Alabama man still drawing murals at age 112

Hoffberger said she was charmed by Calloway's personality when she met him earlier this year and equally impressed by his artwork.

"I was very dazzled by his choice of color," she said. "Also, there's a rhythm, maybe dictated by the long sheets of paper that he works on, that makes it seem like he's just going on and on, recording the memories of his life."

She said Calloway's work is a perfect fit for her museum whose mission statement describes visionary art as that "produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself."

Hoffberger called Calloway brilliant and described looking through notebooks full of numbers he keeps and noticing that there was a definite logical pattern to the strings of figures. There is "an instinctive attraction to math that is so inherent in his work," she said.

Rows of numbers line the edges of some of his artwork, and he sometimes stops in the middle of conversations to methodically recite multiplication tables.

Likes to answer questions
Calloway is content being quietly absorbed in his work, but he also enjoys talking if people ask questions, Moncrief-Craig said. He listens intently and responds at length in a deep, gravelly voice as he rocks gently back and forth, often punctuating the end of a story with a soft chuckle and a huge smile that lights up his broad face that has very few wrinkles.

Though he frequently goes on day trips outside the nursing home, Calloway seems to live in a long-gone era, pulling images from that time for his drawings, Moncrief-Craig said.

Last year, after a trip to Alabama's Gulf Coast, Calloway decided to draw boats. But the boats are big old riverboats propelled by paddlewheels, not the modern ones he'd actually seen.

Several years ago, when people started showing interest in buying Calloway's art, Moncrief-Craig decided he needed a guardian. Since 2006, Zondra Taylor Hutto has filled that role. The attorney is the Tuscaloosa County guardian, conservator and administrator for several residents, including Calloway.

Calloway used to give away some of his creations or sell them for $50, but Moncrief-Craig and Hutto have stopped dealing the work since an appraiser said they could be worth thousands. They hope to have more of an idea how much the art should go for after the Baltimore show.

Calloway has few expenses that aren't covered by Medicaid, so any profits will go into a special needs trust in his name so he won't lose his benefits. The money can be used for items such as art supplies that aren't covered by the government. When he dies, the remaining money will go to the state or to the state Medicaid agency, which has provided his care all these years.

Plans are for Calloway to attend the opening of the Baltimore show. It will be his first trip on an airplane and likely the first time he's left Alabama. Hutto said she looks forward to sharing his work with a wider audience.

"His art overcomes boundaries," she said. "People may say, 'Well, he's a folk artist. I don't like folk art.' But if you ever meet him, there is such life in what he creates, and you can't look at one of his paintings without seeing that smile, without seeing that gentle man."

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