Faulkner 142 web2

Photo: © John S. Hockensmith 1979 snowstorms, including blizzards. In return, Hockensmith was
to receive a painting that was duly delivered after Faulkner’s
In Paris, Kentucky, under Faulkner’s instruction, photographer John S. return in late spring.
Hockensmith constructed this layered image that peers through an
antique store window and frames an angle of Faulkner in an old oval mirror Key West always seemed to lift his spirits, and for the first few
weeks after his arrival for the winter season of 1979, Faulkner
Brown did not arrive nor did she buy the painting, but Greene worked on a film being shot at Capt. Tony’s Saloon, where he
Settle later purchased it for his private collection. had been written into a couple of scenes. Another theatrical
diversion was a performance at the Tennessee Williams Theatre
Not long after the show, Faulkner was eager to load up his of for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is
little truck with possessions and pets and set off for Key West. enuf. The award-winning play by Ntozake Shange uses poetry,
He left Hockensmith in charge of the Browns Mill animals, music, and dance to tell the stories of seven women who have
farm, and house. His duties included feeding the cats and dogs, suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society. According to
and feeding and milking the goats, not to mention delivering Charles House, during the performance Faulkner stood up
the kids born that January. It was a lot to ask, and that winter and loudly proclaimed that he was such a woman, too – in
was particularly harsh with subzero temperatures and frequent fact, “the biggest, fattest, blackest” one – and that he could
sing with the best of them.24 He followed up on his declara-
tion by inviting the cast to a party the next evening at Clare’s on
Duval Street, which would also honor Nancy Friday, best-selling
author of several books exploring the inner lives of women
repressed by tradition.

Faulkner enlisted Bob Morgan, who was then living in West
Palm Beach, and they spent all the next day preparing the bar
for the big party, lavishly decorating with a profusion of flowers,
fruit, and thoughtful touches. Not until after midnight did the
party get underway, following the play’s evening performance.
And Faulkner, fulfilling his promise, performed with the
“colored girls,” an unlikely ensemble singing themselves into
the annals of Key West folklore.

As he aged, Faulkner became increasingly obsessive and melo-
dramatic about his health – perhaps even a hypochondriac. He
noticed spots on his skin that he was certain were cancerous,
and as he shared this information with those close to him, he
seemed to believe he wasn’t long for this world. Williams, who
suffered from ailments of his own, was empathetic. Faulkner
proposed an extraordinary trip to Williams. He invited Williams
to join him at the Robertson Clinic in Owensboro, Kentucky in
the summer of 1980 to seek the benefits of holistic medicine.
The master plan included a subsequent journey to Taormina,
as Sicily is well known for its healthful sunny climate and

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 194

Jerusalem important award; among them, Ansel Adams, John Wayne, and
Kentucky poet and novelist Robert Penn Warren. Following
Undated: Mid-to-late ’70s the presidential remarks, a group photo and reception were ar-
Medium: Casein on board ranged for honorees and their guests in the State Dining Room
Size: 12” x 14” at the White House. With that accomplished, Faulkner could
Original frame: 12 5/8” x 14 5/8” include in his accolades that he had been a welcomed guest of
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right, interior the President of the United States.

Titled by artist After basking in the honor and lavish attention of the
awards ceremony, Faulkner and Williams took flight, stopping
therapeutic mineral waters. The hope was that even a brief over in London and Rome en route to Sicily. Williams had been
stay in Taormina would aid in restoring both men’s health and to Taormina several times. Though they had never been there
artistic spirits. at the same time, it was a homecoming for both men, as they
took up residence at the San Domenico Palace Hotel. Faulkner
Those grand plans required that they go together to was eager to reunite with former hostess and friend, Daphne
Owensboro and then on to Taormina. But along the way they Phelps, and soon he visited Casa Cuseni. Phelps recalled that
would make a stop in Washington, D.C., where Tennessee upon his arrival, Faulkner proclaimed himself as Williams’
Williams was to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom “manager,” who was “organising Tennessee’s life and trying to
from then-president Jimmy Carter. Although the visit to the help him to achieve the fresh triumph that he was desperately,
Robertson Clinic never materialized, the rest of the plan was and unsuccessfully, striving for.”25 Faulkner also was quick to
put into motion. The two eventually met in D.C. for the presti- reconnect with the Panarellos and Roberto at Mocambo Bar.
gious awards event. Williams, however, had to wait for Faulkner
who had been delayed in Kentucky. Faulkner arrived at the For a few days, Faulkner went off by himself to bathe
Watergate Hotel just in time to attend the June 9th ceremony, in the mineral waters of a small nearby island. He felt
which was the next day. Fourteen noted individuals received that so rejuvenated by the powers of the mineral baths that he
considered his skin cancer gone. Still, age was taking a toll.
Williams as well was not in good health, and doubtless
because of his excessive drinking, his temperament had become
brusque. Faulkner was easily wounded by Williams’ behavior
and their relationship slid into rancor. Their talk of shared
retirement in Taormina ceased. Williams and Faulkner went
their separate ways and Faulkner spent the remaining time
in Taormina with Carlo and Mirella Panarello. He and Mirella
painted together and spent long evenings talking into the
night, which must have lightened his mood. He also soothed
his wounded feelings by walking the streets and befriending
stray cats and dogs along the way. Faulkner’s Taormina trip with
Williams ended in a rift that never fully healed. Williams went on
to write an unfinished script titled The Lingering Hour, perhaps one
of the last plays he ever worked on, which was set in Taormina
and featured a Williams character and a Faulkner character.

