(Above) Original CDV from Dr. Thomas Davis, Scranton, PA. Click image for larger view.
(Above) Detail. Click image for larger view.HERE IS A PHOTOGRAPH THAT BEGS FOR MORE INFORMATION. I haven’t been able to find anything on this fellow, Dr. Thomas Davis from Scranton, PA who is shown in this photograph with six of his very creepy creations made from roots and what appears to be carved wood. To my knowledge, root creations are descended from African traditions, so it is a bit unusual to see a white man involved in “rootology” and making sculpture from roots. Medicine from roots is one thing—but sculpture? Interesting that he didn’t consider himself an artist, or he might have had that listed. Additionally, Dr. Davis was no spring chicken when this photo was taken in 1919, which means he very possibly began his “practice” in the late 19th century.
If anyone can shed some light on this amazing photograph or anything at all about Dr. Davis or his sculptures, please write in.
Digital image © John Foster, Accidental Mysteries.
Incredible photograph. Reminds me of the work of Moses Ogden. Let's hope some of these still exist in someone's attic...
ReplyDeletePerhaps he was just a collector.
ReplyDeleteThis article from the Times appears to offer some background info on Dr Thomas:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/28/garden/it-s-folk-art-in-king-size.html?pagewanted=1
Since not everyone has access to the NYTimes let me quote what the article says regarding Dr. Davis:
ReplyDelete"Overscale seems to be the order of the day: an extraordinary late 19th-century gold-leaf, copper and iron weathervane from St. Louis in the shape of a cut-out chair and measuring four and a half feet high ($21,000 from the Hill Gallery in Birmingham, Mich.) is mesmerizing, if not exactly an easy fit in the den.
Nor is the really strange -- by any standard -- Devil Root, a six-foot figure of gnarled and carved wood, the work of Dr. Thomas Davies, a turn-of-the-century eccentric from Scranton, Pa., who described himself on the photograph accompanying the figure as a "naturalist, rootologist and scientist." Steven Weiss of Gemini Antiques, a New York gallery, said the Devil Root, his prize exhibit, was "a little haunting and not everyone's cup of tea, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the single greatest piece of outsider folk art that has come to the market."
The bizarre figure costs $48,500, which includes the photograph."
Wow! Thank you Cathie for this information. Thank you, thank you! :)
ReplyDelete