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Published by johns, 2017-10-03 11:16:07

Faulkner 142 web2

Faulkner 142 web2

all rights reserved

First Edition

Layout and Design: Fine Art Editions
Photography: John S. Hockensmith

Text: Fine Art Editions
Editorial Assistant: Dr. Sarah Tsiang
Cover Design: Chip & Scribble Fine Art Studio
Elaine Arnold and Lynne Marshall

Four Colour Print Group
Printed in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Fine Art Editions
The Gift of Color
Henry Lawrence Faulkner
Case Bound ISBN 978-1-5323-5328-4
Limited Edition ISBN 978-1-5323-5329-1

Not for Reproduction

The Gift of Color

Henry Lawrence Faulkner

PAINTINGS, POEMS, AND WRITINGS
HIS YEARS AS AN ARTIST 1948-1981

1924-1981

all rights reserved

Acknowledgments

With gratitude to Jess and Angela Correll, and David and Many enriched this presentation by contributing artwork,
Roseann Downey for their commitment to John S. Hockensmith poems, photographs, and personal memories. We thank artist
and Fine Art Editions of Georgetown, Kentucky, for the Robert “Bob” Morgan and historian Dr. Jonathan Coleman; Paul
production of this book. "Skip" Olsen and his wife Cindy, who shared their scrapbooks;
Bill Meng, who shared his handwritten book of Faulkner
Deep appreciation to First Southern National Bank of poetry; the late artist/photographer Marie Cosindas, for her
Stanford, Kentucky, and their board members for purchasing the photographs and phone interview; and artist/photographer
Greene A. Settle Jr. Faulkner Collection; to the late Greene Settle John S. Hockensmith, who produced this book. We thank as
for his commitment to the arts, patronage, and preservation of well, Clifton “Andy” Anderson, Ann Bevins, Terry Costanzo
Faulkner’s art legacy, as well as for his meticulous record-keeping, David, Jean Donahue, Pattie Hood, Dr. Celeste Maury Offutt,
which provided an invaluable source of information on Faulkner’s and Howard Settle and his wife Mickey.
professional life; and to his son Howard Settle and his wife Mickey
for the curation and preservation of Greene Settle’s collection of art, Other contributors to whom we express our appreciation
personal records and information, scrapbooks and memorabilia. include: Lisa Acree, Mike Ades, Nancy Barron, Je Choate, the
Catesby Clay family, Joe Dietz and Tim Brooks, Susan English, Dr.
A large debt is owed to the late Charles House, author of Edward and Priscilla Fallon, Harold T. and Becky Faulconer, Joe and
The Outrageous Life of Henry Faulkner: Portrait of an Appalachian Hart Graves, Dr. Greg Hood, Randy Kemper, Danny Matherly,
Artist, a carefully researched and detailed account of Faulkner’s Lynn Peck, Sue Russell, Roni Scott, the Ken Scroggins family, Joseph
life, and to the University of Tennessee Library Special Collections Silman, Jim Smith, Ann Sturgill, Neil Sulier, and the Woodford S.
for maintaining a large store of Faulkner papers, including many VanMeter family. Appreciation to the Fine Art Editions staff: Mark
of his handwritten poems. Sweazy, Vicky Clark, Francie Strohmeier, and for contributions from
Eric Taylor, Cher M. Jackson and Judy Tsiang.
Thanks to the late Daphne Phelps for the personal accounts
in her book A House in Sicily. It is those beautifully described So many have shared their enthusiasm and helped in our effort
memories of Faulkner’s stays in Taormina that give us a window to share the Faulkner story – we are grateful for your support and
into life at her villa, Casa Cuseni, and what having a guest like regret if our enumeration is incomplete here.
Henry Faulkner would have encompassed.
Finally, we express an everlasting debt of gratitude to all the
We gratefully acknowledge John S. Hockensmith, Pattie patrons and admirers who have kept Henry Faulkner’s legacy
Hood, Dr. Sarah Tsiang, James P. Fields, Myra Lewyn, Veronica thriving and growing. We acknowledge the spirit that Faulkner
Feth, and Anne Shelby for the hard work they put into researching, imparted to us and left for future generations to discover. May
writing, and editing the overview of Faulkner’s life. we all feel graced to experience his gift of color.

i Not for Reproduction

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments i

Preface iv

Introduction 1

The Beginnings 1924 – 1947 4

The Formative Years 1948 – 1957 10

1948 – 1957 Twenty-five paintings and sketches, with poems and journal entries 20

The Masterful Years 1958 – 1969 74

1958 – 1969 Forty paintings, with poems and journal entries 96

The Accomplished Years 1970 – 1981 180

1970 – 1981 Forty paintings, with poems and journal entries 200

Notes on References . 281

Endnotes and Selected Bibliography 282

Index of Artwork 283

Index of Selected Writings 285

Index of Text 286

all rights reserved ii

The generosity of

First Southern Funding
has made this book possible

Henry Lawrence Faulkner
The Gift of Color

With gratitude to First Southern National Bank, its board members,
Jess and Angela Correll, and David and Roseann Downey
for their stewardship and patronage of the fine arts

iii N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

The Gift of Patronage

An artist without a patron is like a seed without soil – a kite without wind – the heavens
without stars. From the outset, the artist and the patron are presented an opportunity for
developing an integral alliance. The patron’s financial support and the recognition inferred
by the patron’s purchase allow the artist’s imagination to return to creative expression. It is
with this symbiotic relationship that art continues to be born.

The patron’s commitment to the creative process begins with the first sale. With that act
of patronage, the art can circulate, facilitating awareness of the artist’s work and advocating
for more creation.

