Dox Thrash

Dox Thrash was born in Griffin, Georgia. At age 15, Thrash, like many other African Americans in the south moved north seeking work. After three years working in a circus and in vaudeville, he arrived in Chicago. Thrash studied art first through a correspondence school, then at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1914 to 1917.
In World War I Thrash joined the Army and served in France in the 365th Infantry Regiment, 183rd Brigade, 92nd Division, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers. He was injured by poison gas and experienced shell shock. He recovered from his injuries and after the war completed his art studies at the Graphic Sketch Club in Philadelphia, 1918- 23.
Thrash was a printmaker in Pennsylvania Federal Arts Project, 1934-1942. He is credited as the co-inventor of the carborundum print process. Carborundum prints use a carbon-based abrasive to burnish copper plates creating an image that can produce a print in tones ranging from pale gray to deep black. The method is similar to the more difficult and complicated mezzotint process developed in the seventeenth century.
Thrash is best known for his realistic depictions of African American life in the 20th century. “The Champ” depicts an African American boxer. The image shows the fighter’s head and shoulders, his chin resting on one of his boxing gloves. He appears introspective, is he reflecting on his new status as champion, or recalling a time in the past when he was known as the champ?"

(Source: under review)