Zebedee Armstrong

Zebedee B. Armstrong (October 11, 1911 – 1993), aka Z.B. Armstrong, was an outsider artist known for his doomsday calendars.

Life Armstrong was born in McDuffie County, Georgia near Thomson, Georgia. He attended school until eighth grade when he left and began working in the local cotton fields. He married Ulamay Demmons in 1929 and had two daughters. For much of his life, he worked picking cotton on the local Mack McCormick farm. He supplemented this income by building furniture for people in his community. One of the things Armstrong was most skilled at building were wooden and concrete vaults, which were especially popular in rural communities because of a distrust of banks in the aftermath of the Great Depression. These vaults often incorporated a wide variety of types of locks, handles, and wheels. After his wife died in 1969, he began to work at the Thomson Box Factory, staying there until 1982. He would also write dates and scripture passages on the calendars in order help further discern the date of Judgement Day.

Collections

Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia