09/03/2026
Ellis Wilson is one of those artists whose work many of us grew up seeing long before we ever knew his name. Born in Mayfield, Kentucky, in 1899, Wilson studied at what is now Kentucky State University and later at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He moved to New York in 1928 and became involved with the Harlem Artists Guild.
His paintings centered Black life with dignity. He painted laborers, families, farmers, churchgoers, and everyday people throughout the South. A Guggenheim Fellowship in 1944 allowed him to travel through the region and document Black workers and communities, while later trips to Haiti brought even bolder color into his work.
But the painting most people recognize is Funeral Procession, created around 1950. Reproductions of Wilson’s work became the kind of art many Black families lived with — framed prints hanging in living rooms, hallways, churches, offices, and community spaces.
In 1985, Funeral Procession became part of the storyline of The Cosby Show episode “The Auction.” Clair Huxtable learns that a painting by her fictional great-uncle Ellis is being sold and buys it at auction. Afterward, the painting was displayed over the mantel in the Huxtable living room and remained visible on the set for years. The appearance helped revive interest in Wilson’s work after his death in 1977.
Wilson never became wealthy from his paintings, despite prestigious exhibitions and fellowships. Today, his work is represented in major collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
So if you look at Funeral Procession and think, “I know that picture,” you probably do. It is part of a generation of Black artwork that moved from galleries into our television homes — and through reproductions, into many of our real ones too.
