John Stephen Hockensmith
“O my soul is like a word spoken in a storm, gone on the wind;
shattered by the rain … lost.”
-Henry Lawrence Faulkner, Los Angeles, April 19, 1953
Someone who had never met the late Henry Lawrence Faulkner or known of his prolific work and then hears of his flamboyant, exploitative personality might be hard-pressed to like the man, much less appreciate his genius at painting and writing poetry.
But that’s where a casual observer would be in grave error, according to those who did know him, born in rural Simpson County in 1924, who made the world his own.
“He had a purpose for everybody, and they were to facilitate him in his endeavors, and he used them,” said John Stephen Hockensmith, a friend of Faulkner and publisher of The Gift of Color: Henry Lawrence Faulkner—Paintings, Poems, and Writings, a collection of Faulkner’s paintings and writings interspersed with the artist’s biography. “He was different to everybody, and the only people that he looked up to were … people who had tremendous fame. You go down his collectors list, and you see the people that Henry revered. The rest of us were bit players in his theater.”
But Hockensmith is quick to qualify his portrayal of the man known for bringing baby goats to his own art exhibits or wandering down a Lexington street late at night singing happily to his sleeping neighbors.
“He was electric. He would suck the oxygen out of any room … You couldn’t help but be transfixed and be caught in his mystical ways,” Hockensmith, a Georgetown art photographer, said. “Henry was many things—outrageous at times, by choice or not—but that was not the totality. It was an honor of being in the presence of someone who was in command of so much creativity.”
“My art and poetry is [sic] the results of an individual adjustment
to the deeper needs of this most remarkable nature.
“It is life that is long and art that is fleeting.”
It was a creativity born of a child who lost his mother at 2 and subsequently was placed in foster homes, finally settling with the Whittimore family near Falling Timber Branch in Clay County. But Faulkner’s effeminate nature, coupled with rebellious and unorthodox tendencies, led his foster father to return the then-15-year-old to a Louisville orphanage.
Faulkner wouldn’t stay long in Louisville. His wanderlust and passion for the arts inspired him to travel the globe over the decades. He eventually settled in Lexington after making a name for himself in the art world.
“Technique-wise, he was first in every level of illustration,” Hockensmith said. “He was a colorist. [With] his rub of color, he was able to juxtapose the subtleties that bring out the vibrance [of his subjects]. He caught personality.”
With his abundance of audacity, Faulkner acted as his own publicist. From his archives, Hockensmith learned that Faulkner introduced himself to the director of a premier Palm Beach, Florida gallery in this manner: “I am Henry Faulkner, and I have the gift of color”—hence the title for Hockensmith’s 2018 book.
“Henry was a vagabond, a scam artist, seeing his way through any door … He was audacious, much more so than outrageous,” Hockensmith said. “He was not just the naive Kentucky bumpkin that was part of his sales pitch. He was highly schooled in both East and West Coast arts and European arts, trained by other professionals. They liked him because he captivated them, because they saw talent.”
“It is a gift to be thrilled by
Blossoms – and by color and
blackberries – an urge in
my people as toward life
There I stood at the gates of memory”
Faulkner captivated the admiration of many patrons, among them Lexington businessman Greene Settle. Settle not only collected hundreds of Faulkner’s drawings and paintings, he also became his business manager, helping to keep the free-spirited artist from financial ruin.
At the time of Faulkner’s death in a 1981 traffic accident, Settle owned roughly 300 works by Faulkner. That collection eventually would be purchased and protected by the First Southern National Bank of Stanford.
Bank board member David Downey, who owns 10 of Faulkner’s paintings, helped broker the sale. The works now are on display in several locations owned by the First Southern group of companies.
“We purchased the Greene Settle collection of Faulkner paintings, watercolors, sketches and poems as an investment,” Downey said. “Henry Faulkner was very unique in his style, gathering influences from other artists among his travels around the world. We think this is a very important body of work and are proud to be able to share this example of Kentucky culture with our friends and customers.”
