Egyptomania: Meet James Washington, Jr.

Meet James Washington, Jr.
	Like the ancient Egyptians, James Washington, Jr. attributes the source of his artistic creativity to a higher power. Mostly self-tutored, Washington is a distinguished sculptor, painter, and poet. Museums and galleries from Seattle to Yugoslavia have displayed his inspired works. James Washington, Jr.'s homage to spirituality is deeply rooted in his past. Born in 1911, young James grew up in a small town near Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was raised in a home where spirituality and creativity dwelled together. His father was a Baptist minister. His mother, a homemaker, nurtured the buds of their son's natural talents in a time and place that did little to formally train or encourage African Americans for most professions, including art. However, he recalls deciding early on that it would be his life's work. So, what James Washington, Jr. wasn't taught about art in Mississippi's segregated school system, he determined to learn on his own.
	Drawing and painting dominated Washington's early artistic endeavors. His subjects and scenes often captured his view of life in the Southern towns where he lived and worked. For economic reasons, though, art had to remain a sideline. Washington dedicated himself to learning to appreciate "the art" in any job he could get, as he moved from Mississippi to Arkansas. Whether he was laboring on riverboats or making and shining shoes, he felt it was important to do his job well. In the 1940s he took a position that led him to his destiny and his discovery as an artist of note. Accompanied by his new bride, Janie Rogella Miller, he arrived in Bremerton, Washington, to take a civilian job at the Naval Shipyard. A year later, the young couple settled in Seattle's Central Area, where his quest to work as a fine artist would begin to be realized. Some measure of success began to rain on Washington after he moved to Seattle. His paintings were showcased downtown at the Little Gallery in the old Frederick & Nelson department store building (now the new Nordstrom store). That first gallery show helped him meet renowned Northwest artist Mark Tobey, with whom Mr. Washington studied and developed a friendship.
	By the1950s, James Washington, Jr.'s work literally took on an added dimension, as he shifted from canvas to stone. His conversion to sculpture was born out of fervent prayer—prayers that were answered with national acclaim. In 1956, he chiseled a statue, titled Young Queen of Ethiopia, out of Italian limestone, which he later presented as a gift to the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Paul J. Karlstrom, West Coast Regional Director for the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, praised Washington for being able to "bring forth the animate from the inanimate" and for finding "the spirit in the stone." A book by that name, published on the occasion of a major retrospective of his work at the Bellevue Art Museum in 1989, details Washington's life: The Spirit in the Stone: The Visionary Art of James Washington, Jr. by Paul J. Karlstrom, published by the University of Washington Press and the Bellevue Art Museum.
The artist in his studio working on the Obelisk with Phoenix and Esoteric Symbols of Nature.	James Washington, Jr.'s repertoire in stone includes classical and African American themes. In addition, many of his pieces are inspired by nature and imbued with religious symbols, symbols that include the "eye of God," the Christian cross, and the Egyptian ankh. The Obelisk with Phoenix and Esoteric Symbols of Nature was commissioned for Seattle's Sheraton Hotel. In 1990, the City of Seattle's Historic Landmarks and Preservation Board designated James Washington, Jr.'s longtime studio and home "a culturally significant place." In 1997, a group of prominent citizens, along with Mr. and Mrs. Washington, formed the James W. Washington, Jr. and Janie Rogella Washington Foundation. The Foundation, which is in the process of applying for nonprofit status, is dedicated to protecting and preserving his artistic legacy for generations to come. Now in his late 80s, James Washington, Jr. no longer sculpts. However, he remains very active in the art community, writing and lecturing about the creative process.