As the patron’s role progresses, it contributes to the preservation of the artist’s work
and with vigilant stewardship, helps create a foundation for the artist’s legacy. With
guardianship and accolades, art does not languish as décor or become a secret possession
– it is celebrated. The enthusiastic patron can further the artist’s legacy by collecting,
organizing, and preserving information and memorabilia related to the artist’s life and
works. These additional efforts build a basis for the art’s secondary market value, and with
proper documentation, sales records, and other details, a monetary worth is established
and a currency created.

It is because of the many patrons that Henry Lawrence Faulkner engaged and the
transactions made between them that a comprehensive record of his life legacy is preserved.
It is with gratitude to all of Faulkner’s patrons, especially Greene A. Settle as well as First
Southern National Bank, that Faulkner’s magical imagination and gift of color remain
vibrant today.

all rights reserved iv

Introduction

Destined to become a world Throughout his career, patrons and acquaintances responded
traveler and famous artist, to his ebullient spirit with both adulation and disparagement,
Henry Faulkner spent his but he remained committed to exploring and expressing his love
troubled and impoverished of nature, his joy for animals, and his desire to understand the
youth a vagabond, making mysteries of life and death.
numerous stops along the way.
Livingby his wits, he honed his Faulkner supported his increasingly expensive lifestyle as a
natural talents and perfected professional artist for over three decades with money he earned
his flair for the dramatic. He from the sale of his artwork. From the late 1950s until his tragic
was blessed with an intuitive death on December 3, 1981, he was prolific. His body of work
charisma and the voice of a may have exceeded 5,000 pieces, that are now mostly in private
New Orleans nightingale, collections and seldom for sale.
enabling him to weave himself into the fabric of the rich and
famous. But he also sought solace among the less fortunate, Since his passing, his artistic legacy has gained momentum, and
the poor and downtrodden. That was Faulkner’s style. He had as more art enthusiasts discover Henry Faulkner, the appreciation
a notion and a purpose for anybody and everybody who tried to broadens for his fanciful mid-19th-century European style and
understand him and who was willing to lend him a helping hand for his compelling life story as well. The monetary value of his
on the road from notoriety to renown. paintings continues to grow as verified by appraisals, gallery sales,
and auction prices. Any piece of Faulkner’s artwork, whether it
Many who knew him considered him eccentric. An impulsive and be a sketch or an oil panel, is now a solid investment, and when
creative person, he defiantly and courageously flaunted effeminate a painting does arrive in the marketplace, the price continues to
ways at a time when attitudes toward the gay community could be escalate. The historical significance of Faulkner’s artwork extends
filled with danger and hateful disdain. He was frequently viewed beyond its place in the history of American art; his works are
with skepticism, condescension, and condemnation, but he was also internationally known as well.
adored for his alluringly impish and joyful ways.
The selection of paintings in this book are presented as an
Faulkner’s circumstances were sometimes complicated by overview of Faulkner’s artistic evolution. The placement of
stepping outside the law, overstaying his welcome, or taking the artwork is sequenced chronologically by recorded dates.
advantage of others’ generosity. Yet it seems that his strong- Where there was no reliable documentation, the artwork has
willed aspirations did not negate his sheer delightfulness. His been arranged subjectively per its perceived artistic style. The
fertile imagination was a conduit for success. The outcomes, inclusion and placement of Faulkner’s poems and journal
however, were periodically a magnet for troubling accusations. entries are not intended to be chronologically arranged or to
As one fortuitous incident after another occurred, he stayed depict specific paintings but rather to offer an insight into
artistically focused and ignored rejection and denunciation. Faulkner’s personal thoughts in his own handwriting or from
His art and poetry guided him like a lighthouse on a distant his typewritten pages.
shore, allowing his wild inspirations to sail freely across the
oceans of his visual fantasies. Faulkner’s art will always speak for itself. This compilation,
The Gift of Color, offers future generations a window into the
magic of Henry Lawrence Faulkner’s imagination.

1 Not for Reproduction

Photo: © Maria Cosindas / Saturday Evening Post

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d"Henry Faulkner, 1966" photograph by Marie Cosindas; "A Show of Color" 2

by Margaret R. Weiss, Saturday Review, September 24, 1966

Know Your Self for Reproduction

Date: 1953
Medium: Conté drawing

on illustration board
Size: 18” x 131/2”
Signed: "Faulkner Feb. 9 ’53"

bottom right with
"Know Your Self" above

Titled by artist; “Thy Self”
changed to “Your Self;
cropped from early sketch

33 N o t

The Beginnings
1924 - 1947

all rights reserved 4

THE BEGINNINGS The Whittimores sent their foster son to school, brought him Photo: © unknown / Faulkner-Morgan Pagan Babies Archive
to church, and tried their best to apply discipline. But Faulkner’s
1924 - 1947 youthful mind wandered, as did his feet. He found traditional church
services boring and preferred the style of Holiness and Pentecostal
Born under a Wolf Moon in the practices, intrigued by the religious fervor and unrestrained manner
backwoods of South Central Kentucky, of worship. His true spiritual pursuit, however, was to commune
Henry Lawrence Faulkner’s first cry with God in lush meadows, in valley mornings glistening with dew,
echoed through the valleys on a shadowy evening of January 9, in ripening sweet apple trees, and in clouds hanging on the highest
1924. Frail and sickly at birth, he was the tenth of 13 children, hills that drifted away and turned into stars as night fell.
one of whom died, born to Bessie Lee and John Milton Faulkner.
His birth was followed by a sister and then by twins. The new He found God in the ever-changing cycles of the seasons. He
additions to the family were more hungry mouths to feed in a spent time in the summer shade and early morning green, amid
1 1/2 room log shack inhabited by a talented but domineering the bursting tones of sunlit autumn days, and the subtle shapes and
father and a protective, overworked mother. Faulkner’s first colors of snowflakes preceding the first buds of spring. Long before
footing inside that house in the boondocks of Simpson County, he ever read Henry David Thoreau’s words, “Heaven is under
near the Tennessee-Kentucky border, played a major role in the our feet as well as over our heads,” Faulkner had already formed a
direction his life would take as an artist and a man. spiritual bond with nature, a connection reflected throughout his
lifetime in his poems, letters, journals, and art.
On October 2, 1926, before he was even three years
old, Faulkner’s mother died. Only six weeks after Bessie Faulkner’s foster mother, Dora, in the 1960s on her farm near
Lee Pursley Faulkner’s burial, her 12 children, still reeling Egypt, Kentucky; presumably her second husband pictured behind
from the loss, were committed by John Milton Faulkner
to the Kentucky Children’s Home in Louisville, Kentucky.
Over the next four years, Faulkner’s siblings were pulled
out and dispersed to a variety of homes. It must have been
especially shattering to a fragile child to lose his remaining
family considering that he experienced at least two failed
foster placements himself, one in Breathitt County in
Eastern Kentucky and another in Western Kentucky. These
events likely compounded his sense of instability. Faulkner’s
personality and evolving character traits were undercoated
in the black gesso of these tragic beginnings.

