James R Hedges III was an American wood carver and art dealer.
16 Facts About Jimmy Hedges
1.
2.
Jimmy Hedges produced and dealt in art primarily of the Folk and Outsider genres, and was the founder of the Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery.
3.
Jimmy Hedges was born into a Tennessee industrialist family in 1942.
4.
Jimmy Hedges's first profession was in the real estate industry, and he was a trustee of the Tonya Foundation, which was founded by his grandfather.
5.
Jimmy Hedges came upon the artform after taking a bet from folk artist Homer Green, who challenged him to see if he could do it.
6.
Jimmy Hedges later showed his carvings to a gallerist in Memphis, who encouraged him to start incorporating folk art into his repertoire.
7.
Jimmy Hedges then began working in the genre of Outsider Art.
8.
Jimmy Hedges' work incorporated people and places that he encountered while exploring different parts of the United States.
9.
Jimmy Hedges engaged with social commentary, such as incorporating the figure of a Klansman with trousers that reflected that the person beneath the sheets was likely a law enforcement officer.
10.
Jimmy Hedges exhibited his work at festivals including the Outsiders Outside Art Fair, as well as the Intui's Collectorama in Chicago, and Folk Fest in Atlanta.
11.
Jimmy Hedges actively promoted the artists with fliers and other printed materials, and sold their work at festivals.
12.
Adjacent to the gallery Jimmy Hedges ran the Rising Fawn Folk Art Sculpture Garden.
13.
Jimmy Hedges represented more than four hundred artists during his career.
14.
Many of the artists that Jimmy Hedges represented were disabled in some manner, some mentally ill and others physically impaired.
15.
Jimmy Hedges lived most of his life in Rising Fawn, Georgia near Lookout Mountain.
16.
In 2014 Jimmy Hedges died in a drowning incident on his property.