No. 16: John Hockensmith - Henry Faulkner

Episode 16 of the Art Throb podcast features John Hockensmith who is the owner of Hockensmith Fine Art Editions Gallery and Press in Georgetown. 

We talk about the retrospective exhibition of over 188 artworks by Lexington artist Henry Faulkner on show at the Headley Whitney Museum until 12 November.  Henry Faulkner was a prolific artist until his untimely death in 1981 when his car was t-boned at the corner of 3rd and Broadway by a driver who ran the light.  This exhibition is a Centennial Jubilee celebration of Henry’s birth in 1924.  John had a personal relationship with Faulkner having met him in his impressionable twenties when he had just opened his gallery and framing business.  

Faulkner was born in Simpson Country, Kentucky, lost his mother when he was just two years old, was placed into the foster care system and then at 15 placed in an orphanage  because his foster father found him too effeminate.  Eccentric and flamboyant all his life, he lived in Lexington where he often cross-dressed and would ride his bike around downtown.  His charismatic personality and his vivid paintings drew the attention of many celebrities.  

This exhibition at the Headley Whitney Museum is truly extraordinary with so many owners of Henry Faulkner's work having generously  lent their works, but really it was a large number of paintings that John Hockensmith secured from the massive collection owned by First Southern National Bank in Stamford, Kentucky that established the cornerstone of this exhibition.
John Hockensmith has produced a catalogue of this exhibition that will be available at the beginning of November.

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