William Traylor, American, 1853 to 1949, pastel drawing on paper depicting a fantastic animal. Signed to the back. Circa the 1940s. Framed. William Traylor was an African American self-taught artist from Lowndes County, Alabama. Born into slavery, Traylor spent the majority of his life after emancipation as a sharecropper. It was only after 1939, following his move to Montgomery, Alabama, that Traylor began to draw. From 1939 to 1942, while working on the sidewalks of Montgomery, he produced nearly 1,500 pieces of art. Mid Century American Drawings And Art Collectibles.