This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| The following is from Deborah G. Dennis, November 2003.
J. H. Black was an itinerant folk art painter who traveled through Southern Illinois in the early 1900s. He stopped at my relative's home farm and slept in the barn. While he was there he created a lovely large painting of the farm's owner standing in his "animal park" amidst turkeys, squirrels, goats, peacocks and numerous other farm animals. The animal park was in a fenced in grove of trees. The painting also features a representation of the barn and a horse and buggy, on the road in front of the park, driven by a woman. Her name must be "E. Ash" because that name appears twice near and on the buggy.
The painting is about 3 1/2 feet by 3 1/2 feet. The sides are "framed" with wood that is not visible from the front of the painting. The work is signed "J. H. Black" but not dated; however, the owner of the animal park is depicted in old age and he died in 1915.
A black and white photograph of the painting was published in a 1924 genealogy featuring the family of the animal park owner. The family lived in Saline County, Illinois.
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