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

After his return home to Lexington in the fall of 1980, Faulkner’sPhoto: © John Ashley / Dan Mattherly Collectiona condominium and in the great outdoors at the Madden’s large
pain and skin condition that seemed cured in Taormina returned. farm, Hamburg Place. He relished his time with Stuart and
He went to the office of his veterinarian, Dr. Maury Offutt, seeking perhaps regarded her as a mother figure.
help. He explained to her that he had a “feeling in his bones,”
and pulled open his shirt to show her the spots on his chest and But regardless of the bliss and beauty in his life, an impending
shoulders. Offutt, who kept his pets healthy, lovingly explained to sense of tragedy seemed to loom over him. He wrote to
him that she was an animal doctor, not a medical doctor. Margaret Montgomery Barlow, his Los Angeles teacher at
the Otis Art Institute, recalling the kindness and encouragement
Faulkner reunited with his local realm of support: J. Gregg she had given him some 30 years before. He told her about
Clendenin, Greene Settle, Bob Morgan, the Pless family, and his ailments and pain, but cautioned her not to be sad for
Paul and Marihelen Olsen. These people had long provided him him because his talent kept him going.26
with the stability he so often needed. He also spent time at the
Browns Mill farm, where he worked feverishly on commissions While his liveliness seemed to fade, Faulkner remained active in
and prepared for upcoming shows in Florida and Lexington. local art activities, and conducted workshops for the Lexington Art
League. He taught aspiring artists how to employ his techniques,
Faulkner continued writing, now vital as well to his creative introducing them to painting in the European style beginning on a
wellbeing. He vacillated between painting and poetry, one artistic black textured foundation, and encouraging hopeful protégés
endeavor being respite from the other. But his long-held literary to follow in his stylistic footsteps. In the evenings, he often
dreams were yet to be realized and his production of art could wrote poetry as he ate his dinner at Jezebel’s, Le Café Chantant,
scarcely keep pace with his expenses. Seeking creative drive and ar- and other favorite restaurants. Now more subdued, he spent quiet
tistic fellowship, in the summer of 1981 he spent time with Orella time with Greene Settle, who later remarked that he could see
Stuart, the mother of Anita Madden. They painted together in her Faulkner’s health diminishing. He painted to pay the bills, but
his work was not as spontaneous. He focused on his technique,
Faulkner, dressed in drag, with his friend Tennessee Williams looking perhaps to pass the time, pacify the pain, or free his mind to
on admiringly in photograph from the late '70s daydream. Compared to his earlier ones, his poems now
tended toward the philosophical. It was observed that even
when he was in crowds, he seemed more aloof, less flamboyant,
less gregarious, and more introspective.

Faulkner spent time in solitude caring for his babies – kittens,
cats, dogs, goats – while his houses and the farm fell into deeper
disrepair. In November 1981, his brother John died and during
the funeral visit, Faulkner’s uncharacteristically demure manner
did not go unnoticed. His eccentric ways were no longer obvious
as he moved about like an aged man.

