Josephus Farmer

1894-1989

Josephus Farmer, an African American Pentecostal minister and itinerant preacher, is known for the bas-relief woodcarvings and banners he used as preaching tools. The descendant of a slave, Farmer was born in Gibson Courts, near Trenton, Tennessee in 1894, and moved with his family to Humboldt, Tennessee, about 1900. Although he occasionally attended school, he spent most of his youth working on farms. In 1922, shortly after being baptized, he was ordained as a Pentecostal minister and became a street evangelist. In the 1940s he moved to Milwaukee, obtained a job as a hotel porter, and opened a storefront church. He retired from secular employment in 1960. Farmer had made colorful canvas banners as preaching tools a decade before his retirement, after which he began to create reliefs with biblical and historical subjects and dioramas documenting his rural memories. Farmer's early wood reliefs were carved with a utility knife from redwood and mahogany; later, he adopted more sophisticated wood-carving tools, including an elec­tric drill, and used softer woods, particularly pine. Farmer classified his carvings as either historical or biblical. Many of his historical works recount memories of early life in the South and feature scenes of riverboats, cotton farming, blacksmith shops, log houses, and banjo playing. Farmer viewed his carvings as a way to inspire unbelievers to deep faith or, in his words, "to touch the people's heart."  ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁹⁾