Painting by Doc Spellmon(African-American 1925 to 2008), titled Two Iron Men: 'Black Seminole Indian Collection', dated 1989.

Frame: 17 1/4" x 13.5"
Painting: 15" x 11 1/4"

Davids notes:F.L.Doc Spellmon is one of the most interesting and original African American folk artists from the later part of the 20th century.His quirky depictions of black men and women in unusual surroundings, doing odd things are often amusing as they are bizarre.There are 3 Spellmon paintings in this auction, lot 18,25 and 45.This present lot,Two Iron Men: Black Seminole Indian Collection, is actually depicted in the 2014 Robert Banks(Published by Banks Fine Art,LLC) book on Spellmon(ISBN 978-0-9830012-2-5)

Fronzell Lincoln 'Doc' Spellmon
(From Niki Tikilos Igavel essay on Spellmon) F. L. Doc Spellmon (1925-2008), a native Texan, became one of San Antonios most celebrated artists both locally and nationally.Doc is known as a Folk artist and he painted in several styles, exploring both abstraction and figural works. His art is appreciated because of various themes in his work, including American life, religion, and the exploration of different cultures or communities within American society. Doc was an African American man born into an American cultural landscape that had not yet experienced the civil rights movement. His fathers devotion to the church informed Docs art. When Doc was a young boy, he used the bible and the religious texts in his fathers library as inspiration for his drawings. It was through religion that Doc realized the idea of stories, fables and art as being a vehicle to teach life morals or lessons or to convey the human condition. Art was always a part of Docs life, even while devoting much of his working career serving in the US Navy or Air Force. Even while in the military, in 1969 he founded the Black Art Studio in San Antonio, he also founded the Southwest Ethnic Art Society, now known as the San Antonio Ethnic Art Society. It was in the mid-1980s when Doc retired from the military, that he devoted himself to his art, and he entered into the most intense and important years of his artistic career. In his book F. L. Doc Spellmon The Life and Works of an African American Artist, Robert Banks wrote What is important to understand about F. L. Doc Spellmon is that he was first and foremost a storyteller. He saw life as an epic tale in need of telling, which he achieved through his feel-good paintings reveal more serious sentiments. Specific themes of everyday life family, community and religion as well as broader themes of culture appear and reappear in Spellmons works. In so doing, Spellmons works are documentations of both the emotions and values making up the human condition and particular historical and current events. The two meld together to create a common theme of the folk, or the people. Amazingly, those themes are still as relevant today as they were 20 to 30 years ago.

Good condition overall