Nevertheless, Faulkner continued to be involved in the local arts
community. He donated a painting to an upcoming fund-raising
auction sponsored by the Lexington Art League held on December
4, 1981. He donated a small but exceptional painting, Keeper of the
Garden. At the auction he sat in the front row bantering with Tom
Gentry, a local Thoroughbred breeder who served as the auctioneer.
When his painting came up for bid, Faulkner tried to drive up

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 196

April Air

When God picks purple grapes
From the thunders of the spring
And the emerald trees tremble
At his breath's green storm.
Oh, when the big white houses rumble
In the heavens and marvelous mornings
Drench your valleys Be still!!
The heavens are not falling
It is only the April air and a new light
Coming through the world.

Spring Thunder

When God picks purple grapes Left top, Typewritten is an early incartation of the poem
from the thunders of spring - "April Air"
when emerald trees tremble
at his breath’s green storm - Left bottom, typewritten is a later incartation of the poem
Oh, when big white houses rumble "Spring Thunder"
in the heavens,
and marvelous mornings . . . Right, a 1980 "Untitled" handwritten version of the poem given
drench your valleys . . . as a birthday present to Bob Morgan, perhaps the final incar-
Be still !!! nation of a poetic theme that was always evolving in Faulkner's
He's not insane… life of poetry and art
He is merely unafraid to be
among the purple thunders
of the spring -

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

the price by taking the stage and explaining what the painting belonged to Offutt. Faulkner hoped to include this masterpiece
was about; still, it went for a little over $400 when the gavel fell. in his Christmas exhibit that would fund his sojourn south.

As the evening ended, Pattie Hood, an Art League officer That evening Faulkner headed out for Le Café Chantant after
who came to know Faulkner through his workshops and visits to spending the day preparing art for the upcoming exhibit. It was
her parents’ store, Boone’s Antiques in Lexington, accompanied near 9:00 p.m. when he started off. At 9:05 just a block from his
him to his car. She recalls his disappointment in the final price of West Third Street house, he turned his small Toyota truck onto
the painting and his labored gait hobbled by pain, but remembers North Broadway. The light at the intersection was green. Without
as well that he appeared upbeat, nevertheless. Faulkner drove to warning, his vehicle was struck by a large Dodge car driven by
J. Gregg Clendenin’s home where Clendenin and his wife listened an intoxicated young woman. Faulkner’s neck was broken and he
caringly to Faulkner’s report of the auction as he relaxed in the died instantly – a month and four days shy of his 58th birthday.
comfort of their hospitality.
Front page news notified Lexington and the Bluegrass of
The next day, December 5, 1981, Faulkner was up and about the sudden and tragic death of this extraordinary character
and in an exceptionally good mood, according to Dr. Maury Offutt. who had lived among them. Shock and disbelief gave way to
He had stopped by her vet clinic on Euclid Avenue late that grief. Faulkner’s body was laid out for visitation at the Whitehall
afternoon and excitedly reported that what he had feared was Funeral Home. Lying in the casket, his tuxedo lapel pinned with
skin cancer turned out not to be malignant after all. The a butterfly brooch, the hands that had written poems and created
spots on his chest and shoulders were now gone and he was imaginative art were now tranquilly folded. With his eyes so
in good health. The actual purpose of this visit, though, innocently closed, he appeared to be simply resting.
was to borrow an extraordinarily large painting of Taormina
Terraces (see pg. 279-280). The 39”x 60” painting, stretched on The mourning dove had flown and the last word had come
linen canvas, was a superb example of his best work and in an unspoken form – that colorful imagination surrendered
– into infinite songs of spring.

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 198

Poets write in the book of thunder
little lambs sweetening their beings
it is all God!! . . .
every billion years it all comes back to me

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

1970 – 1981

Forty paintings, with poems
and journal entries

a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 200

Goats in Sicilian Mountains

Undated: early ’70s
Medium: Oil on board
Size: 71/2” x 91/2”
Frame: 121/2” x 141/2”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left

Descriptive title above for reference; purchased in Taormina and brought to Kentucky

201 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 202

Lemon Festival

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Oil on board
Size: 331/16” x 201/4”
Frame: 35 1/16” x 22.1/4”
Signed: “Faulkner” top left

Descriptive title above for reference

203 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 204

Hunt-Morgan House

Date: 1972
Medium: Acrylic on board
Size: 217/8” x 243/4”
Original frame: 261/2” x 291/2”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left

Titled by artist; The Hunt–Morgan House, a Federal style residence in Lexington,
Kentucky, was built in 1814 by John Wesley Hunt, grandfather of General John Hunt
Morgan; the house is included in the Gratz Park Historic District