In November 1930 when he was a little over 6 1/2 years
old, Faulkner arrived at a place he would call home, where he
could let his undernourished and shaken soul take root with
his new foster parents, Dan and Dora Whittimore. He, at last,
had a permanent family and for the next decade he would be
known as Lawrence Whittimore. They lived together in a fully
furnished one-story frame house on Falling Timber Branch.
Nestled close by was a one-room schoolhouse among the small
churches and homes scattered throughout the remote hills in
Clay County in Eastern Kentucky.

5 Not for Reproduction

Faulkner was by no means an ordinary boy. He wrote in his from crushed wild mulberries, blackberries, raspberries,
journals of being ostracized from the Falling Timber community black cherries, elderberries, and anything else he could find.
during his childhood; his foster mother, the exception. Biographer He sculpted the clay of Clay County, shaping new ideas
Charles House described the peculiar dynamic of their relationship and molding his ephemeral thoughts in truly artistic ways.
in which Dora, according to a social worker, appeared to “almost He had found the freedom he so desperately sought and in
worship” her son while, in Faulkner’s own words, holding herself his secret reality, he made fantasy friends – creatures of the
out as “the woman who raised the poor orphan.”1 But for others thickets – and communed with flowers in bloom. He sang
in the community there was little understanding or forgiveness with the birds, trying to escape the pain of being one who
for his unacceptable behaviors, unorthodox encounters, defiant simply consented and conformed.
drag performances, evangelical ecstasies on the church lawn, or his
klepto-inclined sticky fingers. The residents did not find his behavior Photo: © unknown / Faulkner-Morgan Pagan Babies Archive
amusing or perhaps even redeemable. Such denouncement regarding
his inability or unwillingness to succumb to conventional standards Henry Faulkner, age 5, seated on the far right, lower step, Falling
drove him into a more interior world and prodded him to seek solace Timber, Kentucky
from nature, the wellspring of his creativity.
Faulkner’s early art presentations were not well received by 6
Faulkner wrote of his reaction to the rejection, “I’ll the residents around Falling Timber. Even his doting mother
stay inside – I won’t go out where – they can hear my soft, was unconvinced by his artistic efforts. His art was likely an
effeminate voice.” He escaped to woodland sanctuaries – abstract reflection of his inner reality and Clay Countians, at
secret places where only he and God knew where he was. the time, seemed not particularly interested in the value of
He sought the most basic of connections, writing in his his youthful creations. Even though his fledgling attempts to
journal, “As a child, heard of a person with St. Vitus Dance. make art were ridiculed and rejected, his vision was set, and
Imagination (Vitus – vitality). A saint, dancing, wind, he was far too defiant to veer off course. Throughout his life,
mystery, wish I could catch it, chasing invisible butterflies, time-lapsed memories of rural Clay County refuges would
my interest was intuitive – not religious – but personal.” be an ongoing inspiration in his artwork. With that prism of
Connecting strongly with nature as indicated in another consciousness embedded, he often referenced these experiences
journal entry, he wrote “I’ll talk to myself and speak to the in his poetry and painting.
things around me. To things that can’t answer vocally, but
only respond in their beauty. I’ll speak to these trees – they reserved
tremble for me – they are gracious trees. And there in the
curve of the land – I’ll get a feeling that comes from one
touch of the hand … we have always been very close … the
earth and I.” A type of mysticism and pantheism, the idea
that God is everywhere, arose from these soulful internal
monologues and became an element in much of his work.2

It was in the backcountry that Faulkner could feel free,
behaving like a feral child whose spirit was set loose to run
wild amidst all of God’s grandeur. There was his place of
bohemian worship, where he could frolic and fulfill his
need to create. Relying on his basic creative instincts, he
constructed brushes with sassafras twigs and concocted paints

all rights

Given the lack of understanding of the adolescent’s expression Photo: © unknown / Faulkner-Morgan Pagan Babies Archive
and a decade of persistent conflict with his neighbors and the law, Photo: © unknown / Faulkner-Morgan Pagan Babies Archive
Faulkner’s foster father, Dan, convinced Dora that Faulkner should
be returned to the Children’s Home in Louisville, at least for the
time being. Even Faulkner agreed. Now, at 15 years old and with
only a fifth-grade education, he sought placement with one of his
older siblings, all of whom were scattered between Washington state
and Kentucky. His brother Harvey lived in Louisville, Kentucky,
with his wife, Ida, and the couple decided to take him in and
provide him at least with some temporary stability.

