in the Whitney Biennial and in shows at the New Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Now Fonda — who helped publish a two-volume set of books, Souls Grown Deep, in 2000 and 2001 that focused on Dial along with a number of other Southern artists — is selling a collection of 14 artworks including pieces by Dial, his son, Thornton Dial Jr., and brother Arthur Dial. The pieces, grouped under the title Things Grow in the United States: Works from the Collection of Jane Fonda, will be auctioned at Christie’s on Jan. 18 as part of the house’s outsider and vernacular Art sale during its Americana week.
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Fonda, in an exclusive statement to The Hollywood Reporter, says of the artwork and artists represented by the collection, “When you look at the artwork made by these talented men and women from the American South, you see that it’s truly great, it’s truly original, it’s truly American. We cannot allow racism and discrimination to keep this art from being included in our national family of artwork, which it has been for far too long. Found objects are a tradition of 20th century art. It’s Marcel Duchamp, his conversion of urinals into a so-called fountain, all the way to my friend Bob Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns — it’s not unique to these artists of the South. Dial used found objects in his environment, which I think is just so beautiful. He gave discarded things a second life, brilliantly repurposing material with an impact that very few artists ever had.”
Fonda’s collection includes two assemblage works by Dial — incorporating such items as wire, patching compound, gloves and cloth — that have an estimate of $50,000 to $100,000.
“The works that we’re offering are pieces from [Fonda’s] personal collection that she’s lived with through the years,” Cara Zimmerman, head of outsider art at Christie’s, tells THR. “It’s really an exciting moment for us to be able to show in such detail and depth some of the range of works that the Dial family and that Thornton Dial in particular created. What’s exceptional from my vantage point is having this many of these works together in one sale.”
Fonda was introduced to Dial’s work by the late Atlanta-based collector Bill Arnett. Together, Fonda and Arnett founded Tinwood Books, which published Souls Grown Deep. Fonda also serves on the board of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, whose mission, according to its website, includes advocating for “the inclusion of Black artists from the South in the canon of American art history.”
Zimmerman describes the breadth of Thornton Dial’s artistic practice as including works on paper, constructions, paintings and sculpture. “Oftentimes you’d see a huge range of symbolism in his drawings. They are very intimate,” she says. By contrast, his assemblages and paintings tackle “all sorts of incredibly complicated and difficult topics. He did not shy away from issues of race relations, of politics, of socio-economic issues, and these pieces tend to be incredibly large and powerful using a range of materials.”
Fonda previously sold a work by Thornton Dial at Christie’s in 2019 titled Trophies (Doll Factory). Incorporating such items as Barbie dolls, stuffed animals, oil, enamel and spray paint, tin and wood, the approximately six-foot-by-10-foot piece gaveled for around $277,000.
