WATER BOY
The Art and Life of Reverend Albert Lee Wagner

Edited by Gene & Linda Kangas

INTRODUCTION Excerpt from BOOK
by Linda Kangas

The emancipation of slaves following the end of the Civil War did not guarantee that insidious racism and bigotry were over, far from it. Southern blacks especially continued to suffer unspeakable intrusions into their everyday lives. Slavery was illegal but segregation was not. Voting and openly speaking one’s mind were not possible. Fear dictated how one acted and how one expressed him or herself. Southern black folk artists were acutely aware of the suffocating burden of these limitations, yet they bravely struggled to find a voice. To protect themselves and their families from potentially deadly reprisals, critical messages were necessarily disguised within their visual creations. Openly expressing ideas might be dangerous. Social commentary could have serious consequences. "Thornton Dial hid his work in the tool shed, he buried it in the backyard, he tore it up and made something else out of it. He was not hiding and recycling merely to appease Clara Mae (his wife). He knew somehow that whatever he was making could bring far more danger than a tongue-lashing from the wife. As his work became less practical and more aesthetic, it began to reveal Dial’s emotions about his plight and how the civil unrest around him, and these feelings — too dangerous to let escape his ever-closed mouth — now seeped from his whirring mind into his hands and out through metal and cement." (From The Last Folk Hero by Dietz p19) The "civil" war was not over. The struggle was just beginning.

As Albert Lee Wagner grew up in poverty stricken rural Arkansas, he heard horrific stories of atrocities dealt upon his people. Racism, rape, whippings and even murder were remembered as commonplace events. Unfortunately, such nightmarish memories were inescapable and were thus burned deep into his psyche to emerge much later as ingredients in his visual vocabulary. Basic life just prior to, during and following the Depression was extremely challenging for poor black folk; in 1941, Wagner and his family emigrated from desperate dead-end circumstances in rural Arkansas in search of better jobs and a new life in Ohio. The North, he pleasantly found, not only offered much better pay and greater opportunities but also previously unknown freedoms. Albert Wagner unexpectedly discovered that he could boldly speak his mind on any subject without fear of receiving a beating or worse, getting hung from a tree. Life was dramatically different in the North. Life was good. Albert Wagner was free to express his experiences and memories in any liberated manner he preferred. Freedom gave him permission to be brutally candid and affectionately picturesque. Freedom opened the exciting door to uncensored artistic expression. Freedom differentiates him from his Southern folk artist peers. Inhibiting social censorship and cultural repression were left miles behind.

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Following the purchase of an early Augustus "Gus" Wilson old squaw from the November 7-8, 2007 Guyette & Schmidt decoy auction in Easton, Maryland, we thought it would be an interesting exercise to examine the historical provenance of this rare decoy. This decision was influenced by the fact that we were aware of several prior ownerships not listed or identified in the auction catalog. Curiously, only one previous owner was mentioned, although additional data was readily available.

Usually the consignor provides the pertinent information that establishes the provenance to an auction house. According to Wikipedia, the free Internet encyclopedia, provenance is defined as "the origin or source from which something comes, and it can and should include the history of subsequent owners (also known in some fields as chain of custody). The term is also used in the sense of place and time of creation, production or discovery.

"The provenance of works of fine art, antiques and antiquities often assumes great importance. Documented evidence of provenance for an object can help establish that it is original, has not been altered and is not a forgery, reproduction, or stolen or looted art. The quality of provenance of an important artwork can make a considerable difference to its market value; this is affected by the degree of certainty of the provenance and the collective status of past owners as knowledgeable collectors. Provenance of a work of art may be recorded in various forms depending on context or the amount of information that is known, from a single name to a scholarly notation several thousand words long." More »