Lonnie Bradley Holley, also known as Lonnie Holley, born on February 10, 1950, in Birmingham, Alabama, is an American artist, art educator, and musician. His early life was marked by hardship, working various jobs from a young age, and experiencing multiple foster homes. Holley began his artistic career in 1979 with sandstone carvings for his sister's children, who died in a house fire. In 1981, he brought a few examples of his carvings to the Birmingham Museum of Art director Richard Murray, leading to immediate exhibitions and recognition. His first album, Just Before Music, was released in 2012, followed by Keeping a Record of It (2013), Mith (2018), National Freedom (2020), a collaboration with Matthew E. White titled Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection (2021), and Tonky (2025). Holley's work has been exhibited in numerous prestigious institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.
