George White

1903-1970

George White dreamed of one day having a traveling museum of his low relief carvings and dimensional tableaux.  He eventually had a mini-museum in his house.  How he got there is an amazing story of the more obscure, often forgotten artist that was included in the landmark exhibition Black Folk Art in America 1930 – 1980.  George was born in Cedar Creek, Texas and was proud of his Mexican and Indian blood.  Prior to taking up art at the age of 58, he had careers that would fill a dozen resumes such as farming, oil field worker, cowboy, vet, army soldier in Africa, bronco rider, FBI detective, barber and deputy sheriff.  For 12 years, beginning in 1945, he sold on street corners a cure-all brew he concocted called “White’s New Discovery Ointment.” While selling his ointment, he met his wife Lucille, who said “He don’t look all that good but he seemed sincere.”  They married and moved to Dallas.  He soon had a dream of becoming a great artist and over the next dozen years he set out carving his reliefs in wood and painting them.  He created work depicting scenes of the Old West, cowboys and Indians, and hunting expeditions. He also created more than 50 three-dimensional mechanical tableaux displays depicting everyday African American life.  In 1969, the year before he died, he made a certificate with ribbons and hung on the wall of his art covered home.  He proclaimed, “G.W. White Jr. has reached his destination in the arts……he is a great genius because he possessed high mental powers or facilities of intellect, inventions, talent, taste, nature, and character……there are more historical inventions to be made by G.W. White, Jr. right at the standpoint he has more that his brains can hold now.” ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽¹º⁾