Charles Banks Wilson, “Bob Lemmons”
The man known as Bob Lemmons was born probably around 1848 in Lockport, Texas with an unknown last name. He was enslaved to the family of Captain Levi English. As a youth of about 17 years old, Bob should have been freed on June 19, 1865. On that day, a Union Army general arrived in Galveston, Texas, and read an order. “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” That day became celebrated as Juneteenth. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, so Texas was two and a half years late in hearing the news. It was a few weeks later before Bob would receive his freedom. It is said that his freedom only came after a tragedy for the English family. On July 4, 1865, Captain Levi English, his sons, and others engaged in a skirmish with Comanches. Levi’s son John died in the battle, and afterwards, Levi, in his grief, freed Bob.
Bob went to work for a rancher, Duncan Lammons, and adopted his employer’s last name with variant spellings. Known now as Bob Lemmons, he developed his skills working with livestock. Eventually on his own, he successfully captured and sold horses, earning enough to establish his own ranch in Dimmit County, Texas. He married and raised a large family there.
Texas author J. Frank Dobie interviewed Lemmons for his book “The Mustangs.” Dobie quoted Lemmons on how he was so successful with horses. “I acted like I was a mustang, . . . . I made the mustangs think I was one of them.” Dobie described Lemmons, as “the most original mustanger I ever met.” Lemmons gained the trust of the animals and did not use other methods such as running the horses until exhaustion.
Artist Charles Banks Wilson drew an image of the mustanger as an illustration for Dobie’s book. Wilson’s drawing showed how Lemmons had the confidence of wild horses and could sleep near them. The sketch “Bob Lemmons” is a preliminary work that Wilson made to plan the composition. He showed Lemmons bedded down for the night under a blanket and with his saddle as a pillow. His own horse is tethered near his head on the edge of the semi-circle of wild horses. Lemmons relaxes with a cigarette in one hand as he prepares for sleep. Wilson uses strong outlines to set the figures in the composition. He indicates shading with quickly drawn scrambled lines. This preliminary drawing of Bob Lemmons is on view in the Stark Museum of Art’s Gallery 3 until about July 27.
Museum Collections staff will rotate light-sensitive works on view and will replace the preliminary drawing with Wilson’s final drawing for the illustration. The final drawing will be on view about July 5. Viewers will see how Wilson retained the preliminary composition, while changing to pen and ink for the more finished look. He used more controlled parallel lines to the make the shading and added elements like the stars in the sky.
Visitors to the Stark Museum will also want to view the beautiful art quilt “Robert Lemmons: The Horse Whisperer” by Felecia Tinker, which is on view in the special exhibition “Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West” through August 3. Using brightly colored fabrics, Felecia Tinker depicts Lemmons reclining under his Mexican blanket, among the varied mustangs, and “under a majestic sky.”
Charles Banks Wilson (1918 – 2013), “Bob Lemmons,” c. 1951, pencil on paper, 7 1/2 X 10 ¾, Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas, Purchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 2004, 11.173.92.F
FEATURED IMAGE: Charles Banks Wilson (1918 – 2013), “Final Drawing of Bob Lemmons for ‘The Mustangs,’” c. 1951,
pen and ink on paper, 7 3/4 × 9 inches, Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas, Purchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 2004, 11.173.92.B