In October 1939 Faulkner enrolled at the Louisville Junior
Art Academy, where Betty Neal, a social worker, helped him
get a scholarship, and for a few months he excelled among the
older students at the academy. He possessed an extraordinary
zeal for art, but his enthusiasm waned and his experience at the
academy was short-lived. Turning 16 in 1940, he had by then
developed a strong desire to see the world and pursue literary
greatness; he wanted to become a world-famous author. Despite
these ambitions he instead drifted in and out of Louisville and

Faulkner, pictured far left, back row, with his classmates in front of Faulkner posing with presumably his sister Lois, somewhere on a
Falling Timber schoolhouse California beach

the Children’s Home and spent at least one short stint in the
psychopathic ward of the City Hospital in Louisville. He was also
routinely in trouble with the police and sent before the county
judge. It appeared that frequent jail time would be his lot in life.
In his favor, though, a new decade was dawning as he transitioned
into his “wandering years.” The 1940s led him down endless alleys
and across busy boulevards as he spent time sketching, reading,
and writing, continuously refining his talents.

When he tried to join the U.S. Navy in the spring of 1941
before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Faulkner faced rejection once
again. His days at the Children’s Home were set to expire on
May 6, 1942. Trying to figure out how to make it on his own,
he decided to hit the road. He went first south to Birmingham,
Alabama, for a short stay, then west to Shreveport, Louisiana,
on to Dallas and El Paso, Texas, and Roswell, New Mexico,

7 Not for Reproduction

and then on to California, arriving in San Francisco in early Thumbing along, Faulkner drifted, pilfered, and negotiated
summer 1942. He soon caught up with his older sister, Lois, in his way back and forth across the country. He made stops in
Vallejo, California, and found work clerking at a radio station Falling Timber to see his foster parents but he never stayed long.
and laboring in the shipyards. But neither job lasted long and he One of the stabilizing forces from his travels was a man he met
decided that Los Angeles was the place where he could get a big named David with whom he developed a special friendship,
break as an actor or performer. a person he came to love and trust. The two constantly
corresponded and found frequent opportunities to rendezvous.
Together, Faulkner and Lois moved to Los Angeles where he But while Faulkner was in another part of the country during
sought work in the movie industry, but his efforts were futile. By the summer of 1946, he received a letter with the news that
1944 he and his sister set out in different directions, crisscrossing David had died. Devastated, aimless, and grief-stricken, he spent
the American landscape and reconnecting when they could. the winter in Falling Timber in a frozen state of mind. Writer’s
block and the pain of depression had overtaken him. In May
1947 he decided on a simple remedy of recovery – to hitchhike
to Key West. Perhaps that would be the road to a happier life
where he could once again feel as free as he had as a child in the
meadows of Clay County.
Photo: © unknown / Faulkner-Morgan Pagan Babies Archive
Faulkner on a beach in California, reading and striking a towering pose Photo: © unknown / Faulkner-Morgan Pagan Babies Archive

On a long journey encompassing many miles and many In sailor's attire, arms decidedly folded, Faulkner poses; once hoping
cities, Faulkner passed through Chicago, Kentucky, New York, to join the Navy, he tried to enlist but was rejected
Miami, New Orleans, and Boston, and then backtracked
through the Southwest to California. His favorite place of
respite, though, was probably Miami, but he never stayed
long anywhere without trouble and the prospect of jail time
sending him back on the road. This wandering period would
likely have been filled with intense insecurity and worries,
but reading and writing were Faulkner’s focus. This means
of self-education helped his writing become more polished.
Consequently his poetry, his journals, his annotations, and
personal correspondence became his main artistic efforts.

all rights reserved 8

Kites of Spring

Undated: late ’50s or early ’60s
Medium: Watercolor with gouache wash and pen and ink on paper
Size: 24” x 181/4”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right
Example of Faulkner’s experimentation with mixed media, collage, and the inclusion of lines
of his poetry (signature is visible under infrared light); layout cropped from the original art
Titled by artist

99 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

The Formative Years
1948 - 1957

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 10

Photo: © unknown / Faulkner-Morgan Pagan Babies Archive Key West was a perfect place for wintering, but in mid-1948
Faulkner went to Washington, D.C., for a short time to sketch,
A young Henry Faulkner in the '50s paint, and fill his journal with reflections and poems. With a
novel also in the works, he had hit his stride as a writer, adopting
The Formative Years a “Beat-style” in the vein of William S. Burroughs, Allen
Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac. At the same time, he was drawn
1948 - 1957 more and more toward visual art, making countless studies with
charcoal, pen, watercolors, and paint.
Faulkner’s geographical cure for grief was found along the
highways heading to Key West; the 23-year-old’s desolation As the decade wound down, he headed back to New York
lifted. Enraptured with a zeal for life, for Faulkner running away where his sister Lois joined him on occasion to explore the
had become a means of embracing all things. He had set out city. The two stayed with the niece of their half-brother, Dite
for Key West on a writer’s path, but the beauty of the tropical Faulkner, on Faile Street in the Bronx during those Big Apple
landscapes stirred his deepest emotions and enlivened his spirit, adventures.
compelling him to convey his experience in both words and
paintings. In that summer of 1947, in the sweltering Floridian Faulkner gained confidence in big city ways and by early
air on the road to Key West, Faulkner began to sketch and 1949 he had rented a room on the Upper West Side across from
paint in earnest, and art became his lifelong passion, eventually Riverside Park, just a few subway stops from Greenwich Village.
becoming his profession. He continued to absorb city life as he roamed the museums
and coffee houses, and explored the nightlife. He worked at
menial jobs and scraped, scrounged, and snatched to keep his
head above water. But it was during this time of meandering
that Faulkner walked into a bookstore and discovered a recently
published book by a Kentucky author. To his astonishment, the
author was from Falling Timber Branch. The writer was Henry
Hornsby; the book, Lonesome Valley (1949).

