Royal Robertson

1936-1997 · Baldwin, Louisiana, USA

A Louisiana sign painter who, after his marriage collapsed, covered his house in prophetic signs and filled poster board with spaceships, future cities and the wrath of God, all lettered to professional standard.

The life

Robertson was born in 1936 in Louisiana, left school after eighth grade and apprenticed as a sign painter, a trade he practised all his life. He experienced visions of the future and of space travel from his teens. He married Adell Brent in 1955 and they had eleven children, but when the marriage ended after about twenty years the loss devastated him, and his property in Baldwin became a fortress of hand-lettered signs mixing scripture, warnings and grievance. Styling himself Libra Patriarch Prophet Lord Archbishop Apostle Visionary Mystic Psychic Saint Royal Robertson, he worked steadily until his death in 1997.

The work

Magic marker, tempera, ballpoint, coloured pencil and glitter on poster board, paper and wood: aliens and spaceships, fire-breathing monsters, futuristic temples and cities drawn with a signwriter’s precision, laced with biblical prophecy, numerology and UFO lore, alongside bitter and tender images of his former wife. His work is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the American Folk Art Museum and the High Museum of Art.

Why we love them

Heartbreak turned up to apocalyptic scale, executed with the steadiest lettering hand in the American South. The pain is real, and so is the craft.

Go deeper

• Royal Robertson at the Outsider Art Fair
• Royal Robertson on Wikipedia
• Souls Grown Deep Foundation
• Where to see outsider art, our full list of museums and collections.
• The glossary, if any of the terms here are new.

Kindred spirits

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