Bill Potts

1936 - 2017

Bill Potts was a Denver sculptor who used found wood and house paint to create and commemorate celebrities, athletes, musicians, and street scenes.  He attributed his prolific output to the economic woes and personal struggles he faced which ranged from his experience in the Army medical corps in Vietnam, the death of his first wife and daughter, and a battle with diabetes.  He said, “If you had my bills and ills, you’d be prolific too.”  Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Potts started his exaggerated carvings of African American icons after retirement from the military.  His carvings were humorous, cynical, yet often empathetic.  He spent long hours on each piece giving his characters cartoonish yet emotional recognizable trademarks.  His portrayal of the tragedy of Katrina is one of his most outstanding works in my collection as it portrays a mother caught in the flood of the broken levees as she holds a child.  Bill Potts is an often overlooked, classic example of the self-taught artist.