This bookstore discovery reignited Faulkner’s literary
aspirations and the success of Hornsby, a man from his part of
the world, now a successful Lexington, Kentucky, newspaperman,
helped him focus on his need for a formal education. Hornsby
was an alumnus of Berea College, and the persistent Faulkner
sent him letters asking for help in gaining admission. He
consequently lost interest in New York and returned to Falling
Timber. In November 1949, he moved to Lexington to be near the
Hornsby family and continued his insistent pleading. Hornsby
finally convinced the college to grant Faulkner an interview. For
over a century, Berea College had been nationally recognized
for its mission of helping underprivileged Kentuckians from the
Appalachian region obtain an education. Still, it was remarkable
that Berea College actually considered Faulkner, given that he
had only completed the first five grades of school.

11 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

Berea admitted Faulkner in September 1950, but only Sicilian Goat
a month into his first semester he felt stifled by his English
composition class and his enthusiasm waned. He asked the dean Undated: mid-to-late ’50s
to be dismissed. Dejected and with yet another failure behind Medium: Pen and ink with wash on paper
him, he looked for a new path that did not depend on writing. Size: 16” x 22 1/2”
His social worker, Betty Neal, from the Kentucky Children’s Signed: “Faulkner" bottom right with "Sicilian Goat" below
Home had always been supportive and had corresponded with
him throughout the ’40s. She suggested that his gifts might best
be channeled back into painting and visual art. Neal’s respectful
encouragement buoyed Faulkner’s listing spirit and prompted
him to return to familiar territory, Washington, D.C. There, he
rambled into another meaningless job and cheap apartment as
he set about drawing, sketching, and painting. During this time
he still wrote to his friends and family but now devoted much
of his time to art.

Titled by artist; a gift to Paul “Skip” Olsen from Faulkner for yard labor
in the mid '70s

Times Square With a sense of urgency Faulkner built up an art portfolio and
promptly presented his work to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, one
Undated: mid-to-late ’50s of the oldest and most prestigious galleries in the United States.
Medium: Pencil sketch The gallery included a school, and its principal, Richard Lahey,
Size: 4 5/8” x 6 3/4” a well-known artist himself, took special interest in Faulkner’s
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right with "Times inventiveness. He was given a scholarship in the fall of 1950 and
Square" bottom left began studying portraits and landscapes under renowned artist
Kenneth Stubbs. Faulkner had natural instincts and learned new
Titled by artist; paper from small pocket-size pad mediums and techniques quickly. Inspired and confident, just
after New Year’s Day 1951, Faulkner showed his work to various
galleries in Georgetown and was offered a debut show for October.

In mid-January, he was arrested for propositioning a District
of Columbia policeman and lost his scholarship at the Corcoran.
He still maintained his mettle, though, and still believed he could
make it as a professional artist. He found a job at a pharmacy
and spent the spring getting ready for the October

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 12

show in Georgetown. However in a subsequent brush with the Sketch from St. Elizabeths Hospital
law, he was next charged with a more serious offense involving
a minor. While the accusations proved untrue and were later Date: 1952
recanted, there was a penalty for his record of indiscretions. The Medium: Pencil (glue-mounted paper on board)
court psychiatrist deemed him a “sexual psychopath” and after Size: 11” x 15”
four months in a D.C. jail, he agreed to be committed to St. Signed: “Henry Lawrence Faulkner April -1- 52” bottom right
Elizabeths Hospital, a psychiatric facility in southeast D.C. He
was 27 years old. Descriptive title above for reference; date coincides with Faulkner’s
time at St. Elizabeths where he was incarcerated in Chestnut Ward at
For the next 13 months, Faulkner lived in that asylum the same time as Ezra Pound
among all types of demented and tormented souls. When not
protesting or preaching at the other inmates, he withdrew for
extended periods of time, prodigiously drawing and writing
poetry. His lifelines of contact with the outside world during
this emotionally unstable time included letters from “Beetles,”
his friend in St. Louis with whom he had spent time during
his cross-country hitchhiking days. In his journals, he expressed
feeling particularly grateful for a visit from his sister Pet and
especially for the letters from his sister Lois.

Group Meeting H. H. Still, Faulkner’s rebellious behavior against the institution
and altercations with fellow patients continued for almost a year
Date: 1951 before he began to make serious efforts to reinstate his good
Medium: Pen and ink sketch standing with the doctors and staff. In the spring of 1952 he
Size: 5” x 8” was relocated to the more civil surroundings of Chestnut Ward.
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right with It turned out that one of America’s famous poets, Ezra Pound,
"Group Meeting H.H." below resided there. Pound had been charged with treason based on
inflammatory statements he had made regarding the United
Titled by artist; notation "H.H." for Howard Hall, States government while living in Italy before and during World
St. Elizabeths Hospital War II, and he was confined to St. Elizabeths after being judged
unfit to stand trial. Faulkner recognized his good fortune and
was determined to endear himself to the poet. He joined Pound
often, which gave him the opportunity to meet a few of Pound’s
sympathetic contemporaries, visitors such as E.E. Cummings,
William Carlos Williams, T.S. Eliot, and Thornton Wilder.

13 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

Faulkner recorded in his journal that Pound mentored and Timber. He then headed north to Lexington, which seemed
enlightened him in a variety of ways of seeing and knowing. He not to have changed much in the last five years. Faulkner
wrote: “Ezra once came over to me and handed me a small green himself, however, had changed dramatically and had become
leaf from a Mulberry tree, saying, ‘Do you want knowledge, a much more disciplined artist and poet. Faulkner, then 31
Henry? Look. It’s here. All right here in this tiny leaf. All you years old, took up residence with James Herndon, a flamboyant
have to do is look at it. But look hard, Henry. Look hard.’”3 local character affectionately known as “Sweet Evening Breeze.”
Pound’s guidance helped push Faulkner to focus and he began
to pour more energy into art. Energized with new techniques he had learned in Los Angeles,
Faulkner painted local scenes, still lifes, and models. He began to
By early autumn Faulkner was deemed sufficiently recovered
and no longer a danger to others, and after being at St. Elizabeths Doctor at St. Elizabeths Hospital
for more than a year, he was released. But he still faced charges
in the D.C. courts and living on his own was not going to be Date: 1951
an option. The charges were finally dismissed on October 24, Medium: Watercolor, pen and ink
1952 on the condition that he not remain in Washington, D.C., Size: 15” x 11”
and that he be placed in the care of his sister Lois in California. Signed: “Faulkner Nov. 1951” bottom right
Fleeing, he stopped briefly in St. Louis to see Beetles, his faithful Descriptive title above for reference; Faulkner’s
friend. After a short stay, he traveled on to Los Angeles where psychiatrist at St. Elizabeths Hospital
he and Lois were reunited once again. Now his intention was to
focus on his art and gain formal training at the Otis Art Institute.

The highly acclaimed faculty of the Otis Art Institute
included Margaret Montgomery Barlow, who recognized
Faulkner’s natural abilities and creativity and quickly grew to
adore him. Likewise, her husband, Jarvis Walter Barlow, took
notice of Faulkner’s literary abilities and shared his passion for
poetry. Also, Millard Sheets, an accomplished California School
artist, and post-impressionist artist Pierre Sicard both taught
Faulkner at Otis. The institute proved the ideal environment for
Faulkner to master the fundamentals and techniques of drawing
and painting.

Faulkner continued his studies at Otis for the next three
years, living primarily with Lois. At times they were homeless
and lived outdoors in a park. But his true base of operations was
the institute, where he diligently worked on both his art and
poetry, and as his talents matured, he began to merge the borders
between the two. Charles House recounts Margaret Barlow’s
observation, “To him there was no separation between poetry and
art. His art was poetry.”4 Poetry, song, and visual imagery were all
now his second language.

After his three years in California, Faulkner left for
Kentucky in the fall of 1955 for a short stay in Falling

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 14

take liberties with what he saw, exaggerating line and form, but direction and empowered his imagination. Charles House infers
he had yet to explore the mythological and religious images that that Faulkner may have had a transformative experience at
would become frequent in his later works. Inspiration for familiar Perls Galleries on East 58th Street.6 Later in his career Faulkner
subjects did not last long, and he pondered whether to go back acknowledged his debt, sometimes referring to himself as the
to Los Angeles for further study or to Cincinnati to recharge his “American Chagall.” Following that brief New York trip, his work
artistic spirit. As before when he needed answers, he retreated to evolved and matured as he applied his vast repertoire of techniques
the quiet of Falling Timber Branch. There, in the spring meadows, to explore the European style of art that he had experienced there.
he refueled his thirst for new ideas and rediscovered his poetic He had achieved confidence in portraying tangible objects, but
muse. Reinvigorated and with grandiose notions, in the spring
of 1956 he headed neither to Los Angeles nor Cincinnati. He Scout
instead set out again for New York City.
Date: late ’40s or early ’50s
A decade earlier in New York, Faulkner had witnessed the Medium: Pastel, colored pencil, pen and ink on paper
cultural tides changing, including those in the art world. During Size: 115/8” x 8 1/2”
the ’30s art was evolving from cubism into the figurative styles Signed: “Faulkner“ bottom right
of the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) artists. Those Titled by artist; had been crumpled, thrown out, then retrieved
New Deal government grants propelled artists like Thomas
Hart Benton, Grant Wood, John Steuart Curry, and others.
The American Art movement in the ’40s was giving rise to
abstract expressionism, which had attracted artists such as
Hans Hofmann, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock,
and Willem de Kooning. During that prolific generation of art
evolution, Faulkner was searching for his own artistic direction.
He was witnessing and feeling the seismic changes in New York’s
art world and looking to make his stand. Yet, his artistic influences
were diverse; he had been formally trained in California School
styles. Still searching for his own visual art style, he maintained
literary focus, giving attention to both ambitions. By this time,
he had reached a point of synthesis, as articulated in his journal,
“Art was poetry, and Poetry was art.”5

Perls Galleries in New York City presented 28 Marc Chagall
paintings in the spring of 1956. Chagall’s work was figurative
and narrative, approaching surreal. His work had emerged
from the early 20th century School of Paris, a European style
influenced by Fauvist art from Paris at the turn of the century.
The trends of European art were in stark contrast to the trends of
abstract impressionism and postmodern abstraction occurring
in the New York School.

Faulkner instinctively connected with the European
movement and Chagall in a way that solidified his artistic

