Sarah Mary Taylor
Yazoo City Folk Artist
Born Aug. 12, 1916 in Anding, Miss., Taylor is a nationally acclaimed folk artist, known for her vibrant applique quilts. Producing original designs, Taylor’s works have been exhibited across the country in museums and galleries in New York, Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Connecticut, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C.

One of her most famous designs, the Hand quilt (shown at right), was commissioned for the film The Color Purple.

Taylor is also known for her whimsical drawings using pencil, pen, and magic markers. These are included in many private folk art collections, as well as in folk art publications.

Since the early 1980s, folk art enthusiasts have traveled from all over the country to Yazoo City to visit with Taylor.

In 1995, quilt enthusiast Liz Lindsey moved from Nashville, Tenn. to Yazoo City to learn from the master quilter. Lindsey continues to study under Taylor and also documents the artist's life and works. She serves as director for this project and authored an accompanying booklet, which will be available for purchase at the exhibition sites, or by contacting the Yazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Proceeds from the booklet support this exhibit as well as the Mississippi Humanities Council.

Taylor has spent most of her life in or near the Mississippi Delta. Working as a cook, nanny, field hand, and housekeeper, she gained notoriety late in life when, after failing health forced her to retire from strenuous physical labor, she began to quilt for others as a source of income. In the late 1970s, Taylor’s late aunt, Pecolia Warner, received attention for her own quiltmaking skills from professors at the University of Mississippi. They soon became aware of Taylor’s quilting, purchasing and exhibiting her works. Widespread attention followed, as her works were purchased for private collections and museums across the country.

Taylor continues to live in Yazoo City, Mississippi.
"The gift I got, God gave to me," Taylor said.

From the age of nine she began to make quilts. "I learned to piece by my mother," Taylor said.
The Sarah Mary Taylor, Yazoo City Folk Artist exhibit is funded in part by the Mississippi Humanities Council through the National Endowment for the Humanities. Sarah Mary Taylor passed away July 10, 2000.