ELTON C. FAX (1909 - 1993) Muslim Men of Kano, Nigeria.
Conte crayon and ink on cream wove paper, 1965-70. 457x305 mm; 18x12 inches. Signed and inscribed "Kano, Nigeria" in conte crayon, lower right. With a typed label on the backing paper, supplying the title.
Provenance: gift from the artist; Ruby W. Davis; thence by descent to her estate. Rudy Dee wrote a forward to Elton Fax's 1972 portfolio ELTON C. FAX: Black and Beautiful, 10 lithograph prints of pencil drawings.
In his lifetime, Fax became an accomplished artist and writer. He graduated from Syracuse University's College of Fine Arts in 1931. Fax taught briefly at Claflin College in Orangeburg, South Carolina before taking a position with the WPA where he taught at the Harlem Community Arts Center from 1936-1940. He became known for his chalk-talks, lectures illustrated with drawings which allowed him to travel to the former Soviet Union, South America, Africa and the Caribbean.
