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Savannah, GA Ulysses Barber Shop - Ulysses Davis 1914–1990 Environment

Information: Between customers and after working hours, Ulysses decorated his barber shop with carved religious, patriotic and historical wooden figures. He also made some animals and carved reliefs. Occasionally, individual pieces may be found for sale.   His sculptures are housed at the Beach Institute in Savannah, GA. The Davis Collection, consisting of 238 sculptures, is the work of a man who was a genius with wood sculpture and design. Self-taught, he learned to master the tools of his trade. His background as a railroad blacksmith's assistant enabled him to make many of the tools he later used in woodcarving. A modest man, he had called himself simply a whittler, one who carves sticks and wood. But he was a brilliant sculptor, an artist of the first degree. Blessed with a fertile, rich imagination and, of course, splendid skill of hand, he chose to earn his income mainly from barbering so that the majority of his life's work would not be sold widely and could be preserved in one place where it could be viewed by the public. Ulysses Davis, American Folk Artist is housed in two galleries of the historic 1867 Beach Institute, the first building constructed for African American education in Savannah. Since only a portion of the Davis Collection is shown in this exhibition, other works will be seen in future revolving exhibits. Also, portions of the Davis Collection will travel nationally. Beach Institute African American Cultural Center

	Reference / Links:
	Esopus Magazine King Tisdell Cottage Foundation Treasures from the Smithsonian Beach Institute African American Cultural Center
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Bibliography: "Black Folk Art in America 1930-1980" by Jane Livingston and John Beardsley, published for the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1982. "Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists" by Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, New York, 1990. "Contemporary American Folk Art - A Collector's Guide" Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, 1996. "20th Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art" by Betty-Carol Sellen, Cynthia J. Johnson, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, 1993. "Souls Grown Deep: African American vernacular Art of the South", Vol 1, Arnett, et al, 1995. "Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, 2000. "Let it Shine: Self-Taught Art from the T. Marshall Hahn Collection" by Lynne E. Spriggs, Joanne Cubbs, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Susan Mitchell Crawley, Michael E. Shapiro and Peter Harholdt, organized by the High Museum of Art, 2001. "American Self-Taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th Century Artists and Trends with 1,319 Capsule Biographies" by Florence Laffal and Julius Laffal, 2003. "Self-Made Worlds: Visionary Environments" by Roger Manley and Mark Sloan, Aperture, New York, 1997. "Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" by Tom Patterson, Watson-Guptill Publications/New York, 2001. "Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations Coast to Coast Travel-o-Pedia" by Randy Mason, et. al., Kansas City Star Books, 2009.

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