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he son of an African American Baptist minister

who was run out of town by theKu Klux Klan and never to beseen again, and a deeply religiousand supportive mother, James W.Washington, Jr. (1909-2000)knew from an early age that hehad something unique withinhim—that his abilities and imagination would manifest andtake him away from the segregated and oppressive environs of Gloster, Mississippi.

Washington’s spirited, but quiet carvings can be seen as a cross between two other direct carvers; the African American Folk ArtistWilliam Edmondson (1874-1951) and American sculptor John Flannagan (1895-1942). Washington felt that it was the spirit of Godthat he drove into stone to bring it to life. Edmondson thought his work was driven by the hand of God, while Flannagan felt that direct carving or taille directe, ensured vitality to the final carving. Improvisationalists know that something too studied may be proficiently academic, but often void of life. Therefore, Washington took right to the chisel—life starts with a spark—like a hammer’sfirst blow against granite!

From an early age, Washington displayed a sense of general inquisitiveness and proficiency for drawing. He remembered when he wasthirteen or so, he would have friends make a random mark in crayon along the sidewalks and he would improvise upon it and “convert it into something alive and moving.” At seventeen years of age, it was through a government job with the Civil Service thatWashington found his way out of Gloster and into Vicksburg, Little Rock, and then to the Seattle area in 1944 where he and his wife,Janie Rogella Washington, remained.

Along the way, while still working for the Civil Service, Washington developed his drawing and painting and became involved in theWorks Progress Administration (WPA). In Vicksburg, in response to not being able to exhibit with white artists of the WPA, he organized and exhibited what he called “the first negro art exhibition sponsored by the WPA in the state of Mississippi.” Once in Seattle, Washington continued to paint and befriended Mark Tobey, with whom he studied for a time. Washington also organized exhibits and showed with Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, and Glen Alps.

Life changed for Washington in 1951, when he traveled to Mexico to meet with the muralist Diego Rivera. During that trip

‘I have to be him [the animal]. Not until I get tothe point where I am the animal can I release the spiritual force into the inanimate material and animate it. When this happens, I feel like I’m working with flesh ratherthan stone.’ —James W. Washington, Jr.

James W. Washington, Jr.Stone Mason

Washington carving Sacrificial Lamb. Photo: Josef Scaylea/ The Seattle Times © used with permission

T

Washington explored the pyramids at Teotihuacan and was foreverchanged when he picked up (and took home) a volcanic rock thatseemed to call to him. The rock lay in his studio for five years untilhe had a revelation and created, Young Boy From Athens. As Washington figured out those crayon marks along the sidewalks ofGloster, he figured out that Young Boy was within that volcanic rock.And the revelation hithard! After, Washingtondeclared, “I reached theconclusion that it wassculpting that I was supposed to do.”

Washington taught himself to sculpt. Hemade his own tools andhad no interest in

traditional methods—he worked directly onto stones that inspired him. Life—genesis,growth, affirmation, fertility and freedom—was the single focus of Washington’s work.Washington would sculpt a bird hatching from an egg, or sperm chasing an egg, andsometimes, more playfully, he would carve a mammal being hatched from an egg(something that does not occur in nature). A patron, who upon seeing a recent workof Washington’s in which a rabbit was hatching from an egg, exclaimed, “A rabbit does not come from an egg!” Washingtonreplied, “Doctor, all life comes from an egg.” He would also sometimes carve symbols from his practice of Freemasonry into hiswork (Washington was a 33rd degree Mason).

Paul Karlstrom (West Coast Regional Director Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Art) wrote, “What is so impressiveabout artists such as Washington is the perfection with which fundamental humanism, generosity of spirit, and depth of emotionare embodied in their simple and humble forms. It is this quality that emanates from Washington’s sculptures of birds and othersmall creatures. What sets them apart from a host of other animal sculptures is the inexplicable, yet undeniable, spirit in thestone.”

Almost immediately after creating, Young Boy From Athens, and finding his true craft, Washington received numerous awards, accolades, purchases and commissions. He readily attracted the attention of many museums, galleries and the art patrons and philanthropists, John H. and Anne Gould Hauberg.

In 1989 the Bellevue Art Museum held a major retrospective entitled, “The Spirit in the Stone: The Visionary Art of James W. Washington, Jr." In 2008 for the inauguralexhibition of the Northwest African American Museum, Washington was honored along with Jacob Lawrence in“Making a Life, Creating a World: JacobLawrence and James W. Washington, Jr.”

James W. Washington, Jr.’s work is represented in numerous private and pub-lic collections, including The Smithsonian,The Whitney, San Francisco Museum ofModern Art, and the Seattle Art Museum.

Selected sources:Paul Karlstrom, The Spirit in the Stone: The Vi-sionary Art of James W. Washington, Jr., Seat-tle: University of Washington Press, 1989;Regina Hackett, "James Washington: Secrets inStone," American Artist, November 1977; De-loris Tarzan Ament, Iridescent Light: TheEmergence of Northwest Art, Seattle: Univer-sity of Washington Press, 2002; Romare Bear-den & Harry Henderson, A History ofAfrican-American Artists: From 1792 to thePresent, New York, Pantheon Books, 1993.

