The Life and Art of Dox Thrash
Dox Thrash was an African-American artist, skilled draftsman, master printmaker, and painter. Born in Griffin, Georgia, he moved north during the Great Migration, eventually working as an elevator operator in Chicago to fund his studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After serving in the 365th Infantry Regiment of the Buffalo Soldiers during World War I, where he experienced shell shock and a gas attack, he continued his education with federal support.
Thrash settled in Philadelphia by 1925. In 1937, he joined the W.P.A.'s Federal Art Project at the Fine Print Workshop of Philadelphia. There, alongside Michael J. Gallagher and Hugh Mesibov, he co-invented the carborundum printmaking process, a technique using a carbon-based abrasive on copper plates to create tones from pale gray to deep black. His work often focused on African American life, including pieces such as:
- Mr. X (an anonymous self-portrait)
- Cabin Days
- A New Day
- Life
- Saturday Night
- Marylou
