Digital Exhibit — Jim Savage: Preserving Our Western Heritage in Wood

Savage’s love of carving was passed down from his father, Amos, and grandfather, Thomas Morris. His father whittled songbirds and made beautiful furniture, and Morris was a skilled craftsman at the quartzite quarries east of Sioux Falls. Savage is pictured here outside his workshop in 1970, near the beginning of his artistic career.

Although Savage had no formal artistic training, he understood wood, having worked as a finishing carpenter for 20 years. During those years, his artistic interest inspired him to create more decorative works such as paintings and fireplace mantels, one of which is depicted here.

 

 

Savage created his first carved sculpture in 1969. "Man Using Antique Tool," at left, is made of stained pine.

In December of 1972, Savage became a full-time woodcarver. His early pieces were made from red cedar fence posts that he obtained from South Dakota farms. Primarily working with South Dakota wood, many of his pieces are made from red cedar or walnut. The image at right shows Savage skillfully carving a cowboy from a fence post.

A popular theme in Savage's work is the caricature of the cowboy. Their expressions are copies of the faces Savage would make in a mirror as he worked.

   

Another popular theme of Savage's work is Native American heritage and culture. Completed in 1976, 2,200 pieces of natural-colored wood came together to create this sculpture of Sioux Warrior White Bull. The beaded headband alone contains 1,920 small pieces of hand-placed wood. White Bull won the gold medal for sculpture at an outdoor art show in Prescott, Arizona, in 1976, against the work of 33 other bronze artists. White Bull, a nephew of Sitting Bull, participated in the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876.

  

Oglala Chief American Horse led his people in defiance of the U.S. Army and died in the Battle of Slim Buttes in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1876. Carved a century later in 1976, Savage's "American Horse" consists of more than 500 individual pieces of 16 different types of natural-colored wood. It won third place for sculpture at the Western Heritage Art Fair in Littleton, Colorado, in 1977.

 

Many remember visiting Jim Savage's workshop in the backyard of his home in Sioux Falls. After his passing in 1986, the workshop was turned into the Jim Savage Memorial Studio. Savage's tools, artifact collections and reference materials were as preserved as when he used them. In 1992, the studio was moved to Village Square Plaza on 26th Street in Sioux Falls in true Western style — packed into a covered wagon pulled by a horse.

   

Later, in 1999, Merle Jones and Shirley Savage Jones donated some elements of the original studio to the CWS where they were incorporated into the new Fantle Building as pictured here. Though the studio exhibit is no longer featured, new long-term exhibits expected to be installed in the next few years will highlight Savage's work alongside an expanded collection of folk art.

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Of the utmost importance to Savage was historical accuracy and authenticity in his depictions of the West. His collections of stirrups, spurs, skulls and other western objects were kept in his workshop where they could serve as models in the creation of his work.

A set of antique woodcarving tools with rosewood handles, kept with others at his desk, were used by Jim Savage throughout his career and were his favorites. It was the set of tools that inspired him to do his first woodcarving. He purchased the English-made set at a farm auction. At the time he was collecting antique tools. Savage created a special storage system for his tools by taping together empty bottles of English Leather after shave and cologne, cutting the bottoms off and hanging the units upside down.

Each tool has a unique purpose and shape. The larger ones are used for “roughing out” a piece of wood, and the smaller tools to complete the intricate details. Savage’s skill, coupled with excellent tools, enabled him to capture the spirit of the West. The series below shows Jim using his tools at various stages in the same project.

Above, the beginnings of "Cowboy Smiling, No Teeth and Chaps" is shown. The cowboy's face is just beginning to emerge from the wood. Below, an unfinished cedar carving of "Cowboy Riding a Bucking Horse." Savage had already captured the movement and activity of the piece.
 

Savage started this red cedar sculpture of High Bear, an Oglala Sioux, on Jan. 9, 1986, but passed away a few weeks later. The 1880 photograph of High Bear on the table at left served as the model for the unfinished piece.

Jim Savage was a member of the National Wood Carver's Association and National Buffalo Association. He and his wife, Shirley, operated the Jim Savage Western Art Gallery out of their home in Sioux Falls. In addition to Savage's works, the gallery featured paintings, bronzes, jewelry and Southwest and Sioux Indian ethnographic art. They also sponsored an annual art show for regional artists. Their dedication to the arts in southeast South Dakota was worthy of admiration. At its 1984 Artists of the Plains Art Show and Sale, CWS presented Savage with a special award for his support of Western art.

Savage's work represents a unique period in the history of Western art which was just coming into vogue when he started. At that time, wood carving was considered more of a craft than a fine art, and it took years of convincing for Savage's work to be accepted at big art shows. But, once there, his work spoke for itself, winning awards and gaining in popularity. His original style of using castoff materials and multiple kinds of wood intrigued buyers as well. The Western art boom lasted nearly 10 years before the market changed again and the public's interest turned to traditional Native American pieces.

The CWS Fine Art Collection preserves more than 80 of Savage's works, including 59 carvings and metal sculptures. Savage's interest in photography led him to also explore two-dimensional art forms such as pencil, colored pencil and pastel drawings and watercolors. Several of these are also represented in the collection.

  

A sampling of Jim Savage works from the CWS Fine Art Collection: Clockwise from top left: "Sitting Bull" (1970), "Horse and Rider" (1971), "Crow Indian" (1973) and "Deaf Bull" (1984).

Many of Savage's pieces are currently on display in the Elmen Gallery of the Fantle Building. In addition, the CWS Gift Shop has notecard sets featuring images from Savage's limited edition prints available.

We are constantly reminded of the public's love for Savage and his beautiful works. People frequently stop by the Fantle Building to share memories of visiting his studio and watching the prolific artist at work. Hundreds of his sculptures and prints are held in private and public collections worldwide.

Though we preserve Savage's legacy, we are not professionally-trained appraisers and are unable to provide value estimates for his works. It is against the U.S. tax code for our staff to provide appraisals, especially when the work in question is being considered for donation to the CWS's research collections. The information presented here is for educational purposes only; please consult a qualified fine art appraiser for a value determination of Savage's works in your personal collection.