|
 Native Savannahian
Ulysses Davis (1913-1990) cherished the dream that most
of his life's work created over sixty years would be
preserved in a museum and made accessible to the
public and especially to children. He, however, had not
waited to be discovered, and in the tradition of "making
do" had created a make-shift art gallery around the
walls of his West Savannah barbershop. Here he had, as
he put it "cut hair" for nearly fifty years as he and
his beloved wife Elizabeth raised nine children. The
opening of Ulysses Davis, American Folk Artist is a
fulfillment of that dream.
The Davis Collection, consisting
of 238 sculptures, is the work of a man who was a genius
with wood sculpture and design. Self-taught, he learned
to master the tools of his trade. His background as a
railroad blacksmith's assistant enabled him to make many
of the tools he later used in woodcarving. A modest man,
he had called himself simply a whittler, one who carves
sticks and wood. But he was a brilliant sculptor, an
artist of the first degree. Blessed with a fertile, rich
imagination and, of course, splendid skill of hand, he
chose to earn his income mainly from barbering so that
the majority of his life's work would not be sold widely
and could be preserved in one place where it could be
viewed by the public.
 Ulysses Davis, American Folk
Artist is housed in two galleries of the historic 1867
Beach Institute, the first building constructed for
African American education in Savannah. Since only a
portion of the Davis Collection is shown in this
exhibition, other works will be seen in future revolving
exhibits. Also, portions of the Davis Collection will
travel nationally.
This permanent installation
represents a collaboration between the Atlanta Committee
for the Olympic Games Cultural Olympiad and the
King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation, and has been supported
by a major grant from ACOG Cultural Olympiad, with
additional support from the The Coca Cola Company,
Savannah Coca Cola Bottling Company, The Savannah
College of Art and Design, and Carson
Products.
--Carroll Greene, Curator of the Ulysses Davis Folk
Art
Collection |
