Local shop owner uncovers rare, historical lithograph

“Rare print found in local frame shop.” No, that is not a description of the next episode of a television show, but it very well could be. Everyone has heard the stories of someone buying a frame or building and uncovering a rare, expensive, and hard to find treasure. No one dreams that it would happen to them, much less in a small town in East Texas.

Sandy Smith Lanier grew up in Hughes Springs, and now lives in Daingerfield. Lanier is also the owner of East Texas Framing, which is set to move to 510 Taylor Street, in Hughes Springs. Her father had a custom framing shop, located between Linden and Hughes Springs. “I bought out my dad’s shop,” said Lanier, “all of his inventory and everything. There were hundreds of prints that Lanier was going through, when she found one that caught her eye.

“I found this one, and there was something about it. Dad and I made a frame for it, and I was just going to display it at the Underground Railroad Quilt display, then donate it to the high school,” said Lanier. She could tell the print detailed several famous African Americans, and began to think there may more to the print than just paper and ink. Lanier’s father had actually had two of the prints, but had sold one several years ago. He had told her, when she found it, to “Just put a frame on it and donate it somewhere.” Although he could not remember specifics, he knew he had purchased the print in Fort Polk, Louisiana.

The print, which is numbered 167/2500 and signed by the artist, Karl Wilkes, is entitled “History Lesson #5,” and features a slave ship, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Fredrick Douglas, and Martin Luther King. Lanier contacted the Karl Wilkes Gallery, and left a message requesting information regarding the print. Several days later, the day before she was to display the piece at the Quilt display, she received a phone call, asking for specifics about the print.

“He (the caller) asked very specific questions about the type and color of paper the print was on, as well as the dimensions,” said Lanier. When she had given the caller the information he requested, he disclosed his identity. “Once I told him what he was asking, he told me he was the artist, Karl Wilkes, who created the piece,” said Lanier, who was admittedly shocked and surprised. He proceeded to inform her that she actually had a first edition of the mentioned print. “He was skeptical at first, until I gave him some of the information that only could come with having the print,” said Lanier. He also told her that several of the prints had been stolen, and that the only place that someone could buy the print now is to purchase it from his gallery. After spending an hour on the phone with Wilkes, discussing the print, its history and meanings, and how Lanier acquired it, she convinced him that everything was up to par, and she set about preserving the print. “He had a very specific way he wanted the print framed and mounted, in a gold, detailed frame with a black mat,” said Lanier, “so I headed back to my dad’s old shop to re-frame it. On the way, I called my dad and told him to meet me there.” Lanier said. Lanier had found out from Wilkes that the print her father had purchased for little of nothing, was actually a historical lithograph that was worth $3,500.

According to the Wilkes Art Gallery website, “History Lesson #5 is a lithograph that took over three years to produce. This work of art was released nationally February 1, 2002 by the artist, Karl Wilkes. History Lesson #5 currently hangs of over a dozen museums, celebrity homes, and non-profit organizations. Experience History Lesson #5–its porthole takes the viewer inside a slave ship and the viewer senses being diminished or reduced to cargo. In this lithograph, the porthole is an entry into a most awful dream or an exit toward an uplifting reality. Completeness and unity, as represented by History Lesson’s spherical porthole, also leads the viewer to images of grand figures in African American history. Karl W. Wilkes uses an exciting and educational combination of visual art and history in his work History Lesson #5. Wilkes believes that through the universal language of art, history’s lessons can not only be visualized, but also, better understood. History Lesson # 5 draws upon powerful images. A slave ship, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Fredrick Douglas, Rosa Parks, and host of other African American heroes and “sheros” are depicted in this thought-provoking work.

Developed as a curriculum by Scholastic Inc. and the Pepsi-Cola Company, “Riches of American History: The African American Struggle for Freedom”, History Lesson #5 incorporates national standards for grades nine and ten. As well as its value for secondary education, History Lesson #5 is an important resource for higher education as the work is touring as part of the White House Initiative On Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’S) -increasing the capacity of HBCUs to provide the highest-quality education to a greater number of students. The work is in its final independent tour to all 105 HBCU’s and will conclude in 2013. This outstanding resource can be used by students and adults all to expand knowledge and broaden understanding.”

Lanier, who still gets exciting when talking about the print, had this to say about Wilkes: “He is the nicest person you could meet. When I told him how I ended up with the print, and that I intended to show it during the Underground Railroad Quilt display, he was excited.” Wilkes also informed Lanier that if she would set up a show including his works, and highlighting “History Lesson #5,” he would do his best to be in attendance and speak. That possibility is still in the works with the city of Hughes Springs.