Sculpture is more divine, andmore like Nature, / That fashions all her works in highrelief, / And that is Sculpture. /This vast ball, the Earth, / Wasmoulded out of clay, and bakedin fire; / Men, women, and allanimals that breathe / Are statues, and not paintings. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Hungry Gull | Woodblock Print | 1977 | 7 3/8" L x 5 5/8" H

Washington working in his studio. Photo: Jerry Gay/ The Seattle Times © used with permission

James W. Washington, Jr. (1909-2000) | Bird FamilyStone, Wood | Dated: 1973 | Size: 12 1/4" L x 8 1/8" D x 7 1/2" H

James W. Washington, Jr. (1909-2000) | Hawaiian Ai-Laiki = Ricebird Stone, Wood | Dated: 1974 | Size: 7 1/2" L x 4 1/2" D x 7" H

James W. Washington, Jr. (1909-2000) | Woodchuck HatchingStone, Wood | Dated: 1977 | Size: 12" L x 7" D x 6 1/2" H

James W. Washington, Jr. (1909-2000) | WrenStone, Wood | Dated: 1976 | Size: 3 1/4" L x 2 1/8" D x 3 3/8" H

James W. Washington, Jr. (1909-2000) | Thrasher Stone, Driftwood | Dated: 1966 | 14" L x 3 1/4" D x 5 3/4" H

Low Relief Female Nude Carving/PaintingCirca: 1940-50Size: 24" H

Photo realistic painted portrait of a youngwoman—realism is heightened by low relief carving to give further illusion of depth.

Carved on a single block of walnut.

Reminds me of Eve from Jan van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece.

Folk Art Pipe with Great Seal and NudeWoman Holding Two American FlagsFound in Norwich, CTMaple BurlCirca: 1850Size: 2 7/8" L

First rate Folk Art, patriotic pipe with a centrallylocated nude woman holding American flags ineach hand. Above her is an American eagle withshield. The borders carved with swags and tassels.The flags have beautiful movement.

Sly erotic symbolism is not lost, a large, overtlyphallic device is located between her “spreadeagle” legs.

Emile Branchard (New York, 1881-1938)Oil on Artist Board Circa: 1925

Moody landscape with inventive composition—denudedtrees in the immediate foreground and an ascending treeline in the middle ground.

Branchard was a truck driver in NYC and after contractingtuberculosis began painting. After a successful showing atthe "Society of Independent Artists Exhibition" of 1919, hegained a reputation as a leading primitivist of the 1920-1930's showing alongside Milton Avery, Henri Rousseau,Stuart Davis, Max Weber, the Zorach’s, and others.

Opposite: background image; Salons ofAmerica Exhibition staff, artists and friends,April, 1934. Overlays: old clips from theNew York Times regarding exhibits and reviews for Emile Branchard.

William Rogers (1865-1952) Darien, GAFrogWoodCirca: 1930Size: 8 1/4" L x 3 1/16" D x 3" H

Rogers was a Southern, African American preacher.

Illustrated: Wadsworth, MISSING PIECES;Vlach, THE AFRO-AMERICAN TRADITION IN DECORATIVE ARTS

Exhibited: Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus,GA, 1977; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland,OH, 1978.

Folk Art Carved Snake Swallowing A MouseWoodCirca: 1910 Size: 16" L x 11 1/4" W x 2 3/4" H

Carved from a solid hardwood (walnut) block, ablack coiled snake is enjoying lunch.

Literature: a work by the same hand is in the collection of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller FolkArt Center and pictured in Treasures of AmericanFolk Art, p.211, pl.165 (wherein the mouse isturned the other way—its head is seen).

Scrimshaw Crimper of an AmericanSoldier in Shako UniformProvincetown, MA WhaleboneCirca: 1840Size: 6 5/8" H

Atop a beautifully carved crimped jaggingwheel and twisted stem, sits a soldier inShako uniform—the uniform is subtlelyhighlighted with black and red ink.

A rare, atypical piece of folk artscrimshaw—previously unrecorded form.

Recently acquired from a home inProvincetown, MA.

Rare Northeastern Ash Burl Tea StrainerCirca: 1760-1780Size: 3 3/4" D x 1 1/2" H

Illustrated and discussed: NORTH AMERICANBURL TREEN: COLONIAL & NATIVE AMERICAN, p 29, pl 1/18.

This is a mini masterpiece! The form is expertlyexecuted and the piece possesses an ideal surface.As with a cheese bowl, a small piece of clothwould be tied around the bottom flange and thenhot tea would be strained through the bowl sitting atop a tea cup. [Still] the only one I haveever seen!

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SHOW LOCATIONTHE METROPOLITAN PAVILION125 W 18TH ST. 10011(BETWEEN 6TH/7TH AVE)

O GALA PREVIEW OWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23 | 6 PM—9 PM

SHOW DATES AND HOURS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24 | 11 AM–7 PMFRIDAY, JANUARY 25 | 11 AM–7 PMSATURDAY, JANUARY 26 | 11 AM–7 PMSUNDAY, JANUARY 27 | 12 PM–5:30 PM

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