{{Short description|American wood carver and art dealer}} {{for|the American politician|James Hedges}} {{Infobox artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Jimmy Hedges<!-- include middle initial, if not specified in birth_name --> | honorific_suffix = | image = <!-- use the image's pagename; do not include the "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and do not use brackets--> | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = James R. Hedges III<!-- only use if different than name --> | birth_date = 1942 <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living artists, {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}} for dead. For living people supply only the year unless the exact date is already WIDELY published, as per WP:DOB. Treat such cases as if only the year is known, so use {{birth year and age|YYYY}} or a similar option. --> | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and given age|2014|07|13|71}} | death_place = Rising Fawn, Georgia, U.S. | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | education = | alma_mater = | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | movement = Outsider art, Folk art | spouse = | partner = | awards = <!-- {{awd|award|year|title|role|name}} (optional) --> | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | website = <!-- {{URL|Example.com}} --> | module = }} '''James R. Hedges III''' (1942&ndash;2014) was an American wood carver and art dealer. He produced and dealt in art primarily of the Folk and Outsider genres, and was the founder of the Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery.

==Early life== Jimmy Hedges was born into a Tennessee industrialist family in 1942.<ref name=NP /> His first profession was in the real estate industry,<ref name=TFG /> and he was also a trustee of the Tonya Foundation, which was founded by his grandfather.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/obits/2014/jul/15/james-hedges-iii-r/53982/|date=July 15, 2014|title=Obit: James Hedges III R|publisher=Chattanooga Times Free Press}}</ref> Hedges became a self-taught chainsaw woodcarver, and later a dealer/gallerist for other self-taught artists in the medium. He came upon the artform after taking a bet from folk artist Homer Green, who challenged him to see if he could do it.<ref name=HP>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldpalladium.com/features/outsiders-return-to-harbert/article_db85ac87-3919-5060-8a5d-dd518c70d36c.html|title=Outsiders return to Harbert: 17th annual art fair draws from all over|publisher=Herald Palladium|date=September 1, 2011|author=Jeremy D. Bonfiglio}}</ref> He later showed his carvings to a gallerist in Memphis, who encouraged him to start incorporating folk art into his repertoire.<ref name=TFG /> He then also began working in the genre of Outsider Art.<ref name=SI />

==Art career== Hedges' work incorporated people and places that he encountered while exploring different parts of the United States. Hedges also engaged with social commentary, such as incorporating the figure of a Klansman with trousers that reflected that the person beneath the sheets was likely a law enforcement officer.<ref name=HP /> His folk art additionally incorporated folk narratives he encountered during his travels.<ref name=TFG /> Most of his carvings are created from cedar wood. Hedges exhibited his work at festivals including the Outsiders Outside Art Fair,<ref name=HP /> as well as the Intui's Collectorama in Chicago, and Folk Fest in Atlanta.<ref name=RV />

==Rising Fawn Folk Art== As a dealer, Hedges sold his work and those of other artists through the Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery. Artists represented by Rising Fawn included Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Purvis Young, and Charles Simmons.<ref name=HP /> The gallery was founded near Chattanooga, Tennessee,<ref name=SI /> on the Georgian side of Lookout Mountain,<ref name=NP>{{cite news|url=http://archive.naplesnews.com/entertainment/arts-and-culture/hedges-grassroots-archives-tell-tale-of-american-art-history-34c95d39-7f2e-452f-e053-0100007fb559-382533971.html|author=Harriet Howard Heithaus |date=December 10, 2016|publisher=Naples Daily News|title=Naples collector's grassroots archive tells tale of American art history}}</ref> and exhibited the work of their artists in surrounding urban centers. Hedges actively promoted the artists with fliers and other printed materials, and sold their work at festivals.<ref name=NP /> Hedges would hand deliver much of the work purchased through his gallery, and travelled the countryside visiting other artists in order to obtain their newest work.<ref>{{cite news|author=Robin Pogriben|date=May 12, 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/arts/design/warhol-museum-is-adding-long-sought-do-it-yourself-sailboats.html?_r=1|title=Warhol Museum is Adding Long Sought 'Do it Yourself (Sailboats)'|work=New York Times}}</ref> Adjacent to the gallery Hedges also ran the Rising Fawn Folk Art Sculpture Garden.<ref name=RV>{{cite web|url=https://rawvision.com/news/jimmy-hedges|title=Jimmy Hedges (1942-2014)|author=Micki Beth Stiller|publisher=Raw Vision Magazine|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-date=2017-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818011714/https://rawvision.com/news/jimmy-hedges|url-status=dead}}</ref> He represented more than four hundred artists during his career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/visual-arts/2016/5/26/heres-the-trust-bringing-outsider-american-art-into-the-main.html|title=Here's the Trust Bringing "Outsider" American Art Into the Mainstream|date=May 26, 2016|author=Mike Scutari|publisher=Inside Philanthropy|access-date=August 17, 2017|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818011042/https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/visual-arts/2016/5/26/heres-the-trust-bringing-outsider-american-art-into-the-main.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Many of the artists that Hedges represented were disabled in some manner, some mentally ill and others physically impaired. He also represented artists serving time in prison.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Art Net|author=Alan Moore|url=http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/news/moore/moore1-26-99.asp|title=irresistible outsider}}</ref>{{Failed verification|reason=Hedges's name is not discussed in this article.|date=December 2017}}<ref name=TFG>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2009/may/09/collector-heart/218885/|title=Collector at heart: Rising Fawn folk-art dealer brings his work home|date=May 9, 2009|author=Holly Leber|publisher=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=August 17, 2017|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818044621/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2009/may/09/collector-heart/218885/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The archives and papers of Hedges' personal records and the gallery became a part of the Smithsonian Archives of American Art in 2016, two years after his death. The work contained within the collection includes work from 1980 through 2014,<ref name=SI /> as well as photographs covering the work and artists of his gallery and the art shows he attended over the span of his career.<ref name=NP />

==Personal life== Jimmy Hedges lived most of his life in Rising Fawn, Georgia near Lookout Mountain. He was married twice.<ref name=TFG /> In 2014 Hedges died in a drowning incident<ref name=NP /><ref name=SI>{{cite web|publisher=Archives of American Art|url=https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/jimmy-hedges-papers-and-rising-fawn-folk-art-gallery-records-17336|title=Jimmy Hedges papers and Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery records, circa 1980-2014}}</ref> on his property.<ref name="chat drowns">{{cite news|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/7/14/280357/Jimmy-Hedges-Drowns-At-Mountain-Bluff.aspx|title=Jimmy Hedges Drowns At Mountain-Bluff Lake On Lookout Mountain|publisher=The Chattanoogan|date=July 14, 2014}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Jimmy}} Category:2014 deaths Category:1942 births Category:21st-century American sculptors Category:21st-century American male artists Category:20th-century American sculptors Category:20th-century American male artists Category:American art collectors Category:American folk artists Category:Chainsaw sculptors Category:Sculptors from Tennessee Category:Artists from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:People from Dade County, Georgia Category:Deaths by drowning in Georgia (U.S. state)