David Wilson (misidentified as David Walker in the photo of him and his Ragtime painting in the May 23rd 1974 article in The Sedalia Democrat) was quoted as saying, “his aim as an artist is to create a fest for the eyes.”
That phrase, “feast for the eyes,” was used In Chapter XV, “A Walk on the Bottom of the Sea” in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) to describe the vision a diver had of a coral reef:
It was marvelous, a feast for the eyes, this complication of colored tints, a perfect kaleidoscope of green, yellow, orange, violet, indigo, and blue; in one word, the whole palette of an enthusiastic colorist!
We have no way of knowing if Wilson read Verne. It’s not a unique simile. That Wilson was familiar with the Greek goddess Hygieia signals he had wider literary interests than the funny papers. Verne, a literary precursor to science fiction and surrealism, could have been describing Wilson’s art, which is a “whole palette of an enthusiastic colorist!” His colors are somewhat muted, but he engaged a “wide range of hues” that interact radioactively. These colors interact, abetted by his pointillist application of paint. Every surface is covered by a stippled effect of small blobs of thick oil paint using several hues.
All the paintings we’ve seen are signed WILSON.
None are dated.
No titles are on the front or back.
The ground for all but one is Masonite. Some are painted on the smooth side, some on the textured side.
Our following divisions are arbitrary, but they show Wilson exerted selective control over his output. All share stylistic and technical similarities. Clearly they are all by the same hand.
Biomorphic Abstractions
These compositions are almost totally curvilinear shapes. Occasionally one suggests a recognizable figure but stops short of being conclusively figural.
Above left: Oil on Masonite, 17 ¾ x 24 ½
Above right: Oil on Masonite 24 x 23 ½
Click to enlarge.
Biomorphic Abstraction with Figure(s)
The two large ragtime paintings have stylized figures with cubistic, fractured backgrounds, but they are a mix of straight-lined divisions with rounded, organic, i.e. biomorphic shapes. The 22 ½ x 27 oil on Masonite (left) has a bearded face with a headdress in the upper right hand quadrant.
Click to enlarge.
Geometrized Faces
Above left: This 13 ½ x 14 ½ oil on Masonite appears to be a convict.
Above center: The Asian portrait is 21 ½ x 15 ¾ It is oil on plywood.
Above right: This vaguely Dogbert-looking figure appears to be in a vehicle. As Scott Adams introduced the malicious beagle only three month before Wilson’s death, it’s likely a coincidence. Oil on Masonite 12 x 15 ¾
Click to enlarge.
Religious Works
The Calvary Episcopal Church, 1713 S. Ohio, Sedalia, Missouri, has two large paintings signed WILSON. They too are oil on Masonite, but are stylistically more conventional than most of his art. Although the faces are realistic and the proportions accurate, the backgrounds have some degree of the abstracted treatment of his other work. The fabric has not been rendered three-dimensional, but is decoratively realized. They prove Wilson could produce more illusionary pictures than he usually chose to.
Above right: Appears to be a profile of Christ, 19 ½ x 10, oil on Masonite.
Click to enlarge.
Close-ups of Wilson’s quasi-pointillist technique.
Click to enlarge.