15 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

now he began to explore his own point of view, blending the Two Lemons and a Cup
objective and subjective, and synthesizing his perception and
understanding into a new style of imagery that could explore Undated: late ’70s or early ’80s
imaginative dreams and inner consciousness. Medium: Oil on black gesso panel
Size: 7” x 9 1/2”
Faulkner briefly returned to Lexington after leaving New Unsigned (authenticated)
York, but in Lexington he was still a relatively unknown artist. He
soon decided to venture north to the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Descriptive title above for reference; unfinished painting recovered
where he received yet another scholarship. He also spent time from debris of Faulkner's estate illustrates black gesso base
at the University of Kentucky’s Department of Art, developing
casual friendships at both institutions. Re-energized, his style of The following year, Faulkner created a new inventory of
visual, lyrical, and narrative combinations evolved in accordance landscapes and still lifes. He also began to explore the religious
with the European influences he had encountered in New York. icons and Bible stories familiar to him from his childhood.
He continued to study cubism and symbolism as he created his Working industriously, he longed to gain an audience on the
own dreamlike compositions that were now more akin to the big stage of New York City. When he returned to New York in
expressionistic and surrealistic works of Raoul Dufy, Joan Miró, the spring of 1957, he made his first sale to a cooperative
or Amedeo Modigliani. Faulkner added his own rural primitive gallery on 62nd Street, Collectors of American Art. In the
touch to his painting; his work was now recognizably unique, art world, a sale like that was not particularly significant,
distinctively “Faulkneresque.” but it put money in his pocket and validated his self-esteem.
Emboldened, he went next to 65th Street where the Caravan
Faulkner achieved that style in a number of ways. He painted Gallery accepted five of his pieces for a summer group
with casein, a skim milk and oil mixture that produced delicate show. He was on a roll when both ACA Galleries and Burr
opaque tones; and gouache, an opaque watercolor prepared Gallery accepted his work for group shows. Even though he
with gum. He created a signature translucency with watercolors had yet to make it into the high-end galleries, his art was
and painted boldly in traditional oils. He continued sketching being recognized and selling. With funds in hand and winter
with pen and ink and explored his unique vision by gathering closing in, he headed south again to Key West.
fresh ideas and delving into new compositions. Intellectually
and emotionally, he constantly negotiated between his exterior
and interior self ‒ what he saw and how he felt ‒ as he fused
both perspectives through his art. Seamlessly balancing objective
vision and visceral response into a singular artistic statement,
his painting drew from real images characterizing his personal
memories and the unique world of his imagination.

The year 1956 proved difficult for Faulkner. He was
financially strapped, and in November his foster father, Dan
Whittimore, died. Whittimore had been the disciplinarian and
the only father that Faulkner had known. While the two had
certainly had their differences, those were now put aside and
Faulkner expressed his grief poignantly in his woe-filled poem,
“Elegy” (see pg. 17). That winter at Falling Timber, he pondered
the mysteries of life and death.

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 16

Elegy He learned to master negative space as he discovered what
not to paint and how to isolate colors to create luminosity.
I have not come home He added dimension by allowing the coarseness of the black
But have come to where I used to be gesso to show through the painted shapes. Using his sketching
No one has kept the fields sweet skills, he drew fine details back into the wet oil exposing lines
With hay ... of the black undercoat. He increasingly gave his compositions
There are no fox hunters anymore “pop” by leaving unpainted black outlines around the colored
All have turned away ... shapes of his images. He also discovered how to apply thin
The fall of autumn leaves layered glazes to create the illusion of depth and how to
Are a gesture of pity enhance this perception by using the light touch of a drag-
As if they seem to know the earth is sad. brush to create forward highlights. With one stroke of a fan-
The kettle does not sing at suppertime brush, these highlights sparkled. He became well versed in
For sorrow is my supper, finishing touches, manipulating tiny filbert brushes to lace
Oh! The taste is bad in micro details and weaving in opaque fine points to create
The apples hang like lanterns keeping vigil lustrous rhythms. Imagining and developing new techniques
Nothing now will make the apples sweet. and incorporating old ones, Faulkner found novel ways to
I can not bear to hear them fall - give his works a distinctive chroma burst.
They sound like the endless
Torture of some wanderer’s feet
The wind can tell you how I feel tonight.
The cold and lonely wind, and perhaps
The pale and lonely lilacs: Lilacs
Smell Llke Beauty smothered; smell
Like loneliness itself ...
No plow can bury the grief, no
Autumn leaves can muffle my cry!
I have come to drain my heart of sorrow
But I had rather come to die.

Over the next five years or so, Faulkner’s techniques moved Henry’s Palette
toward the distinctive style that came to define his career.
During this time his style of painting progressed as he applied Undated: late ’70s or early ’80s
original and innovative methods using brilliant colors over black Medium: Artist palette on Masonite, varnished
backgrounds. He found Masonite panels to be an inexpensive Size: 10 1/2” x 14 3/4”
and suitable substrate, where the rough side provided a rigid Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right
surface with excellent adhesion. He would then texture a panel
with black gesso and after it dried, paint with colorful oils and Descriptive title above for reference; illustrates variety
casein as his resourcefulness grew. of colors used for Faulkner's mixing technique; one of several
known dried palettes Faulkner signed and sold, traded, or gave away

17 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

As Faulkner became practiced, he learned to expand the The Wine Tasters
chromatics to enrich his panels with a greater range of color
and sense of luminosity. He matured as a colorist, often Date: 1954
creating an iridescence by juxtaposing colors without losing Medium: Gouache on illustration board
the subtleties of the mid-tones. Through this process, he Size: 24” x 18”
developed a genuine understanding of harmony, dissonance, Signed: “Faulkner 1954” bottom right
and split harmonies; and of how to manipulate and even bend
the traditional rules of color theory. He refined his methods Titled by artist
and technical expertise as he continually developed his style,
exploring new ways to create the illusion of light reflecting
from opaque layers and a sense of internal light that radiated
from within translucent glazes.

Those ingenious techniques and processes punctuated
Faulkner’s explorations, and he continued to be inspired by
styles practiced in Europe. His new work was unquestionably
desirable in an art world always looking for something fresh.
Throughout this time of artistic growth he learned to give life,
visually, to both the seen and unseen in remarkable ways. The
important transitional years that segue Faulkner’s experimental
school years into his professional career were an intensely
formative and productive period for the artist, resulting in
the quintessential Faulkner style that would become vogue
thereafter in art markets from New York to Los Angeles and
Florida, and across the ocean to Italy as well.

It was a time for Faulkner’s artistry, in every sense of the
word, to ripen, be harvested, and ferment like the finest of
wines with the most savory bouquet.

