Decatur

Charles H. Arthur, 2022

Graphite, charcoal, and Conté pencil on paper. 80 3/8 x 55 1/8 x 2 ½  in.

DECATUR DOCUMENTS

2022. Inkjet prints of digitized archival documents.

In 2019, Lava Thomas was contacted by the Wise County Genealogical Society in Decatur, Texas about their plans for a posthumous military funeral and dedication of a headstone for her maternal great-great-great-grandfather. The call prompted Thomas to work with a genealogist in Decatur, Texas to help research her family history. The works in Decatur (2022) are anchored by a life-size portrait of the artist’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Charles H. Arthur, who served in the Civil War as a private in Company K, 5th US Colored Infantry. Upon his honorable discharge, Charles Arthur changed his name from William Eckler–the name of his father's enslaver. The act of shedding his father's slave name and taking a name of his own choosing was an assertion of autonomy and self-sovereignty, but it impeded Charles Arthur's ability to receive his military pension because he had to “prove” his identity as William Eckler, the soldier. An eight-year long legal battle ensued, generating a document archive which reveals Charles Arthur’s life story.

The life-sized portrait is based on the photograph that was sent to Charles H. Arthur’s fellow soldiers to confirm his military service and identity. Exhibited as part of Lava Thomas: Homecoming, curated by Bridget R. Cooks Ph.D, fourteen enlarged prints from the document archive accompanied the portrait in the exhibition.

Exhibitions:
Lava Thomas: Homecoming (Traveling Exhibition) | Exhibition Catalog | Curator: Bridget R. Cooks Ph.D.
Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL