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Palmer Hayden Summary and Series on John Henry Legend (FPH-20)

Commentary by David C. Driskell
Chairman, Art Department
Fisk University,
Nashville, Tennessee 37203

Palmer C. Hayden is a native of Widewater, Virginia and for this reason, he has never forsaken the water as a vital subject in his painting. However, his interest in Black folklore has led him into the hills of American landscape as 8 paintings in this series of 14 from his famous JOHN HENRY SERIES shows. The recipient of many awards for his work, including The Harmon Foundation Gold Medal in 1927, Hayden has lived in Europe and America and has brought to his work the rich experiences that surrounded his travel. At first a postal employee and then a janitor, the artist became interested at an early age in the reactions of people to common events and painted a literal interpretation of home, farm and city life with great imagination and insight. He rolls the clock back to revival days, baptism Sunday and Saturday night fish fries to reveal the life style and customs of Black people all over the United States.

The tales about John Henry claimed his interest as a strong story which contained the necessary ingredient for surviving the condition of being born black. Here, the legend (thought to center around the actual life of a Black man by the name of John Henry, who lived in the village of Keswick, Virginia), vividly displays the strength of body and mind toward a unity of work and accomplishment. It is believed the John Henry lived in the quiet Virginia town located near Charlottesville around 1868 and worked on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. There are also accounts of John Henry being a legendary name in Jamaican folklore. But regardless of the truth of the John Henry story, Palmer Hayden has made it live in the minds of those who see it and it becomes a vital experience for all who are interested in the folk tales and love concerning Black America.

Slide 1 - "WHEN JOHN HENRY WAS A BABY, sitting on his mama's knee Says, 'Big Bend Tunnel on the C. and O. Road is going to be the death of me'."

Slide 2 - "JOHN HENRY WENT UPON THE MOUNTAIN. Came down on the other side. The mountain was so high, John Henry was so small, he laid down his hammer and cried, 'Lord, Lord'."

Slide 3 - JOHN HENRY HAD A LOVING LITTLE WOMAN. The dress she wore was blue; she went down the track, she never looked back. Says, "John Henry, I'm leaving you."

Slide 4 - "JOHN HENRY WAS THE BEST IN THE LAND".

Slide 5 - CAPTAIN HEARD A MIGHTY RUMBLING...."

Slide 6 - "JOHN HENRY ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE".

Slide 7 - "He walked up to the foreman on the road. Says, 'Captain, I'm a steel-driving man. I can drive more steel than any man in your crew. I WILL DIE WITH A HAMMER IN MY HAND'."

Slide 8 - "JOHN HENRY, A STEEL-DRIVING MAN".

*For an account of the "John Henry Legend", see Treasury of American Folklore by B.A. Botkin, Crown Publishers '44.