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 18

Self Portrait

Undated: late ’40s or early ’50s
Medium: Pencil
Size: 9 3/4” x 7”
Unsigned

Descriptive title above for reference; not shown at
bottom center of sketch is typewritten "FAULKNER"

1199 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

1948 – 1957

Twenty-five paintings and sketches,
with poems and journal entries

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 20

Wounded Dove

Undated: late ’40s or early ’50s
Medium: Watercolor, pen and ink on paper
Size: 12” x 17 1/2”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right

Descriptive title above for reference;
artwork mounted with glue on board

21 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 22

" Forgotten Man"

He stood there
In his old clothes,
And his soul creeped
From the tattered holes.
He was a forgotten man,
By all men.
And where was god??
where O where???

Price

Undated: Late ’40s or ’50s
Medium: Pencil sketch
Size: 12”x 9”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right
with "Price" above

Titled by artist

23 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 24

Backyard, Washington, D.C.

Date: 1948
Medium: Watercolor, pen & ink
Size: 11” x 15”
Signed: “Faulkner 1948" bottom right of center
with "Wash. D.C.” below

Titled by artist; also titled “Backyard With Vineyard”

25 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 26

Coal Cars, Kentucky Mountain Return Home

Date: mid-’50s The train comes snorting in
Medium: Watercolor and gouache Through the field like a horse
Size: 14 3/4” x 217/8” Past those squatted shacks
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right With sad eyed windows
Where smoke moves like the devil
Titled by artist; also titled “Coal Train”; To do its dirty work.
another watercolor is painted on back of same paper Clothes hang on lines like souls of the poor
In the backyards of shantytown . . .
And in the streets, time loiters
Like a young boy with hands in his pockets
Fumbling the marbles of memory.
When the yard gate waves you in
And birds sing you home again
memory is youngness gone . . .
memory brought you home
and slipped away without pity.
Welcome swells in your mother
And the screen doors leak their strange
And far away abstractions of summer
The sun flowers have no part
In sentimental reasons
And the apple trees of Truth
Will hurt you real as orphans' cries
You smile because you understand
Not because you’re happy –

Henry Lawrence Faulkner

27 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 28

Colored Town Lexington

Date: 1953
Medium: Gouache on paper glued to cardboard
Size: 17 x1/2” 113/4”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left

Titled by artist

29 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 30

In a valley where patchwork abstractions
Pull the sky down into the landscape . . .
There are buried apples and buried summers
Where apple trees support the sea of memory.
You can smell God in the mulberry leaves
And violets come in July like late letters,
In the valley of your youngtime days
Where beauty startles & is like a risk,
As tho the morning were eternal . . .
And too beautiful and you had come
To be . . . forever . . . Among the bells
Of the spring down under the buried apples
In a valley where the chestnuts trees bloom
Like moons against the night
And drop their white insistent praise
Upon the morning of the world we love
While God gets drunk from the scent
Of blossoms and rains that come
Like brandywine in the springtime
Of your apple happy days.

Henry Lawranence Faulkner

Spires and Crosses

Date: mid-’50s
Medium: Gouache
Size: 14” x 181/2”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right

Titled by artist

31 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 32

" Frost "

The crisp fingers of frost
Have touched each blade & leaf.
Frost, like
Splintered steel dust,
Cold & shining.

White Birds

Date: early ’50s
Medium: Gouache
Size: 18” x 12”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right of center
Titled by artist; also titled "White Birds Other Colored Birds"

33 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 34

Boy in Blue Jeans

Date: 1953
Medium: Gouache and acrylic on cardboard
Size: 16 7/8” x 11”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right

Titled by artist; note on back of artwork:
Los Angeles, Otis Art Institute
1953
Jason Heron – Director

35 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 36

Young Girls

ask someone who has heard
A young girl sing --
Like a bird in April's spring.
------
Ask some one who has heard them talk
Watched them walk
As tho to bridge that span to dreams.
Ask some one who has watched them for hours
seen them place flowers
In their hair all a gleam --
Ask some one who knows
A girl & a rose --
See what they say
Hear what they sing.

Lady at Table with Flowers

Date: 1953
Medium: Gouache, pen and ink on paper glued to cardboard
Size: 213/4”x 16”
Signed: "Faulkner 1953" bottom left with "School" below

Titled by artist

37 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 38

Knowledge in our teeth’s hard bit
Keeps a good school …
the sorrow of our heart is learning
we trim our wicks for experiences
in brightness, the mind a cradle for despair
O soul, how lucky to be free
without the condiments of earthly life
to finish as a gentleman,
or a lady…

Red Light District

Date: 1954
Medium: Watercolor
Size: 111/4” x 131/8”
Signed: "Faulkner 54 July" bottom right

Titled by artist; second signature incorporated as the
logo on the red awning bottom left

39 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 40

Clay County Barn Love winds & wild flowers

Undated: mid-’50s Winds come rushing, faster rushing
Medium: Gouache on paper Rustling through the golden rod,
Size: 131/8” x 20” Gently, powerful!! Now they're mighty!!
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right like the changing breath of God.

Titled by artist O winds come back make me forget
I am alone no lover yet --
This tree is strong these weeds are dry --
Give me a song while here I lie.

The blue sage moves
My house stands still,
The winds come loose across the hill,
Ky. hills lie huddled close
In love with wild Ky. rose.

What god is there that made the child
and left all lovers growing wild.
The trees make love to winds that roam
And me? I’m always left alone.

41 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 42

Plough up my strong white bones,
Some sweet spring day;
And when he plants
His golden grain of corn,
Perhaps he'll think,
How his sweet bread is born,
And know that life
Is never ever dead,
But is transformed:
Into his sweet, corn bread.

Henry Lawrence Faulkner

Ghosts

Undated: mid-’50s
Medium: Gouache on paper
Size: 141/4” x 171/4”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right of center

Titled by artist; on back is section of gouache still life, cut from larger painting

43 N o t f o r R e p r o d u c t i o n


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