For Hockensmith, the Settle collection provided an impetus to produce The Gift of Color.
“It’s the basis for the book, but other patrons have contributed more than half of the other artwork in the book,” he said.
Jess and Angela Correll, also of Stanford, are among those contributors. Jess is a founding member and president and chairman of the board of directors of First Southern Bancorp, the parent company of First Southern National Bank. The couple also owns Stanford’s Bluebird restaurant and Kentucky Soaps and Such, a specialty shop that features products made with goat milk as well as jewelry, gifts and books.
Several years ago, Angela fell in love with a Faulkner painting of Noah’s Ark with Faulkner’s pet goat, Alice, perched on top of the ark.
“Seeing this goat in this painting—and it was similar to a goat that I had—I just felt connected to it. It also made me think about who painted it. To me, the whimsical nature and all the animals … that was all pretty intriguing to me,” she said. “We didn’t buy that painting, but I thought about it for a long time afterward. A few years later, Jess gave me a small painting with two goats in it for Christmas, and that started us down the Faulkner trail.”
The Corrells possess a handful of Faulkner’s artworks, a few of which are always on display at the restaurant.
“Our daughter, Adrienne, has an art history degree, and she manages them and trades some of the paintings out,” Angela said. “We like some of the more colorful ones … They’re pretty, happy paintings because it fits the Bluebird—the feel, anyway. [There] is just a lot about the color [in Faulkner’s art] that speaks to me, and it just feels light and happy.”
While many of Faulkner’s paintings, as well as his poetry, can be described as light and happy, it’s not the complete narrative of his body of work, which numbers close to 5,000 pieces of art. Hockensmith’s book labors to cover the story of his friend’s life, an evolution of art manifested through several chapters: The Beginnings (1924-1947), The Formative Years (1948-1957), The Masterful Years (1958-1969) and The Accomplished Years (1970-1981).
“It is a saga of a life that really could—with all the famous characters and the list of mid-century antics that he participated in—make a hell of a movie,” Hockensmith said.
“For the roses of sleep
are sweet – mind is eternal
Over all there will be
no parting – for the spirit”
John Stephen Hockensmith
Celebrating a Milestone
Faulkner artwork collectors Jess and Angela Correll settled on their Stanford property, Plainview Farm, as newlyweds in 2003. Angela filled the backyard pasture with pet goats. But not everybody succumbed to the creatures’ charms.
“My husband, a businessman and farmer, said that he appreciated the fact that I wanted the pet goats, but it would also be very nice if they would actually produce something,” she said.
In the pursuit to find practical uses for her “pets,” Correll contacted her niece, Lea Ann Poynter, and together they discovered a way to utilize the beneficial properties of goat milk for skin care.
After much trial and error, the pair developed a soap recipe, and Kentucky Soaps and Such was born. They soon added a salt scrub to the repertoire, but it wasn’t until 2006 that Correll was able to open a storefront.
“We wanted to do gift baskets with not only the soaps and the salts but also other Kentucky products, but in 2006, we had a hard time finding a lot of stuff,” Correll said. “[Since then] we’ve seen that market really grow, and now we’ve got so many wonderful products to offer that look good, perform well and, as with the gourmet food, taste great.”
Kentucky Soaps and Such celebrated its 15th anniversary by revamping its website to allow easier online ordering, including a “build your own gift basket” option.
For more information, visit kentuckysoapsandsuch.com.
John Stephen Hockensmith © 2015 Hockensmith's Fine Art Editions
The Gift of Color: Henry Lawrence Faulkner – Paintings, Poems, and Writings is available in two editions. The $95 bookstore edition is 290 pages, complete with Faulkner’s poems and artwork. A limited edition, which features a 370-page book in a leather box with a giclee print insert, costs $495.
Both can be purchased at finearteditions.net or (502) 863-2299.