Velox Benjamin Ward (American, 1901-1994). Old Friends Meet, May 1962. Oil on board. 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm). Si...

Description

Velox Benjamin Ward (American, 1901-1994)
Old Friends Meet, May 1962
Oil on board
20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: Velox / 5-62 / Ward
Bears inscription on the reverse: "Old Friends Meet" / Bill Morgan and Nugget, the craziest guy I ever Met / Velox Ward

PROVENANCE:
Longview Museum and Arts Center, Longview, Texas;
Private collection, Sulphur Springs, Texas.

A self-taught memory painter, Velox Ward, Sr. began painting at age 59 at the request of his family. Like many other great Folk artists, Ward turned to his memories of growing up in rural East Texas during the early part of the twentieth century. By the 1970s, the North Texas arts community was beginning to recognize Ward's potential, including Donald and Margaret Vogel of Valley House Gallery, Dallas and the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art (now the Amon Carter Museum of American Art), Fort Worth. In 1972, they arranged for an exhibition of his work at the Amon Carter that then traveled to the Wichita Falls Museum, the Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (now the Dallas Museum of Art). Currently, Velox Ward's work is found in the Amon Carter, Dallas Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and other public and private collections.


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