Lot 1: Skeleton Sculpture
It looks like something straight out of Beetlejuice — a mixed media and clay sculpture roughly the size of a hardcover book that depicts a skeleton in a suit emerging from, or half-sitting in, his coffin — and valued for auction at $400–500, it might be dismissed as a novelty of little notice. But digging just a little deeper turns up its fascinating origin. This spooky piece of folk art was crafted by Mississippi blues musician, gravedigger, and self-taught artist, James “Son” Thomas (1926–1993). Known in some circles for his figures of heads, skulls, and coffins, Thomas’s art has been displayed in various museums, though he remained overlooked in his lifetime. The New York Times took note of his work in 2015, calling it “wonderful and unappreciated,” and comparing him to Walker Evans.
This piece had been in the collection of the Arts Center of Cannon County, Tennessee, but they have curiously decided to ditch it, so Case Antiques Auctions & Appraisals in Knoxville will offer it for sale on August 5.
A colleague of mine is of the belief that men won’t wear sunglasses because they’re afraid to look like they’re bothered by how bright it is outside. They don’t, she insists, want to admit that nature has power over even the most basic things they do. I find this theory both comical and insulting and yet as a man who does not himself wear sunglasses, whose reasons are wildly at odds with this extremely erroneous opinion, I am willing to accept the possibility that somewhere deep down I might be susceptible to that fear or something like it. It is difficult to rule out entirely because we are mysteries to ourselves, our whims and habits the results of hundreds of experiences we can neither acknowledge nor recall.