205 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 206

The Greatest Show on Earth

Date: 1973
Medium: Oil and casein on board
Size: 117/8” x 15 7/8”
Original frame: 13 1/2” x 17 1/2”
Signed: “Faulkner” top left

Titled by artist; written on back: "Joan Crawford and Friends Palm Beach 1973"

207 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 208

Taormina – Sicily

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Oil on board
Size: 271/2” x 22”
Frame: 321/2” x 27”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left

Descriptive title above for reference

209 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 210

14 Karat

Undated: early ’70s
Medium: Oil on board
Size: 9 31/32” x 1131/32”
Original frame: 12” x 14”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left

Titled by artist; purchased from Trivet’s Antiques
and Boutique, Cincinnati in early ’70s

211 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 212

Fucatzzi

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Acrylic on board
Size: 19” x 16”
Original frame: 24” x 21”
Signed: “Faulkner” middle center

Titled by artist; signature incorporated into the sheet music

213 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 214

Birds of Nationality

Date: 1973
Medium: Oil on board
Size: 131/2” x 171/2”
Original frame: 171/2” x 211/2”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right, interior

Titled by artist

215 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 216

Floral – with Double Signature

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Oil and casein on board
Size: 211/2” x 171/2”
Original frame: 301/2” x 261/2”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left and right

Descriptive title above for reference; painting is signed twice, once on
the left side in black and secondly on the bottom right in green; frame is
turn-of-the-19th-century portrait-esque three-piece construction, painted
white and lightly splattered with black and green paint

217 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 218

Two Winged Friends “Rain Storm”

Undated: ’70s The day darkened
Medium: Casein and oil on board As the god
Size: 10” x 8” Had put his great hand
Original frame: Oval 121/2”x 101/2” Between Heaven and earth.
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left Suddenly the skies
Clattered like a thousand rams.
Titled by artist Butting a boarded house.
Thunder rolled as the God
Was grumbling up there.
Then came a flood of tears
Like those tears angels would cry,
Sweet and soft.
Or was it angels
Shaking dew drops
From their heavenly orchards??

219 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 220

Bounty of the Sea

Date: 1974
Medium: Casein on board
Size: 10 x1/8” 121/8”
Original frame: 147/8”x 171/8”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left

Titled by artist; inscribed on back:
Bounty of the Sea
Faulkner 74

221 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 222

Cool Christmas Snows

Down the dark, dark dirty streets,
Come Christmas snows in their white fleet.
And settled down to rest awhile
Like a homeless swan or weary child.
Like a great white dream or a great white sleep
Sprawled quietly in her great white heap --
To give the earth that soft white glow
That none could give but Christmas snow.
Cool Christmas snow.

Faulkner

Farm and Church Snow Scene

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Watercolor on board
Size: 16” x 20”
Original frame: 251/2”x 291/2”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left

Titled by artist

223 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 224

I’ll see your smile in flowers grown from the clay Yes in those rocks I saw your strength --
For clay you are, once more, so rich to stay. And in these flowers your eyes do blink.
I’ll see you dance before the stir of wind And like these skies your eyes were blue
Who said you’re dead, this dust would be the end?? And on these winds come hints of you.
There in a thing grown wild I’ll see your limbs Yes, on my cheeks brushed winds so fair
Those leaping, tender limbs so quick to climb. Like golden threads that is your hair,
You are the music in the wind and trees, Crawled round my neck and cross my face
The endless water’s music, all of these. And stirred these passions in their place.
You are among the gods that ride the air And now I think of you when you’d blush --
For in these winds is your own soothing hair. The color of these flowers I touch.
They cannot hide you in that deep, red clay And here among the hills that tower
Already you’ve come back in a million ways. Is life of you again in flower.
How can they say that you are dead and gone? When you return to spring’s warm glow,
While in these flowers and rivers you live on. From winter’s sleep beneath the snow,
Beyond these rocks, beyond this hour I’ll come and look and find you there
These mountain tops, and every flower. Your face the flower, the wind your hair.
And from the sky so far and blue -- And when I fall to death’s tight clutch
Come whispering sighs on winds, of you. I’ll too be clay, we’ll both be such.
We’ll mix again in clay our blood
The Peaceable Kingdom And add to summers color flood.
Our blood will mix again new life to blend
Date: mid-’70s Who speaks for death, who says she is the end?
Medium: Oil on board
Size: 317/8”x 43 3/8”
Original frame: 3915/16”x 521/16”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right of center

Titled by artist; frame fitted with ornamental crown that detaches

225 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 226

Jeromino

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Acrylic on board
Size: 151/2”x 111/2”
Original frame: 18” x 14”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left

Titled by artist; "Jeromino" written on back; Faulkner had a
cat, "Geronimo," but that was a white bobtailed cat

227 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 228

Love Vine in Venice

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Casein on board
Size: 161/8”x 201/8”
Original frame: 193/8” x 233/8”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right

Titled by artist

229 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 230

Lion

Undated: mid-’70s
Medium: Casein on board
Size: 81/8”x 91/8”
Original frame: 181/8” x 191/8”
Signed: “Faulkner” top right, interior

Titled by artist; gold foil mat adorned with flowers by the artist using a stylus

231 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 232

The Taste of Color

My longing is the shape of hands
Reaching only to God.
The winds of heaven shape my longing
And grows to utter answer
In the wide orchard of need.
Mine is a timeless hunger
To taste subconscious seeds
And for a basket of sunlite
To carry through the fields of despair
And along the edge of this buried night
Which has some hidden shore
Which like death keeps no season,
But without this timeless hunger
I'd have no right to reach for heaven
Or God . . . and no reason
To look for mornings with a shore -

Faulkner

Lemon, Tea, and Cigar Box

Undated: mid-’70s
Medium: Oil and casein on board
Size: 83/4”x 131/8”
Original frame: 20” x 24”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right

Descriptive title above for reference; hand-cut foil mat without glass

233 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 234

Taormina – Italian Street Scene 3 Henry Faulkner
with Stairways Poem No. 2

Undated: ’70s The blue-eyed summer children
Medium: Oil on board Are in their morning glory doorways . . .
Size: 111/4” x 141/4” And the kites of spring
Original frame: 157/8” x 187/8” Are in a high tide of happiness.
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right On the pink side of innocence
On the landscape of happiness . . .
Descriptive title above for reference A hallway of sun streams your mornings
Young blue eyes to revelations wide doorway.
You will move towards sorrow but it will be
A blinding sunrise . . . You are young ---
And tomorrow is a girl you arm and go with
Your hay-gold noon will spin you free
From all that is old and on the grey side.
You are young, my son
Happiness is your wayside.
Your happiness will endure like the white teeth
Of the dead. Sorrow has its phase . . .
It will eclipse your sun. Your bright leaf will turn
And the moon will drip its blood on the rivers of guilt.
You will die by the laws of the spirits
But that is nature’s way of training you for endurance.
Your stained glass happy years are to come.
Sweet breath of youth be like the taste
Of sunflower seeds to you.
On your hill top---morning will tumble
Drunken on the yellow-corn sun.
Keep up with the sun, young child . . .

235 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 236

Alice Hi on Butterfly

Date: 1975
Medium: Acrylic on board
Size: 241/8”x 19 7/8”
Original frame: 31”x 267/8”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right

Titled by artist; inscription on back:
Aug 8 75 Alice Hi on Butterfly Faulkner

237 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 238

Black Rastas My First Baby

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Oil on board
Size: 18”x 11”
Original frame: 19 x1/8” 12 1/8”
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom right

Titled by artist; title on back

239 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 240

House of Sin – Key West Wait to tell

Undated: ’70s My house of mystery stands
Medium: Oil on board by the river of morning
Size: 20”x 24” which breaks through
Original frame: 253/8”x 291/4” the dark and purple
Signed: “Faulkner” bottom left mulberry night.
Mine is a purple voice . . .
Titled by artist; title and second signature on back In ignorance I tasted
sadness thick as mulberries.
When my cups fell down
the broken skies,
songs waited, unsung
deep in darkness . . .
late like winter apples
to be good . . .
and I remember once
in the mulberry trees . . .
when I shook heaven
down around me,
leaves whispered . . .
do not shake your trees
too soon . . .
for you must taste,
before you tell . . .
your sorrow.

Henry Lawrence Faulkner

241 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 242

Strawberries on Flowered Plate

Undated: ’70s
Medium: Oil on board
Size: 81/4” x 101/4”
Original frame: 105/16” x 125/16”
Signed: “Faulkner” top left

Descriptive title above for reference

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