Southern Artist Showcase: Jubie Henderson
“When I carve, I don’t use a pattern. I just think of the bird I want, and I carve it.”
—Jubie Henderson, 1992
Discovery Park of America has premiered an exhibit of works by Jubie Hendeson (1914-1999) in the museum’s Southern Artist Showcase. The gallery features two new exhibits each year spotlighting Southern painters, photographers, sculptors and other fine artists.
Henderson was a self-taught wildlife artist and woodcarver from Fulton, Kentucky who specialized in native birds of the western Kentucky and Tennessee regions. While he focused most of his work on birds, and he is more well known for those pieces, he did occasionally produce paintings depicting landscapes from our area where he lived most of his life. Included are paintings of Reelfoot Lake. Due to physical limitations, he had to rely on his memory to recreate these scenes.
A farmer and cabinetmaker by trade, while recovering from rheumatic fever in his thirties (for the second time in his life), he began to paint. He never had an art lesson, but too weak to work and wishing to remain productive, he had a sudden urge to paint and found himself gifted with a natural eye for beauty and balance.
His first brushes were made from his pet dog’s hair, and he painted with oil that he mixed himself. His wife, Edith, took his paintings to the sewing factory where she worked to sell them for $5 each.
Needing to rest quite often, Henderson made an easel from yardsticks to fit over his bed.
As his reputation as an artist grew as his talent began to improve, people would visit his home to see and buy his artwork, and art students from the nearby University of Tennessee at Martin even came to learn from his painting and carving techniques.
During his life, his art has been featured at the Kentucky State Fair, the Midsouth Fair, the International Banana Festival, the First Face of Kentucky collection at the Kentucky State Capitol, the annual art exhibit at Cape Girardeau, and one-man shows in Martin, Tennessee and in Kentucky (Fulton, Hickman, and Paducah). He was a member of the Artists Registry at the Brooks Memorial Art Gallery (now known as the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art) for several years. His original work was also displayed there in 1970.
Jubie Henderson was a member of the Artists Registry at the Brooks Memorial Art Gallery (now known as the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art) for several years. His original work was also displayed there in 1970.
The exhibit of Jubie Henderson’s art is sponsored by Conley & Conley Law Firm and will be on display at Discovery Park through Aug. 11, 2024.
